May Day is Christmas for the Espoo Entrepreneurs of the Year

Ilmapallokeskus Balloon Center Oy is a family business established in 1991 that has built a balloon and celebration culture in Finland for more than three decades. Balloon Center has seven Juhlamaailma stores of its own plus a web shop.

The company has been a resounding success year after year since its establishment, considering the circumstances. Balloon Center was able to overcome the depression of the 1990s right after its establishment, the 2008 financial crisis in the decade that followed and, most recently, Covid-19, although its industry was one that was hit especially strongly by problems that undermined the finances of numerous enterprises. The company’s strong cash position has helped it overcome the difficulties.

Turnover in the most recently ended financial period rose to more than 12 million euros, growth of as much as 35 per cent from the preceding year. Covid-19 was a partial reason for the increase in sales revenue in a couple of previous years. The result for the financial period stood at 725,000 euros and operating profit at 7.8 per cent. The company employs more than 70 professionals, who are ready to help organise both private parties and the visibility of corporate events.

May Day and the festive period in spring are the most important season for Balloon Center. “We make approximately 40 per cent of turnover for the whole financial period in the spring. However, preparations for spring this year began immediately after May Day last year. Indeed, May Day is present at our company all year round”, Director Jonna Nieminen describes the persistence of the company’s operation.

Balloon Center is a responsible operator and ensures the high quality level of both products sold and services provided. The company is a member of the European Balloon & Party Council, which aims to secure product safety and unified procedures in the industry, and to cooperate with the authorities in matters relating to the sector.

“Balloon Center intends to grow in the future as well. We think about new business models all the time, while being conscious of the risks. The company’s goal is to be the most desirable partner in the Nordic countries in the field of parties and event visibility”, Managing Director Petri Nieminen states.

The Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Jonna and Petri Nieminen at the Espoo Business Forum on 18 April 2023 by Espoo’s Mayor Jukka Mäkelä and Erkki Pärssinen, Managing Director of the Federation of Espoo Enterprises. The Entrepreneur of the Year is elected annually by entrepreneur colleagues on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Espoo Enterprises.

Further information:

Ilmapallokeskus Balloon Center Oy, Managing Director Petri Nieminen, tel. +358 40 5438006

Ilmapallokeskus Balloon Center Oy, Director Jonna Nieminen, tel. +358 40 7028998

Erkki Pärssinen, Managing Director of the Federation of Espoo Enterprises, tel. +358 50 4111104

Balloons have changed a lot in the course of their long history, but they have almost always been great fun for children. Children used balls filled from animal bladders as toys for centuries. Later balloons were for hundreds of years balls blown up from bladders of animals, which jesters and touring entertainers used to amuse the public at market squares.

The first rubber balloons were made by Professor Michael Faraday in 1824 for use in his experiments with hydrogen, at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. The first balloons made from rubber came up for sale the very next year, in 1825.

It took more than a hundred years before balloons were developed into mechanically manufactured, colourful and very thin products of many shapes, which were of uniform thickness at every spot, easy to blow up, affordable and safe to use.

Aluminium foil replaced rubber as the material for May Day balloons in the early 1990s. It has superior advantages as a material: it stays in the air longer and can be printed with multiple colours. Aluminium foil balloons are recyclable and can be deflated and filled up thanks to a patented automatic valve. Aluminium foil does not decompose like natural rubber.

The Federation of Espoo Enterprises is a local association of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises and serves as the local interest group for entrepreneurs. The association improves the preconditions for profitable operation of small and medium-sized businesses in Espoo and promotes the wellbeing of member entrepreneurs.

It serves as a lobbyist organisation and provides members with training and social activities. The association has more than 2,100 entrepreneur members.

The Federation of Espoo Enterprises presents the award to the Espoo Entrepreneur of the Year on an annual basis.

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Business Espoo is a service network for companies and entrepreneurs in Espoo and the surrounding municipalities, formed by seven organisations. Our goal is to increase the number of jobs and vitality in Espoo by producing customer-oriented, cost-effective and high-quality services for companies and entrepreneurs. More information: BusinessEspoo.com