Portable auxiliary power unit Voimakontti

Oulu Energy’s modern and innovative power distribution container Voimakontti was designed to meet the auxiliary power needs of large events and festivals and to secure the electricity supply of industrial operators during maintenance shutdowns or construction projects. Voimakontti makes power distribution easy and efficient even in challenging applications and conditions.

The container, that represents new design technologies, is protected by an integrated Salgrom fire extinguishing system designed and delivered by Salgrom Technologies Inc. Voimakontti’s automated fire prevention takes its fire safety to a whole new level, enabling more efficient transport and operation of the equipment. The reliable fire protection also provides additional safety to the operating environments where Voimakontti is used.

Fire extinguishing system to increase safety

Juha Niemelä, Client Relations Manager at Oulu Energy, explains that the idea of Voimakontti was conceived when the company’s contracting unit required an easily transportable and quickly deployable auxiliary power engine-generator. Voimakontti is primarily used for securing the power supply of Oulu Energy’s clients’ factories during maintenance shutdowns. However, sometimes auxiliary power is required on a short notice when problems occur in a client’s power distribution. Oulu Energy decided to secure Voimakontti with Salgrom’s automated fire extinguishing system to minimize its clients’ risks. This was necessary as Voimakontti is often used in the vicinity of the clients’ properties, and the container’s fuel tank is relatively large.

“Oulu Energy has nothing but positive experiences on Salgrom products and Salgrom’s implementation services. The solution was quickly designed and installed, and we were positively surprised by the ease and effortlessness of using the equipment,” says Niemelä.

System platforms

Conlog Group is Finland’s leading developer, designer, manufacturer and modifier of special defence and security products. The company, that enjoys an international reputation, provides extensive life cycle services for its products. Conlog Group constitutes of Conlog Oy and Oy Morehouse Ltd and employs approximately 70 professionals. Its operation complies with the quality standards of Bureau Veritas Certification.

Conlog has a long experience and extensive expertise in the body construction and equipping of vehicles for both defence and civilian purposes. The company’s design is based on the clients’ needs, and as a flexible operator, it is capable of realising even the most detailed modifications desired by its clients.

In addition, Conlog ensures that its solutions meet all requirements set by the authorities’ orders.

Extensive use of automated fire extinguishing systems

“For years, Conlog has used Salgrom’s fire extinguishing systems in more than a hundred container-based system platforms that have been delivered to the Finnish Defence Forces. We have used Salgrom’s products to protect either entire system containers or individual pieces of power equipment within the containers,” says Petri Kaarre, CEO at Conlog Oy.

“Salgrom’s systems and their installations involve inspections that comply with the authorities’ orders and come with standard-compliant documentation. Conlog has been satisfied with Salgrom’s services, reliability and high quality.”

IT and power rooms

Kalajoki is a Finnish city located south of Oulu at the mouth of the River Kalajoki in Northern Ostrobothnia. It is Finland’s most versatile maritime holiday destination whose beach area is famous for its sandbanks and offers unique opportunities for both recreational activities and business events. The sea and the sandy beach have made Kalajoki one of Finland’s most popular summer destinations.

The City of Kalajoki has invested in the fire safety of its important public properties by protecting vulnerable IT and power rooms with Salgrom’s modern and competitively priced fire extinguishing systems. Salgrom implemented the systems for the IT and power rooms of the Kalajoki City Hall and Merenoja Comprehensive School whose construction was recently completed.

Automated fire extinguishing to prevent large damages

“When we’re talking about the telecommunications of all of the city’s authorities or a school building for nearly 1,000 students, efficient fire extinguishing plays a major role in risk management”, says Marko Raiman, Technical Director for the City of Kalajoki. According to Raiman, the Salgrom system’s competitive price and accurate, precise operating method convinced the authorities.

A fire broken out in a power or server room might be easily overlooked at first as the facilities do not normally require constant attention. In that case, precise automatic extinguishing can prevent a large damage. Raiman recalls the fire at Himanka water treatment facility a few years ago. The facility burned to the ground as a result of a fire that started in the power room. In that case, too, the fire should have been extinguished immediately. Electrical fires spread so fast that it is already too late when they are noticed by human eyes.

Raiman says that trusting Salgrom with the delivery of the fire extinguishing systems was an easy choice. Salgrom systems are exceptionally straightforward to install as they do not require separate space for the extinguishing agents, for example. Raiman praises the flawless collaboration with Salgrom. The systems were delivered and installed exactly within the agreed schedules.

“Having the systems installed was effortless. Everything happened as agreed and on time. With confidence, I can recommend other operators to trust Salgrom to protect their crucial yet vulnerable sites.”

