Framery: Creating a peaceful working environment – from a Tampere-based startup to international market leadership

Framery is the world’s leading manufacturer of soundproof office pods. Its products are designed to help people concentrate and find peace and quiet amid the distractions of modern offices. In fifteen years, the company has grown from a small start-up in Tampere to an international player with a turnover in hundreds of millions of euros.  

It all started in 2010 with a frustrating problem. Samu Hällfors and Vesa-Matti Marjamäki, who worked for a hundred-person IT company in Tampere, had to listen every day to their manager talking continuously on the phone in the middle of an open-plan office. The noise made it almost impossible to concentrate and caused constant frustration. When they finally brought up the issue, their manager said, half-jokingly, ‘Well, buy me a phone booth.’

”The situation was so frustrating for us that we decided to look for a solution right away. When we couldn’t find a ready-made solution on the market, we decided to make one ourselves – and that’s how it all started,” recalls Framery’s CEO Samu Hällfors.

Thorough development work as the basis for global success

The first few years were spent on continuous product development. In the early stages, there was no extra money for growth, so everything was done very carefully. This forced Framery to focus on the essentials: ensuring that the product itself worked as well as possible. The first versions did not yet solve the sound insulation problem effectively enough, but with each version they learned more. Sound insulation, ventilation, and user comfort were at the heart of the development, and these gradually became Framery’s competitive advantages.

Once the technical solutions started to work, demand grew. Alongside the first successful model, Framery O, designed for individual users, larger models were soon developed for teams and small meetings. Framery’s range became a product family that met the needs of many different work communities. The success of the products quickly showed that this was not a minor problem: noise in open-plan offices was disrupting work everywhere, and Framery had the solution. As a result, the products began to be sold abroad at an early stage and were soon found in offices around the world.

A partner to support rapid growth

In less than a decade, the small company had grown into a successful international player with a turnover of around €40 million. Framery had become a trendsetter in its field, and its products were spreading to more and more offices and countries. At the same time, the size and pace of the company’s growth brought with it new challenges. Rapid growth required new expertise and additional resources, which is why Framery began looking for a partner for its new growth phase.

In 2018, private equity investor Vaaka Partners, became the majority owner of Framery. From Vaaka Partners’ perspective, Framery was a very attractive investment case:

”Framery met all the criteria we were looking for in an investment case: the company was already strong in its segment, it had a proven track record of international success, and there was huge growth potential in the market,” says Ville Koskenvuo from Vaaka Partners.

Framery, on the other hand, had recognised the need to find a partner to help it transition to the next phase of growth. In Vaaka Partners, they saw a partner who understood the market and could bring experience and insights to the rapid growth phase.

Making courageous decisions to accelerate growth

Cooperation with Vaaka Partners has been clear and frequent from the beginning. Already before the deal was finalized, there were thorough discussions about strategy and how the cooperation would work in practice. Immediately after the investment, industrial advisors joined the board and, together with Vaaka, supported the company’s next growth phase. At the same time, the development of knowledge management gained momentum. A clear division of roles was agreed upon for the cooperation: Vaaka and the board are strongly involved in strategy, but operational decision-making has remained under Framery’s leadership. In addition to close board work, the collaboration takes place in weekly discussions, where Vaaka coaches the management and brings different perspectives to decision-making. This model has proven to be effective – both parties know their roles and the collaboration is continuous.

Vaaka Partners’ support has enabled Framery to do many things that would otherwise have remained undone.

“In the early stages, we grew on the terms of our cash flow and had to be very careful in everything we did. With Vaaka on board, we have been able to make courageous decisions to accelerate growth and invest in things that we would not otherwise have been able to do. A lot would have been left undone without Vaaka’s expertise and support,” says Hällfors.

Since Vaaka came on board, Framery’s growth has continued to be strong. Since 2018, revenue has grown from around €40 million to around €160 million, and the number of employees has grown from 170 to around 450. With the right partner, Framery has been able to take its growth to a whole new level.

Towards the future with a smarter and more responsible product portfolio

Alongside its rapid growth, Framery has renewed its entire product portfolio. The new models are lighter and smarter than before: Workplace Technology brings new digital features that adapt to users’ needs and support offices in changing ways of working. The products consume significantly less material than the previous product family, and their structures are designed to be 100% recyclable.

Responsibility has been a core value for Framery from the very beginning, and it is reflected in all of its operations. Since 2019, the company has published an annual responsibility report and committed to international sustainable development goals. The new product portfolio is a good example of this: it combines design, acoustics, and technology with responsible material solutions that make the products both user-friendly and environmentally sustainable.

Frustration with the noise of open-plan offices sparked a journey that has resulted in Framery becoming the world’s leading manufacturer of soundproof office pods over the past 15 years. The company’s products can already be found in tens of thousands of offices around the world, helping millions of people every day to focus on their work and do it better. From the very beginning, Framery’s core mission has been to transform working life and create environments where people can truly thrive and succeed. This mission will continue to guide the company in the future: by developing smarter and more responsible solutions, Framery wants to continue to promote peace and focus at work – and build better working environments around the world.

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This article is part of the Finnish Venture Capital Association’s and PwC’s Building Growth Competition 2025 blog series, where we present the stories of the competition finalists. You can find more information about the competition on our website. The final will be held at FVCA’s main event of the year, the Finnish PE-VC Summit, on October 9, 2025.