Interview with Peter Kooke and Stefan Stigborg about Onninen Hockey 2023

Wöhner and the Finnish company Onninen are long-standing cooperation partners in the Nordic countries. Onninen primarily supplies wholesalers and installers and offers a comprehensive range of electrotechnical solutions as well as products for the electrical and energy sectors. In this interview, Stefan Stigborg, Account Manager at Wöhner CV, and Peter Kooke, Managing Director at Wöhner CV, explain the partners' strategy for the Nordic market – and what it all has to do with ice hockey.


What is the history of Wöhner and Onninen, how long has the cooperation been existing?

Stefan Stigborg: The first contact was made in 2015/2016 – at a trade fair in Finland. Representatives from Onninen and Wöhner met here and quickly realised that a collaboration between the two companies could offer an attractive potential for both, and that is exactly what happened in the last years.


What is the importance of the Nordic countries for Wöhner? How does the Nordic market differ from the German market?

Peter Kooke: The Nordic market is very important for Wöhner – our company is planning strong growth here in the near future. The Nordic countries, including Iceland, already account for more than one third of Wöhner CV's total turnover. Especially in Finland, Sweden and Norway we still see great opportunities for potential growth. Wöhner's management will also be represented in Tampere at the Onninen event – another sign that our company overall is extremely committed to the Nordic countries. Onninen is also and above all an important junction and distribution point for Scandinavia.

The differences between the Scandinavian markets and the German market are mainly in technical concepts and components. This also and above all concerns the energy supply regarding the grids and house connections. Accordingly, in some applications it also demands some different products than for example in Germany.

Stefan Stigborg: In addition, business here is often based on personal relationships – people know and appreciate each other, usually even for a long time. Typical for the North is that people are reserved and a bit "cool" at first, but once you have warmed up to each other, they are very loyal. In business, this means that you have to convince your customers – if you succeed, there is a chance of a secure business relationship. 


Question: Which products are the most important on the Finnish market?

Peter Kooke: The entire Wöhner portfolio is also available in the Nordic countries, but our 185Power range is here particularly demanded. In fact, huge investments in the energy supply networks are currently being made in the Nordic countries in which components out of the range are very much needed. 
At the event, Wöhner will be represented with a selected range of Wöhner products because the available space at the booth is quite limited. Wöhner has installed all exhibited solutions compactly in a floorstanding cabinet, which provides a good overview of the range of our products.


What other activities does Wöhner focus on in the Nordic countries?

Stefan Stigborg: Almost at the same time and before the Onninen event, Elfack will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, which is also a very important trade fair and which we will also visit. We do not have a booth there this time, but we will use the opportunity to find out more about new trends and meet our customers.


The organiser of the event in Finland, Onninen, is also a sponsor of the Ice Hockey World Championships, which take place at the same time. Are you an ice hockey fan yourself?

Peter Kooke: In Scandinavia, ice hockey is the national sport number 1 and that is by far not the case in my country Holland where football is king. The fact that Onninen is a sponsor here in the context of the World Championships makes the importance of the company as a major player in the market obvious.

Stefan Stigborg: Of course, we are also ice hockey fans. For me, Sweden is the favourite – the match against Germany will certainly be very exciting. The same applies to the match between Finland and Germany – that will also be a big game. In this respect, trade fair and sports stand side by side as promising and great events. It is a well-chosen combination by Onninen of business and pleasure and success will be guaranteed as nobody probably will forget this event!