{"id":87,"date":"2023-01-30T13:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/?page_id=87"},"modified":"2026-03-25T21:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:03:52","slug":"ceos-greetings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/annual-report\/ceos-greetings\/","title":{"rendered":"CEO&#8217;S GREETINGS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:75px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1693\" src=\"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/Joakim-Westerlund-scaled-e1773928766278.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2277\" style=\"width:842px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/Joakim-Westerlund-scaled-e1773928766278.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/Joakim-Westerlund-scaled-e1773928766278-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/Joakim-Westerlund-scaled-e1773928766278-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/Joakim-Westerlund-scaled-e1773928766278-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/Joakim-Westerlund-scaled-e1773928766278-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/Joakim-Westerlund-scaled-e1773928766278-2048x1354.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joakim Westerlund,<br>CEO, FORCIT Group<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CONTINUING ON OUR CHOSEN PATH <\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>A year-end review with Joakim Westerlund, CEO, FORCIT Group<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The past year has once again underscored the importance of stability and security in a world of constant change. While global uncertainty&nbsp;remains&nbsp;a factor,&nbsp;FORCIT&nbsp;Group has&nbsp;remained&nbsp;steadfast on its path of&nbsp;development&nbsp;and investment, guided by a clear purpose. We are not just navigating the present; we are actively building for the future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Our strategy has proven to be resilient and relevant. The decisions and investments we are making today are a testament to our unwavering belief in our mission and our crucial role in society. We are moving forward with confidence, strengthening our capabilities to meet the demands of tomorrow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SUPPORTING&nbsp;SAFETY&nbsp;AND SECURITY<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The geopolitical landscape has made our purpose&nbsp;clearer&nbsp;than ever. A stronger, more self-reliant Europe is essential, and&nbsp;FORCIT&nbsp;is at the heart of building this strategic autonomy. From enhancing&nbsp;defence&nbsp;capabilities to&nbsp;developing infrastructure and&nbsp;securing the supply of critical raw materials through our vital partnership with the mining industry, our contributions are fundamental to the security and resilience of the Nordics and Europe as a whole.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Finland has become a security provider within NATO, our role as a developer of advanced&nbsp;defence&nbsp;systems has been&nbsp;further&nbsp;highlighted. We take this responsibility seriously, and our on-going investments and recruitment&nbsp;efforts&nbsp;are a direct reflection of our commitment to fulfilling this vital role.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>INVESTING IN CAPACITY AND FUTURE GROWTH<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Words are important, but actions speak louder. Over the past three years,&nbsp;FORCIT&nbsp;has invested approximately \u20ac100 million in technology and increased capacity. Looking ahead, we have announced further&nbsp;planned&nbsp;investments of more than \u20ac300 million for the coming years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This proactive approach ensures that we can meet the surge in demand. We have moved decisively to build the capacity that our customers and society&nbsp;require.&nbsp;While&nbsp;recent investments have&nbsp;largely been&nbsp;driven by the need for capacity,&nbsp;we have also&nbsp;invested significantly in&nbsp;upgrading&nbsp;older production lines to ensure we&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;our&nbsp;high standards&nbsp;of quality,&nbsp;safety&nbsp;and&nbsp;security of supply.&nbsp;These investments, focused on both our&nbsp;defence and&nbsp;civil&nbsp;explosives businesses, are primarily&nbsp;located&nbsp;in Finland but will serve our global customer base,&nbsp;generating&nbsp;significant export revenue and contributing to national prosperity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>STRENGTHENING OUR CORE THROUGH PEOPLE AND INNOVATION<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our growth is not just about numbers;&nbsp;it&#8217;s&nbsp;about people. In the past year, we have welcomed approximately 100 new employees to the&nbsp;FORCIT&nbsp;family. This rapid growth has been a driving force for development, creating new opportunities for our employees and bringing diverse new perspectives into our organisation. We are committed to fostering the next generation of experts through comprehensive internal training and clear career paths.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, we continue to innovate and invest in product development.&nbsp;&nbsp;Investments in product development have been steadily accelerating in line with our set targets, with FORCIT\u2019s customer-centric approach always emphasising safety and quality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY AS CORNERSTONES<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As we grow, our fundamental principles&nbsp;remain&nbsp;unchanged. Safety is, and always will be, our top priority. It is the bedrock of our culture and a non-negotiable aspect of everything we do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our commitment to sustainability&nbsp;also&nbsp;remains&nbsp;strong. We are proud of our comprehensive sustainability reporting, which we have proactively developed ahead of regulatory requirements. We are continuously working to improve the environmental performance of our operations and are investing in the development of more sustainable raw materials,&nbsp;demonstrating&nbsp;our dedication to responsible growth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>BUILDING A PROSPEROUS FUTURE TOGETHER<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking ahead, we are confident that the demand for our&nbsp;expertise&nbsp;will continue to grow. Our course is set, and we will continue to build on our&nbsp;strong foundation, pursuing sustainable growth and embracing new opportunities with&nbsp;great&nbsp;determination.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our dedicated employees, whose&nbsp;expertise&nbsp;and commitment are the driving force behind our success. I am also grateful to our customers, partners, and owners for their continued trust and collaboration. Together, we are not just building a stronger company; we are contributing to a safer, more secure, and more prosperous future for all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CONTINUING ON OUR CHOSEN PATH A year-end review with Joakim Westerlund, CEO, FORCIT Group The past year has once again underscored the importance of stability and security in a world of constant change. While global uncertainty&nbsp;remains&nbsp;a factor,&nbsp;FORCIT&nbsp;Group has&nbsp;remained&nbsp;steadfast on its path of&nbsp;development&nbsp;and investment, guided by a clear purpose. We are not just navigating the present; [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/annual-report\/ceos-greetings\/\">Read More&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> from CEO&#8217;S GREETINGS<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1773,"parent":85,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2415,"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87\/revisions\/2415"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/annualreport.forcitgroup.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}