The winning team of the school innovation competition visited Kiilto for a medal celebration

The Sääksjärvi school team visited Kiilto’s Lempäälä location on Monday to celebrate their victory in international industrial innovation contest Tuleviku Loojad / Tulevaisuuden Tekijät. The six-month competition brought together secondary school students from Estonia and Finland to solve industrial challenges identified by partner companies.

The Sääksjärvi Upper Secondary School team consisted of 14-15 year olds Jonne Andelin, Adam Bazhyna, Viljo Seppänen and Mico Kangasniemi. They were mentored by Malla Järvinen from Kiilto’s RDI. The team won the competition with their environmentally friendly ECOGRIP multi-purpose glue. It is made entirely from bio-based raw materials, the production process uses solar and wind energy and its packaging is made from recycled materials. Safety has also been taken into account, as the adhesive’s properties make it suitable for people of all ages.

At the medal celebration held in honour of the competition victory, Kiilto Family Group’s managing director Arto Raivio gave a congratulatory speech, thanking the school team for their creativity and courage to tackle innovation challenges.

“It’s great that Kiilto was able to be part of this innovation that solves the problems of today and the future. Go boldly out into the world, we will be hearing of you again,” Raivio said in his speech.

“Science knowledge is the key to great solutions and inventions,” he emphasised. 

The team found the attention their innovation received exciting.

“The best part was getting to test the glue in the Kiilto lab and participating in the whole competition,” said the team members.

Kiilto congratulated the winning team on their achievement by giving them a one-year subscription to Tiede (Science) magazine to continue their interest in research.