With Gratitude Toward New Challenges
On September 17, we had a farewell coffee gathering at Tume for CEO Jorma Lähetkangas.
“I even bought a cake so there wouldn’t be such a bad taste left in people’s mouths about me,” Lähetkangas said with a twinkle in his eye. The departure brings a sense of wistfulness on both sides, but there’s no drama involved.
The reasons for changing jobs are personal. My new position as CEO of F-Tekniikka will begin at the start of October, and the new workplace is about 270 km closer to my home. The new company sells and imports various livestock farming machines in Finland, including GEA milking robots, so there is no competition with Tume.
Although the last two years in the agricultural machinery business have been extremely challenging, I am pleased that Tume’s finances remain strong and on a solid footing. This stability is further reinforced by its owner—the very strong PEL-Tuote group. The biggest challenges related to the Tume factory building have also now been resolved, and the development work for both products and production has been and continues to be ongoing, so operations will carry on in good health.
Tume also has clear near-term tasks for each department, so I honestly feel that now is the time to step aside to help weather this temporary market downturn. I also truly believe that it’s time to give more responsibility to capable younger colleagues already within the organization. I want to emphasize that Tume will continue to operate smoothly!
Even though agriculture is constantly changing and the industry’s profitability has been extremely challenging in recent years, people still need to eat and drink. In fact, global food consumption is expected to increase by 13% over the next ten years. What’s most astonishing is that at the same time, the news is already reporting about children who are going hungry.
Finally, I want to personally thank Tume’s staff, customers, and partners! We do important work in food production, so let’s keep doing it! Without sowing, there is no food!
In the picture, Tume’s former and current management from left to right: Heikki Sola, Jorma Lähetkangas, and Timo Suni.