Protecting production from fire

Ekovilla Oy is a Finnish company that has operated in the construction sector for over 40 years. It is not only a reliable partner and an industry leader but also a pioneer of carbon neutral insulation technologies. Ekovilla is part of the EcoUp circular economy group that provides ecological products and services for operators and partners in the construction sector. The cornerstones of EcoUp solutions are carbon neutrality, reuse of materials and energy efficiency.

Ekovilla’s two factories in Kuusankoski produce blown wool and insulation slabs from clean, natural materials, salvage paper and cardboard. The insulation slab factory, that was established in 2009, is protected by a Salgrom fire protection system.

A whole new level of fire protection

A destructive fire broke out at the factory in 2011, after which Ekovilla’s management decided to take the factory’s fire protection to a whole new level. Now the factory’s oven and power room are protected by Salgrom’s systems.

“The automatic Salgrom fire detection and actuation system was an easy choice. In comparison to a sprinkler system, it is very straightforward. Instead of having to install hundreds of metres of sprinkler piping and innovating safe ways to sprinkle water inside the oven, the extinguishing cartridges were mounted on the oven walls using Salgrom’s ingenious feed through solution” explains Jyrki Nieminen, Maintenance Engineer at Ekovilla.

In the autumn of 2020, the extinguishing system was put to test when a dust fire broke out in the oven’s cooling system. Thanks to the quick response of the Salgrom system, the resulting damage was minimal. The system functioned exactly the way it was supposed to. When the special heat sensor placed into the oven unit detected too high a temperature, two aerosol extinguishing units actuated, quickly knocking down the fire.

Salgrom remains Ekovilla’s choice in the future. Ekovilla is currently planning to renew the extinguishing and actuation centre that has operated since 2011, and negotiations with Salgrom are underway. “There’s no need to consider alternative systems or suppliers,” says Nieminen.

Data room fire protection

Raumaster Ltd is a Rauma-based industrial company established in 1984. It manufactures and delivers high-performance material processing systems for the timber industry as well as energy and power production facilities. The company employs approximately 300 professionals and its revenue exceeds 150 million euros.

Raumaster’s domestic wood refining and energy industry technologies are the top of their fields. As a renowned supplier of advanced material processing systems and equipment, Raumaster is known for its engagement in long-lasting client relationships. The company is currently considered the sector’s global leader that works tirelessly to ensure the extremely high reliability and quality of its products and maintenance services as well as their compliance with the most demanding standards.

Automated fire protection for data facilities

“At Raumaster, we have paid particular attention to the retention of data and backups as a fire-caused interruption to data room operation could lead to extensive operational disturbances and, naturally, remarkable economic losses”, explains Juha Laine, Project Engineer at Raumaster.

“As conventional fire extinguishing systems’ space requirements had not been taken into account when designing the data facilities, the space available for installations was very scarce. The problem was solved by Salgrom Technologies’ modular and scalable technology. In addition, we wanted a system with low life cycle expenses. Salgrom met this requirement as well,” Laine continues.

“The maintenance and life cycle costs of the Salgrom system are very low because the equipment is essentially maintenance-free. In addition, the system is extremely reliable and long-lasting. Overall, Salgrom delivered the system swiftly and with expertise, and no effort was required on our part,” Laine sums up.

The Rock server room in Pori

Fire protection is rule number one in the provision of server services. As a fire in the server room can cause priceless damage, having a functional fire extinguishing system is a basic requirement. However, the type of the system is not insignificant.

A server room’s infrastructure choices say a lot about the service provider’s capability to secure the continuity of its clients’ business. Based on the choices, the client can assess whether only minimum requirements are met or is the service protected in addition to people and property. A competent server room provider should be able to prepare for every situation. Even though the fire extinguishing system is only a single piece of the complex server room infrastructure, all of the server room’s systems and the compatibility of all technologies must be taken into account when designing the server room’s fire protection.

Ficolo was established in 2011, and in 2020, it had become one of Finland’s largest server room providers. The company operates four server rooms in Finland and employs approximately 40 people. The server room and cloud services market has become increasingly versatile. To name a few, the field’s services include public and private clouds, core and edge data centres as well as various hybrid solutions. There are multiple ways to manage telecommunications links, data security and physical data centre security.

Salgrom as an integral part of the critical operating environment

Several years of collaboration have established Salgrom Technologies as one of Ficolo’s most important technological partners. Salgrom’s sensitive fire detection and extinguishing systems are an integral part of Ficolo’s critical production environment. The functional collaboration involves the maintenance services of the delivered solutions as well as the related expert services.

Ficolo is a challenger in the market dominated by large international operators. According to the company’s CEO and founder, Seppo Ihalainen, customer-orientation, speed of service, flexibility and technologically advanced solutions provide an edge in competition. Ficolo not only strives to maintain these factors but also expects them from its partners. As Ihalainen puts it, “in this regard, Salgrom is a textbook example of a partner.”