Biolan Oy – sustainability as a way of life
Biolan Oy is a Finnish family business specialising in developing, manufacturing and marketing products that help reduce the environmental impact of daily human activities.
Biolan manufactures and sells products for ecological gardening as well as environmental products. The company has own production facilities in Finland, Estonia and China. The products have been developed in co-operation with the best experts in the field since the 1970's.
Sustainable development is a way of life for us at Biolan. Our products are developed with this value in mind, as well as the utilisation of recycled materials. It has been our goal for 50 years to develop and produce products for a more ecological way of life. Our high-quality gardening, houseplant and ecological living ranges are all manufactured with environmental sustainability in mind.
Biolan is an international operator with production plants in Finland, Estonia and China. We are actively participating in several development projects around the world.
Biolan Group
Employees (2023): 180
Net sales (2023): EUR 56 million
Novarbo is a specialist in professional farming and greenhouse technologies. Our growing mediums and fertilisers are suitable for both traditional and organic professional cultivation. For greenhouses, we offer the latest technologies in greenhouse climate control; that save energy and increase crop yields. In addition to domestic sales, Novarbo exports to nearly 60 countries.
Favorit Tuote assembles Biolan composters, dry toilets and waste-water systems and offers premium contract manufacturing to industry partners.
Solarthor specialises in the development and sales of solar energy systems in Finland.
Ecomoss is a subsidiary of Biolan specializing in the collection of renewable bog biomass, acrotelm, which is suitable as a raw material for growing medium products.
Kiertoravinne is a circular economy company that distributes nutrient products produced as side streams of industry and agriculture for use by agriculture, forestry and industry. Kiertoravinne is specialized in the management of side streams of biogas plants. The central idea of recycled nutrients is to replace virgin natural resources with high-quality recycled nutrients.
Biolan Baltic manufactures growing media products in Estonia, about 50 percent of the production is exported to different parts of the world. Biolan Baltic sells and markets Biolan products in all Baltic countries.
Biolan Sverige is a Biolan subsidiary that is responsible for the sale of Biolan products in Sweden.
Biolan Suzhou Co. Ltd is Biolan’s production facility in China.
Biolan Oy
Established in 1974
Employees (2023): 77
Net sales (2023): EUR 30 million
Biolan emphasizes lasting values and ecology in all its activities. Product development is a continuing process and quality assurance is systematic.
"By thinking about the well-being of our personnel and using our know-how wisely, we successfully develop, manufacture, and focusing on the customer needs, market profitably high-quality products for cultivation and for the environment, which reduce the environmental load caused by mankind."
Leader in sustainable development
Our activities are sustainable. We operate in an environmentally and ethically acceptable manner in our own business area. We minimise and measure the key environmental impacts of our activities. When it comes to our stakeholders, we apply the same principle as in our own operations.
Profitability
The profitability of our business activities ensures the continuity of our operations and enables the company values of Biolan Oy to be respected. We operate in the long term. In the family enterprise, the quartile is 25 years rather than three months. In our economic planning, we apply longer-term incentives, such as the overall life cycle impact of the product.
Evolution
We are at the forefront of evolution in all our key business areas. We anticipate changes and react to them in a creative and agile way. We improve our activities continuously. Our product development creates new solutions and approaches unbiased and boldly. We ensure that the level of our staff's skills is maintained and improved.
Customer and consumer orientation
The customers and consumers pay our wages. We in cooperation with our customers want to assist the consumers to make decision that are truly sustainable. We will keep the promise that we have made to our customers and to the consumers.
Fairness
Biolan wants to combine the practice of good leadership with the realities of the business world. Fairness does not mean forcing everyone on the same level. Each employee is rewarded by their individual performance, competence and skills.
The Biolan products aimed for the Finnish market are manufactured mainly at the Eura production unit. Some of the environmental products are manufactured by internal subcontractors. All manure-based products, fertilisers and growing mediums are manufactured at Biolan’s own production unit in Eura. The production is ongoing in three shifts, five days a week. The products are delivered from the factory warehouse or regional warehouses directly to retailers by contracted transport providers.
Biolan’s export operations are supported by its Estonian subsidiary Biolan-Baltic Oü, which produces peat products, all of which is exported around the world. Some 60% of Biolan exports are delivered directly from Estonia and 40% from Finland.
Product range
Biolan products form an extensive range of nearly 100 high-quality products and items. Read more about Biolan products.
Sales and marketing
Biolan markets its own and its subsidiaries’ products in Finland, the EU, Middle East, Far-East, Southeast Asia and North and South America. Biolan’s export business is growing steadily, currently accounting for some 20% of the company’s net sales.
Biolan, Novarbo and Favorit Tuote operate in compliance with certified quality assurance and environmental systems. The ISO 9001 compliant quality assurance system and the ISO 14001 compliant environmental system are proof that our company is serious about sustainable development. A certified system means that the company has demonstrated its long-term commitment to development work and the continuous improvement of its products and ways of working.
The certification audits were conducted by an independent certification body DNV GL (formerly Det Norske Veritas). The certificates cover development, production, purchasing and sales of growing mediums and fertilisers, greenhouse technologies, composters, dry toilets and waste-water systems. At Favorit Tuote, the certification also covers the contract manufacturing of plastics.
History
Biolan Oy was established by Hannes Kariniemi. The same man first shot to fame in the 1960s by teaching the Finns to eat chicken and the food brand still lives on. Hannes Kariniemi was a bold visionary with an unerring business sense. As his chicken farms expanded, so did the piles of manure. Many would have seen this merely as a problem. Hannes Kariniemi saw it as a business opportunity.
Biolan Oy was born and was the first company in the world to launch natural fertilisers in a granular format. The company invented the machinery and equipment by itself.
Biolan made its first export deal.
1978
Biolan was the first company to launch composter products in Finland.
Biolan participated for the first time in the International Garden Trade Fair in Cologne, Germany. The latest innovation, entirely natural plant feeding spikes, attracted a lot of attention.
1987
Europe’s most modern fertiliser, soil and peat factory was inaugurated in Eura.
Biolan received the enterprise award for local entrepreneurs.
Biolan also received an enterprise award from the municipality of Eura.
Biolan was among the names of companies committing to the principles of sustainable development on a list published at the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Biolan’s 220 L Quick Composter was the only product to earn the prestigious Nordic Ecolabel in a test comparing composters.
Biolan made one of its largest ever investments in equipment. For example, a new production line for gardening soil was introduced. The facilities were expanded.
Biolan won the Satakunta enterprise award.
Biolan won the national enterprise award.
Biolan was awarded the Pro Eura medal by the municipality of Eura.
In addition to natural fertilisers, growing mediums and composters, Biolan added a new product family: household wastewater purifiers.
2004
Biolan’s Greywater Filter was awarded the regional INNOSUOMI prize.
The Novarbo system, which enables the building of a closed greenhouse, a Biolan innovation, received the regional INNOSUOMI 08 prize.
2009
The Novarbo system won in the National Process category at the European Business Awards for the Environment.
2010
The Novarbo system was also included in the European-wide shortlist.
Biolan’s new office building with striking, experimental architecture and environmentally friendly performance was completed in Eura. It is unique in its kind in the world.