Thoughts from the CEO: Cross Wrap is making a strong start for 2023

In many ways, we are living in time of surprises and uncertainty; unpredictability seems to be a new norm. My first year as the CEO of Cross Wrap has been full of surprises and unexpected events due to the turmoil in the market and the international field.  

During the year we made tough choices. For example, we made the decision to withdraw from all activities in the Russian market. This decision had a significant effect on our annual result, but still I am confident we made the correct decision. On the other hand, we have put a lot of new effort to other markets to build trust and awareness of our capabilities. Despite the difficulties, we continued to invest in digitalization, new services, and product development. 

Even though our annual result in 2022 is far from targeted, we managed to make all time high record in the value of orders. The total value of new orders in 2022 was about 40% higher than ever in Cross Wrap’s history. We also increased our services business revenue by more than 35% in 2022 compared to 2021. 

This achievement makes me humble and thankful. I want to thank all our customers and partners about trusting us and having constructive dialogue through the past year. With a strong order book and continuously growing service business, we are in a solid position to support our customers and develop our offering constantly. 

Megatrends we are following in 2023 

To be ready for future developments and surprises it is important to stay up to date on the megatrends that are shaping the future of our industries. I have listed here three trends that we are following closely. 

Circular economy, sustainability, and digital technologies are the megatrends shaping the future of our industries

1. The rise of circular economy:

Nature’s carrying capacity is being eroded as we live in the midst of an ecological sustainability crisis. This shift towards a circular economy is being driven by concerns about all waste and the impact it has on the environment, as well as a growing awareness of the economic benefits of resource efficiency.
The main questions to us are: how we could utilize our technology know-how and engineering skills even better to make material circulation and processes more efficient? What could we do more in the value chain to ensure our customers’ success? What kind of ecosystems should we be part of? 

2. The increasing importance of sustainability:

Consumers, businesses, and governments are all becoming more aware of the impact that our consumption has on the environment, and they are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and minimize their impact on the planet. As a result, there is a growing demand for products and technologies that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.
The main questions to us are: How could we make our solutions use less electricity? How could we lower the carbon footprint of our processes and products? How could we ensure that the life cycle of products and services is as sustainable as possible? 

3. The growth of digital technologies:

From sophisticated sensors and monitoring systems that help optimize resources, to advanced analytics and modeling tools that help organizations better understand and predict performance, digital technologies are helping companies to become more efficient, agile, and competitive. The main questions to us are: How we could utilize gathered data for our customers’ success? How could add value with new digital tools to our customers’ processes? 

As a technology and service provider, we are investing in our development to be in a pulse with all these mega trends. It is crucial for us to stay at the forefront of these trends and to develop solutions that help our customers meet their challenges and opportunities. It is important that we openly share our ideas and have constant dialogue how to make things better. 

How do you see your company’s role with future trends? What are your main questions to be solved? 

Looking forward to 2023

I am sure there are amazing opportunities and innovations to be born, when we figure out together how to make the world more sustainable and a better place, step by step. 

Looking forward to meeting with you and discussing more about these topics. I wish you all successful and peaceful year 2023! 

At your service,

Jukka