TORNADO GOING DOWN A STORM IN FINLAND

Finland isn’t known for tornadoes but Tornado is now known in Finland!

It’s all thanks to a husband and wife duo who are making their mark on the world of fencing in this fascinating corner of Scandinavia. Based in Jokioinen, a 90-minute drive north from the capital Helsinki, Markus and Maisa Paakkalinen are drawing on the reputation of Tornado to improve standards.

Maisa, 50, explained: “We have been doing fencing for four years. Our company, M&M Paakkalinen, was set up in 2009 as a carpentry business. My husband has been a carpenter for all of his working life whilst I am a stable manager and nature and environment advisor. We both have a background of working in the countryside and we always had horses, beef cattle and many other animals. Now we have small stable at home and couple of home bred horses.”

“Back in 2021 someone we knew said that they have a real need here in Finland for companies that can build good fences. As a result, we decided to start building fences!”

“Markus is very good at finding out information and, if he doesn’t find it, he will figure it out himself. We got plenty of tips from YouTube videos and then decided to contact Tornado Wire. Tornado’s James Benham provided us with a lot of help and assistance, and Markus has been over to the UK three times in order to take part in a practising day, visit Tornado’s factory and take a look at fencing machinery.”

“It proved to be a fantastic education and Markus learnt a lot of new skills. He has applied what he learnt to our fencing contracting business on jobs across the Jokioinen area and beyond. We also now sell high-quality Tornado high-tensile sheep netting as well as Olli and Patura branded fencing accessories to other fencing professionals in Finland.”

“The best things about fencing in Finland is that we work in some beautiful places with dramatic scenery and we can generally work to our own schedule. We are mainly involved with the renovation of rural biotopes in southern Finland and the archipelago where we also build fences. Building there can sometimes be challenging because of ferry connections and very rocky fencelines. For some islands you have to order ferry transport and when you are ready and then call them when finished.”

“For bigger projects, we have few friends and relatives who we can call upon to work with us. We don’t yet have any fencing trade organisations in Finland, just a few companies who build fences with variable results! We simply want to build the best fences possible and we would both like to thank Tornado for all of their help,” added Maisa.

www.mmpaakkalinen.com
Instagram: @mmpaakkalinen