Vaisala Services

Vaisala Services business area became operational at the beginning of 2008. All of the service centers and functions within Vaisala were combined into a single unit, which consists of two business unit segments: Product Services and Observation Services. Geographically, Vaisala Services is divided into three regions: Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Americas, and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Each region is responsible for the operation and development of the help desk, field services, depot repair, and data service functions. At year-end, Vaisala Services employed over 200 professionals, located in 12 different offices. As services are an important growth area for Vaisala, the focus for 2008 was to create a flexible global structure that allows us to offer  comprehensive services to all our customers.  

Year 2008
During its first operational year the net sales of Vaisala Services totaled 27.5 (33.0) million euros, representing a year-on-year decrease of 16.8 percent. Net sales would have been down by 11.0 percent if exchange rates had remained unchanged. Operating profit for the financial year was -0.2 (5.7) million euros.

Competition in both observation services and product services tightened during the year. Additionally, the global development initiatives undertaken to improve efficiency and enable growth have increased the level of fixed costs. These, together with the weakening of exchange rates, had a negative impact on the net sales and profitability of the Services business. Over 70% of the net sales of Vaisala Services are in US dollars or British pounds.

The total value of orders received was 25.3 million euros and the order book stood at 12.9 million euros at the end of the financial year.