Nordic Semiconductor: Flexible office space enabled growth

When Nordic Semiconductor, a top name in Bluetooth Smart technology, decided to open a product development unit in Oulu, the search for office space was on.

The schedule was exceptionally tight: the lease with Technopolis was signed in mid-March and the sixty Nordic Semiconductor employees started work in the ready office at Technopolis Peltola only one and a half months later.

The Norwegian parent company wanted to invest in comfortable office space.  Simply repainting the office was not sufficient to fulfill the criteria, as a full remodel was desired with an emphasis on quality. The Nordic Semiconductor office features Scandinavian design dark wood and stone surfaces, without omitting the accent color tones to put the finishing touches on the interior.

– Technopolis found us an excellent interior designer and ISS, a Technopolis subcontractor, completed the renovation quickly and with high quality. I am still astonished that everything was done in such a tight schedule. Even the coffee machine was ready for action when we came to work, reflects Sonja Kusmin, Administration and HR Manager.

The rapid growth of the Nordic Semiconductor Oulu unit was experienced right from the start. In nearly three years, the number of employees has tripled and the office space has increased from 1,200 square meters to 3,000 square meters. Two 600 square meter expansions were made to the office space already during the first two years.

– At times, our recruitment was hindered by the lack of available parking, but Technopolis quickly solved the problem by acquiring additional vehicle parking from across the road. And when our product development processes proceeded to the testing phase, we were arranged laboratory space in the same building, says Kusmin.

Nordic Semiconductor utilizes a variety of Technopolis services. Of these, Kusmin feels the reception services in the lobby in addition to the cleaning and property management services have been the most important and easily arranged by Technopolis.

– I believe that companies of all sizes benefit from not having to tie up capital or personnel hours in building an internal service organization, says Kusmin.

– We currently employ 180 people, of which 178 are engineers. As Technopolis handles everything for us from mailings to catering meetings, our own personnel is able to focus on the work they are paid to do and what is important to our company.

– The Technopolis service concept is something that other office space vendors do not offer. It is much easier and cost efficient for the tenant to acquire a comprehensive package than to assemble the services from individual pieces, each from a different vendor, says Kusmin.

Kusmin has not discovered a single weak link in the Technopolis service value chain. In addition to the diversity of services, she also praises their quality.

– You can always get help when you need it. You get the sense that Technopolis truly listens to the customer and that customer satisfaction is genuinely important to them. Technopolis truly has a great service attitude!

According to Kusmin, the cooperation has been seamless also in general:

– Everything has been surprisingly easy right from the first contact. The entire service chain operates flawlessly and quickly. For example, when we faced a need to make changes to our space and contacted Sales, the Property department at Technopolis has quickly been ready to present us a solution.