DESK’s (Peaknet Ltd’s) operations began in October 2014. However, the company’s roots go back to mid-1990s, when mobile phones became common in both business and home use. The vast experience of DESK’s key personnel in the mobile phone business and corporate technology has formed a solid foundation for the company as a supplier of AV solutions.
Setele Ltd, which specialized in the sales of mobile phones in the 1990s, offered its customers the most advanced technology of its time. In 1993, Lars Furuholm, the current Chairman of DESK, became a shareholder and Director of Corporate Sales in Setele. In addition to mobile phones, Setele sold telephone subscriptions, and the company was known as the largest retailer of Sonera, now Telia, in Finland. In a transaction made in August 1998, Setele was sold to Radiolinja Ltd and its subsidiary Mäkitorppa Ltd. At this point Furuholm also sold his stake in Setele together with other private shareholders.
After a non-compete term, Furuholm’s ambition in the mobile phone market remained fierce. As a result, a team of former Setele shareholders got together in Seinäjoki, and they founded Wextra Ltd.
Wextra’s operations grew very quickly, and they opened offices in Helsinki, Tampere and Valkeakoski in addition to Seinäjoki. The product range initially consisted of mobile phones and subscriptions, but soon the company expanded to other business technologies as well. As one of the most important services, the company offered security technology solutions for office premises. Offering access control, voice alarm and video surveillance systems, Wextra’s security technology unit soon became an important element in the company.
Wextra found many significant customers in the retail sector. The typical customer needed technology to facilitate day-to-day processes and secure business premises. Through security technology, Wextra became quite familiar with technical solutions. As technology took fast leaps in the 2010s, new types of solutions rapidly emerged. In the past, screens and monitors had been part of a security system, but now they were applied to completely new purposes, such as visitor information and advertising.
Information displays were also utilized for resident communication in housing companies. As a major pilot project, in the greenfield residential area of Suurpelto, Espoo, Wextra installed information displays in fifty stairwells.
In 2013, BLC-Turva Ltd became interested in Wextra’s security technology unit, and they acquired the business a year later. Following the acquisition, Wextra’s operations consisted primarily of sales of mobile phones and telecom services. The owners, however, anticipated that the mobile phone business’s future looked weak and competition in the market had become very intense. Phone operators were at an advantage as their operations expanded into mobile phone sales directly to end customers – passing the retailers.
As a result, Lars Furuholm, Petri Eriksson and Elmo Väisänen decided to set up the current DESK (Peaknet Ltd). The new company acquired the Helsinki and Tampere businesses from Wextra. The share capital was raised for the new company, which was used to build DESK. As a sign of continuous change, DESK now offers functional work environments as a service – in addition to versatile technology, solutions that improve design, furnishings and the smoothness of work.
Quality service has always been the principle of DESK. Even today, they serve the same customers who purchased their mobile phones from Setele in the mid-1990s. Professional screens have replaced the Wextra-era overhead projectors, but the main idea remains the same: when the technology works, you won’t pay attention to it.
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DESK Peaknet Oy
Hiomotie 19 (Pitsku Tower)
00380 Helsinki
Hiomotie 19 (Pitsku Tower)
00380 Helsinki
Business ID 2609945-9
E-Invoices: FI2056800020349060
Operator: OKOYFIHH
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