Yeah, listen...uh, we f***ed up.

2022 was an interesting year, in a hitting-your-toeon-a-table-leg or losing-your-house-keys kind of way. The year began with a major customer’s industrial action. Then a war broke out, followed by a miserable harvest and an economic downturn. You would think the numbers would have ended up in the red. They didn’t.

Like all other unwritten and written rules, the laws of supply and demand got rewritten last year. For example, with the second largest export market gone since the summer, there should have been an oversupply of products and raw materials. Instead, we lived hand to mouth. Next, everybody predicted an energy shortage and urged everyone to forget about the price issue and focus on ensuring availability. And what happened? The price of energy plunged like the value of the rouble.

In times like these, keeping constant contact with customers and partners is worth its weight in gold. In business, a mess without any warning is much worse than a ‘normal’ mess. Having discussed the risks with your partners or even decided on acceptable risks, it is much easier to pick up the phone and report that the soup just spilt on our collective lap.

The cynics are probably shaking their heads at this. I admit that admitting to mistakes is not at all pleasant. In Professor Ron Dulek’s course on strategic communication at Aalto University, we spent several hours learning how to admit mistakes. The American way is that nothing is admitted, and if it is admitted, the passive form is used. So, you say, “It all went sideways” instead of, “I made a mess of this”. This magazine’s previous issue included a short piece on this theme entitled Raise your hand if you messed up.

Avoiding responsibility is not in line with our values

At Chemigate, being in close contact with customers is the norm. By the way, this is the theme of the issue you are currently reading. More attention was paid to communication with the coronavirus pandemic hindering physical contact. So, we grabbed our phones and called. Our secret ingredient in dealings with the forest industry is to create an understanding that we are all in the same boat. It’s not the first time I’ve used this soapbox to shout, “tear down that wall”.

The ‘Berlin Walls’ between companies are being torn down. Our partnership with IFF is based on close cooperation between the companies. It is also a good example of how networking can be more about actions than hype. With us, it has led to investments of several million euros at an unprecedented pace. The old and hopefully expiring way of doing things is that the parties supposedly share a common goal while, in reality, they focus on mutual distrust and secrecy. Such a Soviet-era approach is frustrating and as inefficient as the production line in a Lada factory. The secret to the success of the Lavender (IFF) project was agreeing on the roles and responsibilities. That way, each party knew what to do and what not. What was important for us at Chemigate was the message from IFF that they will not build a further processing line for glucan but that it is the responsibility of Chemigate.

Expanding our business to include the production of native potato starch brought Chemigate about 350 farmers as partners. Building cooperation in a constellation where the contract farmers are both suppliers and owners of the raw material requires close cooperation. Our common goal is a profitable chain. Where can we find areas for improvement that will benefit everyone in the chain? What are the roles and responsibilities of each party in a changing business environment? These kinds of issues have been discussed at numerous meetings. One thing has been neglected – arguably throughout Europe. The hope of a better future through the green transition has not been properly conveyed to the primary producers. This is not my first time spreading the good word.

Tom Schauman Editor-in-Chief and CEO of the Chemigate Group

Editorial staff: Tuire Luomala, Maisa Kantola, Tom Schauman

Editorial contributors: Jenga, Martin Ekman and Annaleena Stenman.

Layout: Jenga Markkinointiviestintä Oy

Paper: Multiart silk

Feedback: marketing@chemigate.fi

You receive The Bridge magazine because your name is in Chemigate’s stakeholder register. If you do not, for some reason, wish to receive any post from us, please inform us of the matter by sending an e-mail to marketing@chemigate.fi. You can also order the magazine or provide us with feedback via the same e-mail address.