A Year with Jussi Heinonen

Jussi Heinonen has been working with us now for a year. He first joined us on August 1st, 2023, as the Managing Director when we first established our office in Turku, Finland.

To mark this milestone, we sat down with Jussi to get his take on the journey so far. When we asked about the highlights of the past year, to which Jussi shared that he was pleased to see the incredibly positive reception UPF has received in the market.

In general, it has been very nice to see that there is indeed room on the market for a new and service-oriented Project forwarding company, with strong background in the shipping industry. Huge thanks of course go to all our customers and partners who have made our start into a positive one

The UPF Finland Oy office, located by the port in Turku, started off as a 1-man team but has since grown to a team of 3. Jussi highlights the dynamics created by their team of three colleagues from three different generations, which adds to the richness of the work environment,

“We have been able to create a well-functioning small team in our Turku office and I want to thank my colleagues @Tomas and @Simo for their fantastic efforts and support along the way.”  

In the past year, the team has carried out delivery and collection services from 27 countries on 5 different continents. Covering all modes of transport and transporting anything from a few pallets to large industrial projects. In terms of speciality, Jussi shares that they specialize in “door-to-door shipments with additional services such as customs documentation, storage, even cargo engineering”. In addition to freight forwarding, UPF Finland also offers vessel agency services in all Finnish ports.

When asked about what difficulties experienced in the past year, he replied

“A newly established company which starts ‘from scratch’ surely has no lack of challenges – but we have been able to tackle those challenges with careful planning and strong support from our partners and not least from our shareholders and esteemed staff. We are currently on track with our growth plan and can now forecast that to continue in the same direction!”

With regards to future goals and aspirations, Jussi reiterated that the company is still in its early stages and is growing and stated that the starting goals are still relevant and that maybe in a few years, when the existing goals have been achieved, new ones can be set.

As for advice for someone starting out in a similar role or industry, Jussi suggests that they consider the saying “treat others as you like yourself to be treated”. He highlighted the importance of character and how you treat others, sharing that good businesses rely heavily on good relationships amongst people. Additionally, when you are starting out somewhere new and are unsure of what you need to do, never hesitate to ask questions,

“if you’re honest and outgoing and friendly, then I think that gets you quite far. There’s no other way than to do it since you need to learn, of course. Nobody’s an expert from the get-go, but after some time and experience, then you get to grow as a professional”

If you are looking for a career in the forwarding industry and feel like you could be a good fit with us here at UPF, do not hesitate to reach out to us and be sure to check our available job opportunities on our website https://www.upf-group.dk/.