Kempower, a manufacturer of electric vehicle charging equipment, expands - Lahti is a strong candidate for a new production plant

Kempower CEO Tomi Ristimäki stands in front of a large world map on the wall of his office. The countries to which Kempower has supplied charging devices for electric cars are marked with flags on the relief map. At the crossroads, white shirt, gray suit jacket, glasses, looks at the camera. — Tomi Ristimäki, CEO of Kempower, says the size of the investment will be known in the coming months and the location before the midsummer.

Demand for fast chargers will be driven in particular by the increasing number of electric trucks and lorries.

Kempower, a fast-growing manufacturer of charging equipment for electric vehicles, plans to significantly increase its production.

The company is not yet disclosing the exact size of the investment or the location of the new plant.

In a press release today, the company said it is exploring options to expand production capacity in Europe.

According to Ristimäki, Finland and Lahti are also still strong options as investment destinations.

– It is possible. We are a technology company with new products coming out on a relatively fast schedule. Certain advantages are obtained from the fact that the production facility has a reasonable distance from our product development, Ristimäki formulates.

Three employees work at Kempower's factory in Lahti. — Kempower currently has two factories in Lahti, with both product development and production facilities. In Finland, the company now employs 350 people.

Quick chargers for professional electric vehicles

The demand for charging devices is increasing especially with the introduction of electric trucks and trucks to the market. Kempower is already involved in, for example, the charging network for electric trucks being built in Australia.

– I believe that in five years’ time, the market for professional cars that use electricity as their power source will be similar to what the market for passenger cars is now. Even though the number is smaller than passenger cars, it is a significant transition specifically for us manufacturers of fast charging devices, says Ristimäki.

Kempower does not manufacture so-called slow chargers, which are mostly used for charging cars at home.

According to Ristimäki, the decision on the investment and its location will be made during the first half of the current year.

The company’s goal is to have the new production facility operational by the end of 2025.

Kempower also continues to establish operations in the United States. The company’s goal is to start operations in the United States by the end of 2023. The plan includes a legal entity and a local assembly of charging solutions.

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