Rock solid professionalism

“In 1980 the State of Finland was the main body responsible for ore exploration drilling. Living in the village of Rautio belonging to Kalajoki, Teuvo Niskakangas considered improvements were needed in operational efficiency. Together with his brother-in-law, mechanical specialist Timo Rautakoski, they established a company named Kalajoen Timanttikairaus ky, which was the first Finnish private owned company to provide diamond core drilling for the purpose of ore exploration. The company employed familiar faces, nephews and neighbours alike.

Being a pioneer in the business, there was no shortage of challenges. We had to win customer confidence by working hard. The first customer that put its trust in the company was the Finnish mining industry corporation Outokumpu Oy. Slowly but surely the successfully completed tasks brought new awareness among the company’s customers.

The company stood strong even during the worst periods of the recession in the 1990s. They focused operations on neighbouring Sweden, where the KATI drilling rigs have been working hard through to this day.

Already before the turn of the millennium the company understood that consideration for the environment is an essential part of ore prospecting. In 2004 the company had its environmental system certified according to the ISO 14001 standard, the first company in the industry to be awarded such in the Nordic region. Investment into eco-friendly operations was a correct and successful decision, as the company has received many awards since.

Today KATI Oy employs over 150 people and drills in excess of 150,000 metres of rock core samples. The company’s clientele comprises mining industry organisations in addition to rock construction companies. The same principles internalised at the outset are still nurtured today: we want to be highly effective, improve our ways of working, develop our drill rigs, and perform tasks with respect for nature. And of course to gain customer trust again and again, at every site we work on.”