Juuri Partners invests in geotechnical specialist Taratest Oy to support the company in its next growth phase

Juuri Partners acquires a minority stake in Taratest Oy, a family-owned business specializing in geotechnical services and environmental surveys for the construction sector. Driven by the size and complexity of construction projects, the importance of geotechnical engineering has grown significantly in the past decade. Taratest has vast experience in Finnish large scale infrastructure projects and seeks to utilize this know-how also elsewhere in the Nordics in the coming years.

Originating from the Tampere area, Taratest is a second-generation family business offering a wide range of expert services in various phases of building and infrastructure construction projects. Services Taratest offers include geotechnical drilling and explorations, rock and soil testing, geodesign, and environmental measurement services. Entrepreneur Tero Mäkinen will continue as the largest shareholder and the CEO of the company.

Increasing use of underground space in urban planning

Since in most urban areas the best locations have already been built on, increasing amount of construction takes place in challenging locations and further space is sought from below the ground. This has increased the importance of surveys and measurements related to soil and construction environment. The market has grown radically in the past 3-5 years, driven by larger and more complex construction projects. Today, geotechnical surveys utilize advanced methods of measuring, sampling and imaging and require modern machinery and equipment. Customers need more detailed surveys and measurements, demonstrating the increased importance of these services and driving higher standards and requirements for service providers.

– Underground construction is a growing trend in urban planning: land available for new construction is scarce, cities want to decrease the number of cars in downtown areas, and tunnels play a key role in solving traffic bottlenecks. We want to ensure safety and security of structures in all situations – especially when it comes to traffic infrastructure or storage of nuclear waste, CEO Tero Mäkinen describes.

– Due to these market opportunities, selling Taratest was not considered at this point. The model focused on supporting growth offered by Juuri Partners felt like the right solution for the next growth phase of the company.

Surveys and measurements for construction industry are seen as a very fast-growing business area by Juuri Partners:

– It is very exciting to invest in a fast-growing niche within the construction sector. Taratest offers modern, innovative and cost-effective solutions that enable sustainable construction, and we are very impressed by the growth the company has achieved through ambition and consistent development. We are delighted to join forces with Taratest and bring in our own expertise to support the future growth of Taratest, not only in the domestic market but also in other Nordic countries, Markus Einiö, partner of Juuri Partners, says.

Strong growth driven by geographical expansion

During the last fiscal year ending in October 2021, Taratest employed 110 employees and made 13.7 million euros in net sales. The company grew by over 25% annually over the past five years, mainly driven by the expansion to the Capital region. The purpose of the change in ownership is to support further growth in Finland, while growth opportunities in other Nordic countries are also being examined.

– Our recent growth shows that we have a concept that works very well: up-to-date machinery, modern ways of working and employees with top expertise are the cornerstones which we want to build our future growth on. We are looking to improve our position especially in Southern Finland, Mäkinen says.

– We have been involved in large national traffic infrastructure construction and done significant projects for residential, commercial and industrial construction. Based on this experience from the Finnish market we see great potential in other Nordics, where similar large scale infrastructure investments are being planned and built.

Additional information:
Markus Einiö, Partner, Juuri Partners, +358 50 594 6363, markus.einio@juuripartners.fi
Tero Mäkinen, CEO, +358 40 562 8693, tero.makinen@taratest.fi

Taratest Oy
Established in 1993, Taratest Oy is an engineering company specialized in geotechnical services and environmental surveys. Taratest’s net sales were 13.7 million euros and the company employed 110 people during the last fiscal year ending in October 2021. Company premises are located in Pirkkala, Vantaa and Turku. www.taratest.fi

Juuri Partners Oy
The 12-person team of Juuri Partners manages over EUR 200 million through Juuri Fund I Ky and Juuri Fund II Ky private equity investment funds. The funds offer equity and debt financing for established and profitable small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland. Juuri Partners offers growth-oriented companies a novel concept of financing and business development that combines active ownership, business support and debt financing. The investor base of the funds consists of both Finnish and international institutional investors. www.juuripartners.com