Juuri Partners becomes a minority owner in Kamrock Oy, a Finnish company specializing in industrial rock crushing. Providing crushing services for e.g. mining, construction and infrastructure companies, Kamrock has grown strongly driven by its customer-orientation and efficient crushing process.
Kamrock Oy was founded in 2016 and has since been crushing the industry’s growth trajectories, growing net sales from zero to around 20 million for the current year. The company known for its high quality and reliable service has a wide portfolio of customers including, for example, construction companies, infrastructure players and mine operators. After the investment, Juuri Partners owns a 35% minority stake and the founders remain as significant owners of the company.
The growth story of the relatively young company has been enabled by deep know-how of the crushing process and in-depth understanding of customer needs.
– To achieve high crushing quality, you need to have deep knowledge of bedrock types, optimization of machinery and ways to process rock aggregate. These are especially important since the quality of aggregate has a direct impact on quality and safety of construction and infrastructure projects. We need to continuously innovate to deliver premium quality while maintaining cost-effectiveness and responsibility. Responsibility is at the core of all our operations, ranging from occupational health and safety to environmental responsibility, underlines Aki Hintta, COO of Kamrock.
– We are very excited to have Juuri Partners on board to support our growth going forward. We have developed our services and refined our processes systematically, as well as created new products and services stemming from customer demand. The next step is to seek further growth domestically but also in other Nordic countries, and we are also constantly aiming to improve the service for our existing customers, adds the CEO Jarkko Peräaho.
– During the five years of operations, Kamrock has truly shown its ability to grow. The growth outlook related to construction and infrastructure projects is solid, and the company has gained a foothold in the mining industry. An interesting new growth area where Kamrock has put a lot of R&D effort is manufactured sand – responsible and homogenous aggregate crushed from bedrock. As an example, concrete companies may use manufactured sand as a substitute for the depleting natural sand reserves and decrease their carbon footprint while reducing costs, describes Tommi Asmala, Partner at Juuri Partners, explaining the background to the investment.
Manufactured sand as an alternative for finite sand reserves
Fine aggregates, i.e. sand, make up as much as 70% of the volume of concrete, the raw material indispensable for infrastructure and building construction. However, sand reserves of the world are finite and non-renewable, in addition to which the transportation of sand from pits to construction sites causes unnecessary environmental burden. Hence, the demand for sand crushed from bedrock has increased globally and some countries have already tightened the regulation on use of natural sand. For example, Swedish government has imposed a tax on natural sand, helping the progress of using manufactured sand instead.
Manufactured sand developed by Kamrock offers an intriguing alternative for natural sand. Manufactured sand has good characteristics for concrete production and can be crushed as close as possible to the delivery site to decrease transportation distances. Shorter distances allow better delivery reliability, decreased transportation costs and substantially smaller carbon footprint. Due to the consistent quality of the aggregate it may also be possible to decrease the amount of cement, which would have a positive impact on both production costs and the environment.
For more information:
Tommi Asmala, Partner, Juuri Partners Oy, tel. +358 40 534 6228, tommi.asmala@juuripartners.fi
Jarkko Peräaho, CEO, Kamrock Oy, tel. +358 44 364 1654, jarkko.peraaho@kamrock.fi
Aki Hintta, COO, Kamrock Oy, tel. +358 400 881 773, aki.hintta@kamrock.fi
Juuri Partners Oy
Juuri Partners’ 10-person team manages a total of over EUR 200 million through Juuri Fund I Ky and Juuri Fund II Ky private equity investment funds. These funds offer equity and debt financing for established and profitable small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland. Juuri Partners offers growth-oriented companies a novel concept of financing and business development that combines active ownership, business support and debt financing. The funds’ investor base consists of both Finnish and international institutional investors. www.juuripartners.com
Kamrock Oy
Kamrock Oy is a company specialized in crushing and processing of rock aggregates, whose main customer industries include building construction, infrastructure construction and mining. The company was established in 2016 and had net sales of EUR 16.9 million in 2019. Kamrock’s roots lie deep in the bedrock of North Ostrobothnia and the company employs directly over 70 people and approx. 20 more through subcontractors. The company operates seven crushing machineries at sites located around Finland. www.kamrock.fi