Relocation of operations

The old Oy Gust. Ranin mill in the port of Kuopio was used by Mr. Ranin, the family business founder, for the family business operations. The building was also utilized by Lignell &

Piispanen as a factory for producing alcoholic beverages (Hämäläinen 2014). The building was a prominent cultural artifact representing the company's history and served as one of the sym-bols of the city of Kuopio (Malinen 2012). The photo of the old mill is presented as the illus-tration 4 (see appendix 2 for case illusillus-trations).

Mr. Nylund, the current managing director of the family business, after long and hard thinking, made a bold move and decided to relocate the factory and bring all the company's operations under one roof, while at the same time expanding the production capacity in the new place to meet global customer demand. That was done in order to realize Mr. Nylund's vision of Lignell

& Piispanen as an international business, propelling the initial vision of the international family business, set up Mr. Ranin, forward in the 21st century. The construction process was underway

in 2012 in Siikaranta area of Kuopio. In the autumn 2013, Lignell & Piispanen opened the new facility of 6 037 square meters in Siikaranta, Kuopio (Malinen 2012; Yle Uutiset 2012; Nurmi 2013a, 19; Lignell & Piispanen 2014a, 67). The new facility represents one of the most consid-erable investments of the family business in its history (Nylund, interview). The previous pro-duction facility, located in the old mill situated in the port of Kuopio, was sold to the construc-tion company YIT, which started the process of demoliconstruc-tion of the mill in 2014, in order to build in its place an apartment house (Hämäläinen 2014).

Without further analysis, the decision to sell off the old factory and relocate business operations can be seen as eroding for the continuous history of the family company and its public image, considering the fact that the demolished old mill was the company's center of operation for decades and represented a prominent cultural artifact of the family business. But at more careful examination it becomes clear that «respect for the family business history» and «the will for continuation» are still very much there, hidden at the level of underlying assumptions and sup-porting the decision-making process at the company. The already mentioned and shown to work in practice sacred values «long-term thinking», «open-mindedness» and «community ap-proach» are in full action, guiding the decision-making process at the company. Moreover, «re-spect for arctic nature» value, only mentioned before in connection to the Gustav Brand Book (Lignell & Piispanen 2014f, 9) and Mr. Ranin's timber trade (Nylund, interview), becomes clearer, shows its further real-life impact and changes its name accordingly.

From practical point of view, no building can stand forever, and giving the age of the old mill, the building could become unsafe for use. From economic point of view, the old factory no longer met the demand of the company, and the decision to stay at the same old place would seriously undermine the company's evolution. The question arises whether it was possible to build a new facility and keep the old one as well. The answer, again, comes from economic side of things - owning two factories at the same time would mean that the company would need twice the personnel and twice the resources for maintenance (Nylund, interview), which would undermine the business survival. Selling the building off was the decision that freed up the resources for the erection of new facility and enabled the company to move forward into the future, keeping true to the «long-term thinking» sacred value. Indeed, Mr. Nylund states that the new site is both significant and long-term investment. «Going global requires production facilities that can keep up with demand. The new facilities will allow us to grow both now and in the future. In building this factory, we are also building the long-term future of Lignell &

Piispanen» (Lignell & Piispanen 2013e, 27). In numbers, the new factory increased the alcohol

production capacity to 5 million liters per year in comparison to 2 million liters per year that the old one was capable of (Lignell & Piispanen 2014a, 67). With this in mind, the Lignell &

Piispanen's production director, Mr. Aki Railanmaa (referred to as Mr. Railanmaa further in the thesis), agrees with Mr. Nylund, stating that the company is «prepared for growth due to inter-national demand» (Nurmi 2013a, 19). All the operations of Lignell & Piispanen now take place under one roof: factory, office, abundant storage facility and conference spaces are all in the same building. According to Mr. Railanmaa, it will provide the company with competitive edge.

In the past, while the factory was located in its historical place, the office and warehousing were spread across four different locations. Nowadays there is no need for excessive travel and ad-ditional financial and time expenses associated with it (Nurmi 2013a, 19). Such an approach allows Mr. Nylund to ensure the long-term sustainability of the family business, which shows that «long-term thinking» sacred value guides the decision-making process at the organization.

Having considered purely practical and economic side of things, which, as it is seen, are very much connected to the organizational culture of the company, it is time to address the historical point of view. As it turns out, the new apartment building that is set to replace the old mill retains its old valuable image, preserving the cultural artifact in the best possible form: reno-vating it, ensuring its safety and, most importantly, usefulness for the people of Kuopio (YIT 2014). «Respect for the family business history» and «the will for continuation» prove to be the underlying assumptions of Mr. Nylund, supporting him even in the times of stressful decision-making. Indeed, knowing that Mr. Ranin instilled «open-mindedness» value to the company from the start, and taking into account that he wanted both the family business and the city of Kuopio to grow and prosper (Nylund, interview), following his «long-term thinking» and

«community approach» values instilled in the company, it is very easy to imagine that Mr.

