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The Journey to DA-Group

In 2010, Maija Julin was celebrating Mother’s Day over lunch with relatives at Forssa Tietotalo when the conversation took an unexpected turn. One acquaintance mentioned a local technology company, DA-Group, developing cutting-edge technology reaching all the way to space applications. The company immediately caught Julin’s interest.

“It sounded progressive,” Julin recalls.

At the time, Julin was still working in Espoo for a large publicly listed company but dreamed of moving closer to her roots in the Forssa region. She decided to learn more about DA-Group and quite literally knocked on their door.

“That’s how it started—as an office secretary,” she says with a smile.

When Julin joined DA-Group in spring 2011, the company employed just over 30 people. Today, that number has grown by one hundred.

“Back then, operations were clearly engineer-driven and very solution-focused. Today, we can speak of comprehensive high-tech solutions. The offering is much more diverse,” Julin explains.

Her own role within the company also evolved quickly. Initially hired for administrative tasks, Julin soon found herself involved in marketing and sales as well.

“It changed within just a few months,” she says. Within a couple of years, she had advanced to Sales and Marketing Manager.

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High-Tech Projects

Over the course of her career, Julin was involved in many memorable projects, but she highlights two in particular: organizing DA-Group’s summer events for actors in the defense and aviation industries, and the underwater warfare exhibition held in 2021. Instead of being hosted at Forum Marinum as usual, the exhibition was exceptionally held at DA-Group’s own premises in Forssa.

“It was quite a cool moment to shake hands with Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen,” Julin notes.

One of the recurring themes of Julin’s career has been supporting the company’s growth. She points to 2014 as a key milestone, when DA-Group acquired Nelcomp Oy and entered into a testing services agreement with Elenors. That same year, DA-Design was established as the parent company of DA-Group, strengthening the group structure and laying the foundation for expanded operations.

Julin also reflects on international trade fair experiences.

“They were always very long and demanding work weeks, but there were victories along the way as well,” she says.

One particularly memorable moment for Julin took place just before her retirement in 2022, at an event organized with NATO’s Naval Mine Warfare Centre of Excellence. DA-Group gave a presentation at the event, which was attended by senior naval officers from NATO countries.

“It felt amazing because the event opened up direct opportunities and contacts for us. All the decision-makers present at once—there’s no better communication than that,” Julin says, smiling.

The journey also included challenges. Julin identifies the cyclical nature of the industry as one of the biggest difficulties.

“Projects are often very long-term, sometimes spanning several years. This makes them financially significant, but billing milestones are few and far between. The company has to carry major financial risks,” she explains.

Another significant challenge, according to Julin, is the bureaucracy of the industry, which often causes delays in projects.

Despite this, Julin emphasizes the importance of the work community.

“The people have been absolutely fantastic. I’ve really enjoyed working here, and along the way I’ve also made close friends,” she says.
“We’ve also had incredibly fun staff parties. One of them was a trip to Tallinn—it was a lot of fun, though there was some drama as well. Luckily, everyone made it through.”

“Sami [Kotiniemi, founding member and CEO of DA-Group] has always emphasized that celebrations are not the place to cut corners—we want to provide the setting for joyful time together.”

Julin speaks highly of DA-Group as an employer.

“DA is an excellent employer—fair and offering benefits as comprehensively as possible.” She hopes the company will continue to prioritize employee well-being in the future.

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Growth and the Future

Julin sees DA-Group’s future as bright.

“Thirty years of growth behind us—I’d say the foundations for continued growth and development are very much in place,” she states.

She also reflects on the opportunities opened up by artificial intelligence, both for technology companies and their customers, particularly from the perspective of DA-Group’s strong core expertise.

“Leadership is critical in identifying these opportunities,” she says.

Julin’s personal motto for years has been execution matters.

“Things need to move from the desk into practice. In the engineering world, it’s often very difficult to reach a decision—to get to the point where you can say: this is good enough. You can’t wait for perfection.”

It’s progress, not perfection.

“Warm thanks for a rewarding journey together,” Julin concludes.