Kamrock, the portfolio company of the Finnish venture capitalist Juuri Partners, crushes rock to produce concrete aggregate similar to natural sand, thus saving the environment. Amid the company’s impressive growth, the venture capitalist has helped maintain a clear focus, supported emissions reduction, and brought concreteness to ESG work.
Finland is facing a depletion of a common natural resource – sand, often carried into homes on shoes. Sand is a crucial component in the construction industry as it is one of the ingredients in concrete production. To address the depletion of natural sand, Kamrock specializes in crushing and processing rock to create a substitute material. However, this process is easier said than done.
In Finland, the bedrock is granite, a very hard rock. Conventional crushing processes often result in aggregate that is not ideal for concrete, as the particles tend to be too angular and do not pass through concrete pumps easily. Poor-quality sand in the concrete manufacturing process means more cement is required, and cement is the most carbon-intensive component of concrete. Kamrock, specializing in rock processing, possesses the necessary expertise to produce high-quality artificial sand that can reduce the need for cement in the concrete production process by 10-15%.
“It requires an understanding of crushing equipment and processes, geology, and the concrete industry itself to obtain just the right-shaped sand grain from the rock block, capable of solving the industry’s problems. Kamrock is a completely unique player that masters this entire process,” describes Tommi Asmala, Partner at Juuri Partners and Chairman of Kamrock’s board.
Depleting sand reserves not only threaten the construction industry but also the biodiversity of Finland and other Nordic countries. Remaining sand ridges and natural sand areas are sought to be preserved to maintain environmental diversity.
“In Sweden, the use of natural sand has been taxed for some time to protect biodiversity. In Finland, obtaining permits for natural sand areas has become more difficult,” says Aki Samaletdin, Investment Manager at Juuri Partners, who also serves on Kamrock’s board.
For example, in the Helsinki area, sand currently needs to be transported by trucks from Porvoo and Häme because it is limitedly available closer, and distances are constantly increasing. On the other hand, bedrock is found everywhere, so sand produced from it can be generated very close to construction sites, reducing transportation emissions by up to 80%, according to calculations commissioned by Juuri Partners.
However, rock crushing is not emission-free. Facilities performing rock crushing generate 1.5 carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per crushed ton when running on diesel. Switching to electricity reduces emissions to 0.2 carbon dioxide equivalents. Electrifying operations offers the opportunity to further reduce emissions in the industry, and Kamrock has been a pioneer in this development, with each of its 15 facilities capable of running on electricity thanks to investments.
In the midst of rapid growth, the venture capitalist has helped uphold responsibility
Kamrock’s founders, Jarkko Peräaho and Aki Hintta, recognized the opportunities offered by rock gravel while working for a company producing stone-based building materials. Juuri Partners joined the journey four years after the company’s founding, in 2020.
“There’s a great growth story behind this, with skilled entrepreneurs. We were convinced to join when we looked at mega-trends related to the industry, such as mitigating climate change, and what Kamrock’s role is in addressing them”, Asmala describes Juuri Partners’ involvement.
The venture capitalist’s contribution has helped concretize the problems identified by Peräaho and Hintta as well as accelerate positive development. The team, together with the entrepreneurs, has commissioned emission calculations related to rock gravel and process electrification from experts. According to Asmala, making the positive impacts tangible has been crucial when selling the product to customers. Juuri’s strategy also includes organizing ESG workshops to bring responsibility to the core of operations. Financial investments have also accelerated positive development, especially the transition to electricity. Juuri has helped fund the electrification of the crushing plant operating in connection with the Kittilä gold mine, for example.
However, the most significant role has been the emotional support provided by the venture capitalist. Amid the hectic life of an entrepreneur, bringing a partner on board has brought courage to pursue more ambitious goals.
“At the beginning, we had to focus on what brought in the most money, as is often the case in the early stages of a company. When the market wasn’t fully mature yet, rock gravel had a smaller share. But during Juuri Partners’ ownership, the goals have become concrete. The team has helped us see that genuine value can be created in these matters and has brought back to the forefront what we started with,” comments Jarkko Peräaho, CEO of Kamrock.
“When growing rapidly, the venture capitalist plays a role in ensuring that the red thread doesn’t disappear amid all the growth. The same sand-related problems also await in other Nordic countries, and there is no similar player there that knows how to solve them. That’s where we’re aiming next, now that we’ve succeeded in Finland,” Asmala concludes.
