The goal at Elmia Subcontractor is brand recognition

- "We will literally hang ourselves around the necks of visitors to the fair," says CEO Krister Nyman, after it is clear that ETRA has been given the opportunity to be exposed on the lanyards for the entrance ticket.

Last year the parent company, Finnish Etola Group, celebrated its 90th anniversary. Specialising in industrial products and services, they have held a market-leading position in Finland for a long time. A few years ago, they decided to expand ETRA in the Baltics.

- And since May 2021, Swedish ETRA has been operating on the same basis as in Finland, i.e. personalised customer service with the possibility of digitally securing the supply chains," says Krister Nyman.

Taking ownership of customer needs

The range of industrial supplies is gigantic with over 300,000 unique article numbers.

- "What makes us unique is that each customer gets their own contact person, and we realise how much our customers appreciate that. The fact that someone takes ownership of me and my needs - that's what ETRA means by personal service," says Krister Nyman.

To be able to offer personal customer contact, ETRA has chosen to automate the logistics flow, everything from automatic online order functions, picking and packing to invoicing and follow-up.

- "Deliveries are more efficient, which means we can devote more resources to personal customer contact," explains Krister Nyman.

Value-added services complement the business

What stands out as much as ETRA's concept is that it does not stop at industrial supplies. The company also has a wide range of services where the customer can choose different degrees of automation in stock replenishment, sorting and inventory. The range of services also includes the possibility of ordering pure production services in various manufacturing areas.  

- We can also perform quality assurance, packing and logistics services on behalf of the customer. But these are value-added services that complement the core of the business, which is product supply," says Krister Nyman.

An obvious choice to be seen at Elmia Subcontractor

The choice to participate in Elmia Subcontractor and thereby reach out to Swedish and Scandinavian subcontractors was obvious, says Krister Nyman.

- "In Tampere, Finland, there is a similar subcontractor fair and it is a format that ETRA strongly believes in and has always prioritised," says Krister.

Even before the Swedish expansion, Finnish ETRA exhibited at Elmia Subcontractor, and the continuation as an exhibitor came naturally after the formation of ETRA Sweden in 2021.

- Back then, we were still perceived as new to the Swedish market and had to work to attract people to our stand. At Elmia Subcontractor last year, we were better known in the industry. All of a sudden it turned around, the visitors actively sought us out and it was a real boost for all of us in the stand," says Krister.

Now they are looking forward to Elmia Subcontractor 2023.

- The goal is brand recognition. We already have a large pipeline of incoming customers and, at this autumn’s fair, we will plant the ETRA brand in Sweden once and for all.

The facts

Etola Group is a Finnish group of companies that employs nearly 1550 people and owns the ETRA brand.

ETRA Sweden was founded in 2021 under the name Etola AB with headquarters in Skövde and logistics centres in Norrköping and Linköping.

ETRA specialises in technical sales and offers a comprehensive range of industrial products and various production and logistics services.