Over the past year, the EPSE laboratory team has undergone some major changes. This spring, laboratory manager Dr. Mikko Rautiainen and laboratory assistant Tanja Pikkarainen joined the team consisting of Veera Linna, Anette Anttonen, and Khawer Shafqat.
From academia to leading a laboratory team at an SME
Rautiainen holds a PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of Jyväskylä and has spent the last two decades working as a researcher in inorganic chemistry at various universities in Finland and abroad. According to him, his choice of career has been primarily driven by his interest in work and the tasks. In his research, Rautiainen has had the opportunity to work on a wide range of topics, from air-sensitive synthesis to structural chemistry and computational chemistry. Now, managing EPSE’s water analysis laboratory is a whole new world to immerse himself in.
“I applied to EPSE because the company seemed like a fast-paced and forward-looking SME in the important field of water purification, which is crucial for the environment and the use of limited resources.” The job is not a direct continuation of his previous experience, but he is able to put the knowledge he has gained in his previous career into practice, and Rautiainen brings a much-needed scientific approach and expertise to the EPSE laboratory. “The first few months have involved a lot of learning and familiarizing myself with mining terminology, but with the help of EPSE’s excellent team, we have overcome all the challenges and achieved good results. Everything looks promising for the future,” he sums up.
Varied work tasks and the opportunity to do good as motivating factors
Another new addition is Tanja Pikkarainen, who is originally from the north of Finland and has since worked in western Finland, among other places. She started as a laboratory technician in February. She has extensive and impressive experience in laboratory work, mainly in industry, including paper, steel, enzyme, and copper factories. She applied to EPSE primarily because of its values, as the opportunity to “do good” appeals to her. The job offered interesting, varied, and international work with good opportunities to influence one’s own work, and the location in Pirkanmaa was also very appealing to Pikkarainen. According to Pikkarainen, her expectations have been met, even though she has only been with EPSE for a short time. “Learning new things, developing [oneself] and overcoming challenges is all up to you,” Pikkarainen sums up.
The experience of EPSE Lab veterans and a look to the future
Laboratory technician Veera Linna and laboratory engineer Anette Anttonen, who both have a little more experience at the EPSE laboratory, will continue in the EPSE laboratory team. Linna could be called the backbone of the laboratory, as she has been with EPSE for a long time and is familiar not only with customer cases and operating methods, but also with the equipment and instruments and their history. Linna has two decades of experience in laboratory work, so she describes herself as a “senior lab worker.” Linna’s background experience includes metal analysis, water chemistry, and microbiology. EPSE’s laboratory develops recipes for customers, and metal analyses are performed on clear overflow water using ICP-OES. These results are compared with the initial analyses. Linna has worked with ICP for a long time and does a lot of method development and validation for new elements that were not previously included in the analysis portfolio. Linna also takes care of EPSE’s gas and other supply orders. As the person in the lab with the longest experience in EPSE technology, Linna is often the one who guides others in creating recipes. The laboratory plays a key role in EPSE’s technology, and Linna describes the Ylöjärvi laboratory as a nerve center: “All method-related expertise and testing is currently carried out here.” In the future, expertise will also be transferred to other locations, opening up opportunities for the laboratory team to gain international experience.
Anttonen, on the other hand, completed her first internship as part of her laboratory technology degree program at EPSE, where she was involved in all stages of the laboratory work. Anttonen has always been a hard worker, and despite her young age, she already has a lot of work experience in her field. During her second internship, Anttonen worked as a laboratory technician in a commercial laboratory, where she was solely responsible for all industrial process quality control analyses, from sample collection to reporting results to customers and laboratory maintenance. She has also been able to spread her wings in research-related tasks: during previous internship, Anttonen developed a new analysis method for the company’s water laboratory, and at EPSE, she conducted extensive research on the comparison of precipitation methods for her bachelor thesis. Anttonen felt that EPSE’s field, work culture, and values were a good fit for her, and she returned to EPSE at the end of 2024. She graduated as a laboratory engineer in May 2025. “The work at the EPSE lab is varied and practical, and we work in a rotating team. Everyone participates in maintaining the laboratory, all stages of work, and development,” Anttonen describes the laboratory work at EPSE. “The EPSE laboratory is constantly developing in different areas, and our team is motivated to develop operating methods and find the best solutions for high-quality and efficient testing. The development work is based on customer needs and the growing expertise of the entire team,” Anttonen says, adding: “In the future, the opening of new laboratories will enable us to focus even more deeply on challenging sample matrices and R&D work.”
“The EPSE laboratory is constantly developing in different areas, and our team is motivated to develop operating methods and find the best solutions for high-quality and efficient testing. The development work is based on customer needs and the growing expertise of the entire team.”
Khawer Shafqat, who is originally from Pakistan and has studied and lived in Finland for many years, now works mainly in the laboratory on various research, development, and customer projects. He has a background in environmental engineering and research experience in catalytic wastewater treatment. Shafqat finds his work at EPSE rewarding. “It has given me the opportunity to focus on real wastewater treatment cases and apply my knowledge in practice. The problem-solving approach through the laboratory’s POC (Proof of Concept) work is particularly motivating and matches my interests,” he explains. “I see potential in increasing and expanding the EPSE laboratory’s research and development activities. I believe that we can contribute to developing and improving EPSE’s product range to meet the growing needs of customers,” Shafqat sums up. Shafqat lived in Pakistan for a while but returned to Finland to support the laboratory during a period of staff turnover. He welcomed a new addition to his family at the beginning of the year and is enjoying life in Finland so far.
EPSE Laboratory as a nerve center
Working at the EPSE laboratory is teamwork, and efficient communication is key to the smooth progress of projects. The laboratory strives to implement work rotations in areas such as ICP analysis and solubility testing. In addition to their basic tasks, the team members are assigned various other tasks, such as R&D projects, planning and guidance for field laboratory analyses, and conducting laboratory demonstrations for visitors. With the Joint Venture in Africa, new local laboratory will be established, and the training of these and other new laboratory staff in EPSE processing will begin at the head office laboratory in Ylöjärvi. If necessary, staff from Finland will also travel to local laboratories to continue the induction program. In the long term, the EPSE team will focus more on solving difficult cases, R&D research, and the development of field analytics. EPSE Laboratories will provide support to laboratories in other countries, pilot and field personnel, and sales teams. The work is therefore varied and offers many opportunities to expand all basic analytical skills.
This article was written by
Anni Honkonen
EHSQ Manager
anni.honkonen(a)epse.fi
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