"Sales Cannon's Testament" - Harri Eela retired at the turn of the month

Bringing the battery industry to South-Kymenlaakso has been Harri Eela’s dream and work for years. When the foundation stone of Finland’s first factory producing cathode-active material for lithium-ion batteries was finally laid in Kotka at the end of April, the worker could sigh with relief – mission accomplished. This is the exit interview of “Mr. Power Coast”.

Harri Eela, 64, retired from Cursor Oy at the end of May. His calendar includes a hike in the Svalbard and a long-planned trip to California with his sons – but let’s talk business for a moment. Eela is happy and proud that the Power Coast battery cluster, launched five years ago, has taken off.

“There were big expectations in the battery industry at the time and we started to look for some kind of coherent way to build the whole.” The result was the Power Coast brand, which was forged through workshops and business partnerships.

“From the beginning, we had the idea that Power Coast could be extended from the battery side to other industries.” And so it was: whether it’s data centres, the hydrogen economy or biofuels, Power Coast is the perfect umbrella brand for any forward-looking growth business in the Kotka-Hamina region.

Trust is earned every day

There have been ups and downs in the building of the battery cluster, but one thing has stayed the same – and so has everyone:

“One thing above all others is trust. We’ve had to build it, maintain it – and ultimately earn it,” sums up the Power Coast’s most fiery advocate.

In the “engine room” of success is Cursor’s eight-strong Invest in team: a tight-knit bunch of professionals who live and breathe business.

“Our team is made up of open, supportive people. Attitude is the number one thing for everyone,” says Eela.

World-class momentum

According to Eela, the Invest in team has grown into bigger and bigger shoes – thanks in large part to Google. When the search engine giant started to consider whether Finland would be a good place to invest in a data centre, Cursor jumped from the national league to the Champions League.

“We realised that if we have the right focus and enough effort, we can do well in this race.”
Google opened a data centre in the old paper mill in Summa in 2011 and has been steadily expanding its operations ever since. “We are now on our seventh expansion,” Eela points out.

Google’s arrival in Summa was once almost a state secret. “For one year, only two people at Cursor knew about it, and only a couple at the city of Hamina,” he confirms.

Developer’s toolkit

At Google – and later Power Coast – Eela got to play the dream game. The tireless workhorse built networks, sought solutions and encouraged those wavering in their faith. As a salesman, Eela knows how to put together a package that gets all stakeholders nodding in approval.

“This is development work. I have trusted that the toolbox will always find a solution in the end.”

Eela’s playbook also states that a megatrend should not be stroked in the opposite direction. The information revolution – of which artificial intelligence is the latest leading force – and the green transition are examples of megatrends that are not worth fighting.

“We need to identify emerging trends early and play to our strengths,” he says.

Fast-paced games

However, during the 15 years of Elela’s Cursor, trends and cycles have accelerated to such an extent that the Invest in unit has to pay attention.

“Whereas projects used to move slowly, now things are much more hectic. Fortunately, our team is fast-moving,” says Eela.

“And no one does this work alone, there is always someone to support you.”

Text by Sami Anteroinen
Photo by Mikko Mäkelä, FC KTP ry

Translated by AI