Toni, who studied engineering in Oulu, is the Managing Director of a family business called Planray, which manufactures industrial electric heating systems and has a strong position in the domestic market. The company’s head office is located in Kajaani, as are its product development and production facilities. It manufactures all its devices in Kajaani.
Toni’s work involves a great deal of travelling both in Finland and abroad. The company’s export trade has taken him all over the world, from Toronto to Seoul and Rio de Janeiro. The job requires a lot of negotiation, relationship management and entertaining customers. Fortunately, Kajaani is a place where it’s easy to breathe and relax. Having had the opportunity to see the world, Toni finds it easier these days to see the value Kajaani offers.
“The more I travel around the world, the more I appreciate my home town. When you arrive in Kajaani, you realise that it’s a city surrounded by nature, with the wilds of Lapland starting right here – it’s just amazing.”
Time for children every day
A normal weekday for Toni and his family starts early. His youngest goes to a day-care centre downstairs in the same building they live in, and his firstborn attends school nearby. He walks, runs or cycles to work along the scenic riverside.
“I love seeing the river in the morning and experiencing it throughout the seasons. On the way to work, I also get the opportunity to admire the hustle and bustle of the city when the morning rush starts at 7:55 and ends at 8:05.”
On workdays, Toni often has lunch with friends in the city centre, which is a ten-minute bike ride away.
Balancing work and family life is easy and natural in Kajaani. While his children are still young, Toni doesn’t work long hours and spends his free time enjoying hobbies with his children. Toni acts as the teacher’s aid in the Scouts and children’s judo, which means that he gets to spend time with his children during their hobbies.
In Kajaani, you have plenty of time for sports and hobbies because you can easily fit everything in.
“Everything is within easy reach here and it’s easy to incorporate sports and wellness into your everyday life. When I take the kids out to play in the woods, I get a hike at the same time and can grab some resinous twigs along the way to make the sauna smell good.”
A healthy rhythm of life
The most important reasons for Toni to stay in Kajaani are its safety and comfortable living. Kajaani is a good place to raise children: class sizes are smaller, all the services you need are close by and there’s a healthy approach to life.
The same is true in working life. Kajaani is an ideal place for a company: people here have their feet on the ground, employment relationships are long, and you can build your team and company with confidence. You can find employees, for example, through the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences – many students have found a job through traineeship posts and by writing their thesis on a specific company.
Toni is also active in the entrepreneurial community in Kajaani. He is on the Board of the local Yrittäjät service organisation for entrepreneurs and takes part in organising the Big Friday event. The city’s entrepreneurial community is active and open-minded – there are a lot of people from different backgrounds.
It’s easy to establish other relationships in Kajaani too: for example, when you know the experts at your bank, it makes communication much easier and more enjoyable. Toni has noticed that the same goes when you are a customer of a local business.
“There’s a great atmosphere here, and the benefits of a small community are obvious.”
Kajaani is a city that is both compact in size and offers great facilities and opportunities to enjoy life.
“The riverfront has been made really nice. I especially like the scenery of the river running through the centre,” Toni comments, also mentioning the smart riverside park, the new quayside terraces and the small islands with a campfire site in front of the hotel.
Toni PiirainenKajaani has a diverse range of businesses, top-level training in the gaming industry at the University of Applied Sciences and a great holiday resort in Vuokatti nearby.
