Tech Group was awarded the title “Company of the Year 2025”, marking the triumph of Estonian engineering at the world-class level
3 November 2025
At the festive “Eesti parimad ettevõtted 2025” awards gala held on Saturday evening, the high-tech company Tech Group AS was named the winner of the year's most coveted title, “Aasta Ettevõte 2025”. This prestigious recognition highlights the company's outstanding contribution to the Estonian economy and the advancement of engineering by creating complex production lines and robotic solutions for Europe's most demanding industries – automotive, semiconductors, and photonics.
Tech Group, which operates near Tallinn, is a prime example of the structural transformation of the Estonian economy, with an increasingly decisive shift from subcontracting towards creating its own products and intellectual property. Nearly 100% of the company's output is exported, with Germany, Finland and Switzerland as its main target markets, confirming that solutions created by Estonian engineers can compete at the very highest level globally. The award is not merely recognition for a single company, but a landmark milestone for Estonia as a whole, symbolising the transition to the era of “smart manufacturing.”
The festive awards gala brought together the elite of Estonian business
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Foundation (EIS), in collaboration with the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, is the highlight of the Estonian business calendar, recognising the most innovative, responsible and successful companies. The ‘Company of the Year’ title is the overarching grand prize, awarded to a single outstanding company that has demonstrated exceptional results across several categories.
Martin Sutrop, CEO of Tech Group, expressed his gratitude upon accepting the award: “We are a company that creates smart machines, and our field is as exciting as a candy store for engineers. We are driven by a get-it-done mentality, and our customers appreciate it too. I am very grateful to everyone in our company and to our network of partners. I urge everyone to think big and find ways to get things done—not excuses for why they cannot be done.” [1]
This “get-it-done mentality” is precisely what has made Tech Group a leader in its field and earned it Estonia's highest business accolade.
What is Tech Group? Creators of smart machines near Tallinn
Tech Group is not an ordinary manufacturing company. It is an engineering firm and factory in one, specializing in the development and construction of original equipment (OEM) and automated production lines. The machines and robotic systems they create are, in turn, used to produce complex components found all around us – from cars and smartphones to medical devices.
The company's activities are divided into two main areas:
1.Machine Engineering: Unique equipment is developed and built for European technology companies and machine builders. These are tailor-made solutions designed to meet the customer's specific needs.
2.Automation and Robotics: Smart manufacturing and robotic solutions are offered to manufacturing companies. This includes the development, production and installation of intelligent machines and production lines, robot integration, and smart manufacturing processes.
The company's team of more than 100 people consists of top-level engineers and manufacturing specialists who provide comprehensive solutions from concept development and prototyping to mass production and installation at the customer's factory.
Flagship of “smart manufacturing”
According to Ursel Velve, Chairman of the Management Board of Ettevõtluse ja Innovatsiooni Sihtasutus, Tech Group perfectly embodies the concept of “smart manufacturing,” characterised by a high level of digitalisation and automation as well as world-class engineering. “Tech Group's success shows that Estonia is increasingly capable of offering the world not only subcontracting services but also its own engineering expertise and original solutions. Companies like these are the future of our economy and an inspiration to the next generation of engineers,” Velve said. [2]
Hando Sutter, CEO of Eesti Tööandjate Keskliit, added that the Company of the Year is an exceptionally innovative industrial company with strong growth potential that is setting the direction for the entire sector.
This transition is critically important for the Estonian economy. For decades, Estonia has been known as a source of high-quality subcontracting, but the focus is now shifting towards higher-value-added activities. Tech Group's success story is the best example of this change—the company does not wait for orders but creates solutions that the world's leading industrial companies need.
Export geography: Estonian engineering expertise conquers Europe
The key to Tech Group's success lies in exports. More than 95% of the company's output is sold outside Estonia, which is an impressive figure. In 2024, the company's total revenue reached 28,2 million euros, with exports accounting for as much as 26,7 million euros. This represents 33% growth compared with the previous year, achieved with almost the same number of employees—a clear sign of increased efficiency. [3]
The company's main target markets are at the heart of European industry:
•Germany: By far the largest market, accounting for nearly 20 million euros of the company's total revenue. German precision and quality standards are world-renowned, and the fact that an Estonian company is so successful there speaks for itself.
•Finland and Switzerland: Also important markets where technological expertise and reliability are highly valued.
In addition, Tech Group has exported its solutions to Sweden, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, and even the United States. However, the company's CEO, Martin Sutrop, emphasizes that the number of markets is secondary. “For us, strong and long-term relationships with specific companies are more important than the number of markets,” Sutrop explained. [3] This philosophy is understandable, given that developing and building a single complex machine or production line can take one to two years and requires close cooperation with the customer.
Looking to the future, Tech Group is focusing its export activities on the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and the Benelux countries. “These regions stand out for their ultra-precise technology and high level of mechanical engineering, which align well with Tech Group's competencies,” Sutrop noted. [3]
LEAN philosophy and efficiency: How to manufacture intelligently?
