The joint port company between Umeå and Vaasa, Kvarken Ports, is taking the next step in development

After 10 years of joint ownership between the City of Vasa and Umeå Hamn AB, they now choose to move forward with Kvarken Ports and create separate legal entities.
- It is a natural step that facilitates the ongoing expansions in the port of Vasa and port of Umeå, this applies both to governance and to financial matters. The collaboration will continue through the joint brand Kvarken Ports, says Gunnar Dahlberg, chairman of the board of Kvarken Ports.

The joint port company was formed in 2014 to strengthen cooperation between the ports of Umeå and Vaasa. Above all, in recent years, there has been a strong collaboration when it comes to communication and marketing.

- We have a very good cooperation when it comes to the overall areas such as finance and marketing, at the same time we have a fairly divided business when it comes to the operational port service. Now that both ports are facing major investments and expansions, it will be easier if the company is divided and has separate finances. In Vaasa, it has also been decided to create a new port organization in connection with this, says Gunnar Dahlberg.

From the first of January 2025, the port in Umeå will be operated by Kvarken Ports Umeå, a wholly owned subsidiary of the property owner Umeå Hamn AB.

- The division is a practical organizational issue where we place greater focus on each port and its development. As before, both companies continue to drive port development and be a cooperation partner for new and existing customers who choose the port and its possibilities as a natural way to transport goods. In step with forward-looking expansion plans, we need to enable new customers and new volumes through organic growth. As we will continue to have a close collaboration between the ports of Umeå and Vaasa, we will together contribute to developing and strengthening the region, says Patrick Mattsson, who will be acting CEO of Kvarken Ports Umeå.

On the Finnish side, the company Port of Vaasa is formed, a group company wholly owned by the city of Vaasa, which in turn owns two subsidiaries; Vaasa port services and Vaasa port infrastructure. The new companies will continue that collaboration under the Kvarken Ports brand.

- I am proud to have been involved from the ground up and build up Kvarken Ports and the collaboration between Umeå and Vaasa. The fact that we are now forming two units is a natural step, it is a prerequisite for our growth and makes us even stronger, says Teijo Seppelin, CEO of Kvarken Ports.

The operations within the companies in Umeå and Vaasa continue in the same way as before with operational responsibility for the respective port and responsibility for operating permits.