Ranin himself would approve the decision to relocate the facility in order to ensure the compa-ny's future and give an opportunity for the people of the region to settle down in the historical place. The project for the new apartment building is depicted as the illustration 5 (see appendix 2 for case illustrations).

The new facility of Lignell & Piispanen is still very much connected to the company's history, propels its image further and represents a new prominent cultural artifact of the family business.

It is time to recall that one of the values of the company mentioned in connection to the Gustav Brand Book and Mr. Ranin's timber trade is «respect for arctic nature» (Lignell & Piispanen 2014f, 9; Nylund, interview). The new facility and office are located not far away from the

center of the Kuopio, in a scenic place on the shore of the Lake Kallavesi, with forest surround-ing the area (Nurmi 2013a, 19). This alone represents the company's connection to the nature.

The new facility and the nature surrounding it is depicted as the illustration 6 (see appendix 2 for case illustrations).

Indeed, Mr. Nylund believes that the «location is ideal for us as we're situated right in the middle of the very thing that is most important to us: Finnish nature» (Nurmi 2013a, 19). In fact, Mr. Nylund names the nature as one of the main reasons for deciding to stay in Kuopio and not opening a facility in metropolitan area.

«We were thinking about opening new premises somewhere else ... then we decided to stay here, in Kuopio. I am sure it was right decision ... Here we have great nature: lake, forest ... fresh air» (Nylund, interview).

Since the family business relies heavily on arctic berries, growing in the area, for manufacturing of its products, new location presents an opportunity to be closer to the source. Indeed, «nature and the berry-filled Finnish forests ... are so much a part of Lignell & Piispanen» (Lignell &

Piispanen 2013e, 27). Mr. Nylund says that now «we can pick samples from our very own land»

(Nurmi 2013a, 19). The berries used by the company for production of its products certainly mean a lot for Lignell & Piispanen, affecting its organizational culture, as will be shown further in the case study. As for now, the author believes that it's time to give the «textbook» value

«respect for arctic nature» a more fitting name, specifically naming it as «connection to local nature» and identifying it as a sacred value of the family business. Decision is based on a few things. First, changing «arctic» to «local» gives the value a proper implication, making it clearer. Second, the word «connection», replacing the word «respect», implies that the family business not only feels something towards local nature, but actively interacts with it since es-tablishment: Mr. Ranin sold timber from local forests in order to get the business going, while Mr. Nylund still uses local berries in order to produce distinct beverages. Moreover, the con-nection is not one-sided and thus cannot be replaced by the word «exploitation». Thinking about the future and once again acting out on the «long-term thinking» sacred value, Mr. Nylund states that the company wants to «ensure that nature's arctic treasures are around for years to come» (Nylund 2013b, 5). With the «connection to local nature» sacred value guiding him, the Lignell & Piispanen's current managing director implemented the solution in order to reduce stress on the natural environment. «Our new factory is more eco-friendly than ever before, providing improved opportunities for environmentally-friendly operations. Our experience,

passed down from generation to generation, has taught us just how important it is to respect valuable raw materials and the environment that nurtures them» (Nylund 2013b, 5).

Foreign clients from abroad visiting the company for negotiations leave impressed, feeling that they experienced something unique. Offices and conference facilities provide beautiful views over the lake and surrounding forest (Nurmi 2013a, 19).

«Our Chinese partners ... could not believe their eyes when they saw the place ... [in their mind]

a factory cannot be possibly located in the middle of the forest. They were expecting to see an industrial area .. [and] were pleasantly surprised» (Nylund, interview).

Indeed, the «connection to local nature» sacred value manifests itself in various positive ways.

To provide a summary, the relocation of the Lignell & Piispanen's operations and corresponding decisions, that led the company to the event, illustrate real-life connection of the company to its sacred values, namely «open-mindedness», «community approach», «long-term thinking»

and «connection to local nature». Careful consideration for the cultural image of the old mill as a cultural artifact, manifested in the new apartment's house design, not only represents sacred values «open-mindedness» and «community approach», but also shows «respect for the family business history» running through the organizational veins, existing on the level of underlying assumptions. «The will for continuation», as an underlying assumption, also supported the de-cision to relocate, as was shown in the subcase. The new apartment building, designed to re-semble the old mill, once erected in its place, will represent a new prominent cultural artifact of the family business, showing everyone that the company cares about preserving its roots.

The event, indeed, further strengthens the image of Lignell & Piispanen as a company con-nected to its history. But most importantly, the bold decision provides Mr. Nylund with the opportunity to execute his international vision, which falls in line with «long-term thinking»

and «open-mindedness» sacred values set up by Mr. Ranin, whose international vision for the family business lives up to this day and, having proved its worth through history, has potential to guide the family company to further growth and prosperity. The decision to locate the new Lignell & Piispanen's facility by the lake and near the forest, filled with arctic berries, was guided by the «connection to local nature» sacred value and propels the image of Lignell &

Piispanen as a company connected to nature. This new family business facility represents a new prominent cultural artifact of the company, showing everyone what it is that the family business stands for. But what other prominent cultural artifacts support the family business culture?