Entrepreneur story: Tony Ahlqvist, Asennustyö M Ahlqvist

Asennustyö M Ahlqvist Oy, a Southwest Finland-based company specializing in the maintenance and repair of heavy commercial vehicles and trailers in particular, became part of Raskone, a Relais Group company, in May 2024. Tony Ahlqvist has been the company’s managing director since 2019, and he has been part of the family business his father founded in 1994 practically since childhood. He continued in his role after the acquisition and now also leads the development of the trailer business at both Raskone and Ahlqvist.

The acquisition was driven by the founder’s wish to step back from day-to-day operations, and the family weighed its options between a generational handover and an outside owner. Joining Raskone stirred mixed feelings, as the company had long been built up by the family very independently. Getting to know Raskone and its operations more closely, however, reinforced the sense that a new home as part of Relais Group and Raskone was a natural next step in the company’s development and would provide solid backing for growth. It was important to Tony that he, and his colleagues in particular, could carry on freely in their own roles and that the change would be built gradually and together.

Over the past two years, daily life at Asennustyö M Ahlqvist has changed significantly on the administrative side, as support functions now come through the group and time is freed up for developing the business and customer relationships. The scale has changed on the customer side as well: as large transport companies consolidate, Ahlqvist can now support its customers across a Nordic-wide network rather than from just one or two locations. Close cooperation with the Swedish and Norwegian sister companies has brought Ahlqvist new customers and at the same time supports the growth of Raskone’s entire trailer business.

Tony’s own role has become more focused and more strategic, while also bringing plenty of new things with it. In his own words, it took a moment to grasp just how much freedom the new owner truly gives, but his confidence in the group’s clear guidelines is strong. The structures of a listed group have brought clarity and a shared framework to the work, which suits Tony’s own way of leading. Sparring with colleagues at Raskone and its sister companies has always been of the utmost importance, and now sparring with colleagues at the Nordic sister companies as well has broadened perspectives even further and gives the courage to take on more ambitious goals than before.

“Why do things on your own when you can do them with a great group of people? You get to be part of something bigger, bring your own contribution, and see how it plays out in a larger environment,” Tony sums up.