Housing Fair gives Lempäälä a lift – Our location is a gem, says municipal director

Text and photos: Petri Kangas / Business Tampere

“The upcoming housing fair is a project for the entire region,” said Riina Aspila, Chair of the Lempäälä Municipal Board, as she welcomed guests to the Lempäälä Business Forum 2025. The Saikka housing fair area is located right next to Ideapark, where the municipality’s business event took place on Tuesday afternoon (4 Nov).

Municipal director Noora Pajari shares the view.

“Next year’s major undertaking for the municipality is the Housing Fair, which – especially in these times – will energise the construction sector that has been in decline. Encouraging signals have already been heard from builders, and we are looking forward to seeing Finland’s economy turn back towards growth. Lempäälä wants to be a frontrunner in this development by advancing its own projects,” Pajari says by email.

The municipal development company Lempäälän kehitys – Business Lempäälä – estimates that next year’s Housing Fair will attract around 100,000 visitors to Lempäälä.

“It offers the municipality a unique opportunity to showcase its best features and leave visitors with a memorable impression that makes them want to return for many reasons. This can bring vitality to tourism, housing and business alike,” the development company writes on its website.

The Housing Fair will take place in Saikka, Lempäälä, from 10 July to 9 August 2026. In the future, about 350 residents will live in the area.

Largest employers in Lempäälä

Entrepreneur of the Year builds data centres

As a positive example and an investing local company, Teräselementti took the stage at the event. CEO Tuomas Heikkilä had some fresh news to share:

“Last week we received a major order for data centres, but the project details cannot yet be disclosed,” Heikkilä told the audience during his speech on Tuesday.

According to him, Teräselementti – founded in 1964 in the Marjamäki industrial area next to Ideapark – sees its strategic future firmly in data centres.

Last year, Teräselementti received Lempäälä’s 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year award.

In addition to steel, glass is another key construction material in the company’s toolkit. The Housing Fair is also a familiar event for Teräselementti: in 1990, it built Finland’s first steel-framed residential building on Salhojankatu for the Tampere Housing Fair.

Other well-known projects include Sanomatalo and the railway station glazing in Helsinki, the Tammela Stadium in Tampere, and naturally, Ideapark in Lempäälä.

Light in the dark

The event, held in the pitch-black Bläk Boks multi-purpose arena, followed the theme “Light in the dark”. Participants seemed in good spirits and looking forward.

Among the hundred attendees, students from Tampere Region Vocational College Tredu stood out – about forty were present, also featured in the event programme.

Panel discussions covered wellbeing at work and youth entrepreneurship, featuring Pertti Ratilainen, Joni Jaakkola, Emilia Perkkola, Anni Roinila, Iida Jokiranta, Julius Kilpeläinen, Ronja Mäkelä and Minttu Suominen.

Also on stage were Micu Mäkitalo, Lempäälä’s 2025 Small Entrepreneur of the Year, and floorball captain Nico Salo from Classic.