Test Lab Tampere Stands Out as a Smart City Pioneer – Joint Pavilion at Barcelona Expo

Pirkanmaa region gains global recognition as a smart city developer. Tampere is internationally seen as a credible smart city development hub, says Moovy CEO. According to Eero Ojanen from Lehtovuori, Tammerfors has name recognition. Business Tampere, together with the City of Tampere, is coordinating a joint presence at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona, bringing together local companies to showcase innovations from the region.

“Tampere is in a league of its own”, smart mobility CEO praises the city as a living test lab.

“There just aren’t many smart cities on the level of Tampere. It’s a relevant place to operate – a true test lab,” says Janne Saari, CEO of Moovy, a company offering smart parking and mobility services.

Saari, who lives in Helsinki and took on the role last winter, doesn’t mince words:

“Here in Tampere, planning and execution go hand in hand – the conversations are far more advanced. Helsinki? Not a smart city!”

It’s easy to cheer for the hand that feeds you: Moovy spun off from Finnpark into its own limited company last year. Founded in 1970, Finnpark is fully owned by the City of Tampere.

Still, Saari’s bold statements carry weight – and a touch of history.

In the 1970s, signal processing research at what was then the Tampere University of Technology laid the foundation for the later Nokia-driven digital boom. Today, Tampere has a well-established smart city development program and aims for carbon neutrality by 2030.

One key aspect of Moovy’s “smart” is about reducing emissions and optimizing how energy and urban space are used. According to Saari, the city is full of empty parking spots – the challenge is knowing where they are and guiding drivers to them efficiently.

“Being smart might mean parking a bit farther away and taking public transport into the city center,” Saari explains. “Or a single parking spot might serve different users or purposes at different times of day.”

Globally Recognized Tampere

Another company aiming to improve the smart use of shared public spaces – and, in turn, city dwellers’ everyday experience – is Lehtovuori, based in Ylöjärvi near Tampere. The company specializes in urban furniture such as litter bins, bus and bicycle shelters, benches, and tables.

Lehtovuori’s contribution to smart city development includes a solar-powered smart bin that optimizes waste collection and energy use.

CEO Eero Ojanen sees the company’s work as tightly connected to several key trends: digitalization, artificial intelligence, cloud services, climate action, and circular economy.

“I couldn’t work in a slow-moving or stagnant industry. What we do is shaped by multiple megatrends,” Ojanen says. That said, the company has deep roots – Lehtovuori celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.

Both Moovy and Lehtovuori will be part of the Finnish delegation at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona this November. For Ojanen, the event is a great opportunity to explore new developments, boost brand visibility, and expand networks.

Lehtovuori has a strong export focus. The company’s main international partners are in Sweden and France, and it also operates a subsidiary in Sweden.

“The Tampere region is a great environment for doing business. There’s expertise, entrepreneurship, networks, strong partnerships, and real vitality. People know Tammerfors,” Ojanen notes.

Janne Saari has served as CEO of Moovy for just over a year. He believes that internationalization doesn’t always require going abroad – as long as the location is right. Moovy, for instance, is involved in developing seamless travel chains for airports, including Helsinki-Vantaa. *Photo: Petri Kangas / Business Tamper*e

The Data Economy Runs on Collaboration

As Moovy, a smart parking company, and Lehtovuori, a manufacturer of urban furniture, demonstrate, the data economy is not the exclusive domain of IT firms. It affects businesses, cities, citizens, and entire societies.

Events like the Smart City Expo in Barcelona give companies a chance to catch the latest winds of change in the data economy.

Moovy’s CEO Janne Saari envisions a future with smoother mobility and a more efficient distribution of urban space.

“There are enough parking spots in cities, but the system isn’t smart. Mobility should be seamless. Moovy is a broad data platform, and without data, cities can’t evolve,” Saari says.

For Lehtovuori, the Expo is one step toward internationalization.

2Exports are the best currency guide. You have to knock on a lot of doors—sitting back and waiting for a customer to walk up to your booth just won’t cut it. The competition is tough; you need to be proactive,” says CEO Eero Ojanen.

Unaware of each other’s comments, both CEOs encouraged businesses taking their first steps toward international markets: joining the Tampere Pavilion is an easy and effective way to get started.

What Tampere collaboration is offering to Barcelona Smart City Expo?

Location Name and Price	City/Company (30,000 euros)	Triple Stand (22,500 euros)	Double Stand (15,000 euros)	Single Stand (7,500 euros)
Exhibition Space	Corner Spot + B-side	Triple Spot, 3 screens	Double Spot, 2 screens	Single Spot, 1 screen
Advertising	Banner placed above	–	–	–
Shared Participation	Shared presentation and lounge area	Shared presentation and lounge area	Shared presentation and lounge area	Shared presentation and lounge area
Visitor Passes	20	15	10	3
Congress Passes	3	3	2	1
Exhibitor Passes	5	2	2	1
Tampere Reception	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Luonnos Tampereen messuosastosta Barcelonassa. — he image is a preliminary sketch of the Tampere joint pavilion.

For more information about the Smart City Expo & World Congress, please contact:
Anni Joela, City of Tampere, anni.joela@tampere.fi, tel. +358 40 721 9867
Jari Ikonen, Business Tampere, jari.ikonen@businesstampere.com, tel. +358 500 456 636

The Tampere joint pavilion has a limited number of company spots available. The event takes place in November, but ensuring the success of this joint effort again this year depends on companies activating themselves and registering as early as possible.