Case: KPA Unicon – Cultural integration

Cultural integration following an acquisition

We planned the acquisition and we knew that integrating the cultures is the most challenging factor, which can easily be overlooked at an engineering company,” KPA Unicon’s Managing Director, Jukka-Pekka Kovanen, says.

Expertise in combining cultures

“As an external organisation, Trainers’ House studied the cultures of the acquiring organisation and the acquired organisation. This functioned as one of the elements in our decision-making. Based on this, the acquisition was evaluated and an integration plan was made. When we started to realize the integration plan, we clarified the most important actions using the Impact Map and we began using the BEAT-change management platform. The collaboration has had a major impact on our operations. BEAT highlights the business-critical matters at any given moment in time. Thanks to this, everybody has an understanding of how to prioritize their actions”, Kovanen says.

Strong culture provides support through turbulent times

As a result of the acquisitions and cultural integration processes, KPA Unicon’s net sales have almost doubled and the number of staff has tripled. “Now, a large proportion of our net sales come from areas that we would never have accessed without acquisitions. This change is highly demanding of a management system and organisation, and requires significant change management. We are still moving forward,” Kovanen says.