Kaj Koskela, Kesla Plc's sales and customer care director and a management team member since 2025, will retire on July 1, 2026, as the Finnish machinery maker enters a pivotal period shaped by surging defense demand and an ongoing profitability turnaround.

Koskela will continue as a senior advisor focused on developing Kesla's distribution network while the company searches for his successor, the engineering group announced yesterday. CEO Pasi Nieminen will assume responsibility for the sales and customer care function in the interim. Kesla also announced that it has initiated recruitment for a new sales and customer care director. 

CEO Nieminen thanked Koskela for his one-year contribution. "I would like to extend my warm thanks to Kaj for his valuable work and contribution to Kesla. On behalf of the entire company, I wish Kaj all the best in this new phase of life and in his role as senior advisor," he added.

Second management exit in six weeks

The retirement marks the second management team departure disclosed by Kesla in less than six weeks. Jukka Sadinmäki, the company's product development manager and a management team member since 2022, left in May following the announcement of his resignation in April. Recruitment processes are underway for both positions as Kesla seeks to execute a year that management has described as critical for new product launches, operational improvements, and defense growth.

The departures leave vacancies in two functions central to the company's near-term priorities: commercial execution and product development.

Board-level continuity has provided a degree of stability during the management transition. Shareholders re-elected all existing directors at the annual general meeting in May, while Kristiina Helenius joined as the board's only new member.

Defense orders change the picture

The leadership changes come against a markedly improved order backdrop. First-quarter revenue declined 3.5% year-on-year to EUR 8 million, and the operating result remained negative at EUR 740,000, but orders received more than doubled to EUR 27.8 million. The increase was driven primarily by Kesla Defence, including a EUR 17 million order from a NATO country for Kerberos multi-purpose trailers announced in March.

Deliveries under the defense contract are scheduled to begin during summer 2026 and continue for around one year. The order helped lift Kesla's order backlog to EUR 27.5 million, almost tripled from a year earlier, while operating cash flow improved to EUR 929,000 from negative EUR 229,000 in the comparison period.

CEO Pasi Nieminen previously said the NATO order would significantly improve factory utilization and create a stronger foundation for profitability improvement.