Tech Group’s impressive growth is down not only to its outstanding engineers, but also to its well-thought-out and efficient production organisation. Two years ago, in September 2023, the company moved into a new production facility with a floor area of 7500 square metres near the airport. This move provided the opportunity to implement a complete overhaul of production processes and to adopt the LEAN manufacturing philosophy.
LEAN is not merely a methodology, but a mindset focused on creating value and minimizing waste. At Tech Group, it has been systematically implemented at every stage of production. The results have been impressive:
•Production efficiency has increased by 20%.
•The number of errors has decreased significantly.
Weekly audits ensure that LEAN principles do not remain merely theoretical, but are also put into practice in day-to-day work. “The team has adapted well to the changes, which has also built trust amongst our clients,” said Sutrop. [3] This has enabled the company to manage 50–100 projects at different stages of development simultaneously, which is an exceptional achievement given the complexity of the production process.
Contribution to Society: Inspiring Future Engineers
Tech Group’s activities are not limited solely to economic objectives. The jury specifically highlighted the company’s contribution to Estonian society more broadly. Tech Group is actively working to promote engineering disciplines amongst young people and to introduce them to the appeal of modern industry.
This is a critically important activity because Estonia, like many other developed countries, faces a shortage of engineers and technical specialists. By showing young people that engineering is no longer something done in dusty factories, but an exciting and creative activity carried out in modern and smart production environments, Tech Group helps ensure that Estonia will continue to have enough talent in the future to create world-class technology.
Summary: A New Direction for the Estonian Economy
The selection of Tech Group as “Company of the Year 2025” is much more than simply recognition of one company. It is a sign of the maturity and new direction of the Estonian economy. It is a story of how a bold vision, top-level engineering expertise, and smart production management can take an Estonian company to the absolute global pinnacle of its field.
Tech Group's success story is an inspiration to all Estonian entrepreneurs and engineers. It shows that Estonia can create more than mere subcontracting – original, world-class solutions that transform industry and create value globally can be developed here. This is “smart manufacturing” at its best, and it is the future of the Estonian economy.
A highly competitive contest and other outstanding finalists
The title of ‘Company of the Year’ carries particular weight, given the fierce competition and the calibre of the other nominees. Tech Group was nominated for the title of ‘Exporter of the Year 2025’, but the final round saw representatives of the very best of Estonian business from a wide range of sectors competing against one another. This shows that the winner had to demonstrate outstanding results on several fronts – not only in exports, but also in innovation, sustainability and contribution to society.
Other nominees included, for example:
•Pactum AI, „Aasta Innovaator“, kes arendab tehisintellektil põhinevat platvormi suurte ettevõtete hankelepingute automatiseeritud läbirääkimisteks.
•Tiksoja Puidugrupp, “Industrial Digitaliser of the Year”, which serves as an example for the modernisation of the wood industry.
•Foxway, ‘Foreign Investor of the Year’, which is committed to promoting the circular economy in the electronics sector.
•LTH-Baas, “Most Competitive Industrial Company,” which is known for its high-quality metal structures.
This diverse list of finalists reflects the dynamism and broad innovation capacity of the Estonian economy. Winning in such a competitive field confirms Tech Group's position not only in its narrow niche but at the very top of Estonian business.
The future of the Estonian economy: From a “smart” subcontractor to an independent creator
Tech Group's success story is part of a broader narrative describing the development and future prospects of the Estonian economy. For a long time, Estonia's economic growth was driven by a model based on foreign investment and subcontracting. This model has been successful, helping Estonia integrate into global value chains and raise living standards. However, this model has its limitations—with subcontracting, a large share of the added value and intellectual property remains with the customer.
To create a sustainable, high-wage economy, it is necessary to move up the value chain. This means transitioning to the creation of proprietary products, services and technologies. That is exactly what Tech Group is doing. They are not merely the “hands” that assemble machines designed by someone else, but the “brains” that create new and better solutions themselves.
This transition to “smart manufacturing” (Industry 4.0) is at the heart of Estonia's economic strategy. It involves the widespread digitalisation and automation of manufacturing processes and the use of data analytics. The goal is to create flexible, efficient, high-quality manufacturing systems that can adapt quickly to market changes.
Tech Group is bringing this vision to life. Their factory is not merely a place where metal is turned into machines, but a smart ecosystem where engineers, software developers and manufacturing specialists work together to create the manufacturing technologies of the future. Their success shows that Estonia has the potential to be not only an “e-state” but also an “i-state” – an industrial state where innovation and engineering are the main drivers of economic growth.
The “Company of the Year 2025” title therefore recognises not only Tech Group's achievements, but also Estonia's efforts as a whole to become a world-class technology creator. It is an encouragement to all those who believe in the capabilities of Estonian engineers and dare to think big. Tech Group has proven that Estonia can – and does – achieve great things.
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