Biohit: A Global, Family–Owned Company Embarking on a New Phase

Abstract

This case concerns Biohit, a family–owned biotechnology company established in Finland in 1988, selling liquid handling and diagnostics products in the global market. The case also describes the entrepreneurial career of Biohit's CEO Osmo Suovaniemi, since the company is mainly based on the know–how that Osmo gained as owner–manager of his two earlier companies, Labsystems and Eflab, during the 1970s and 1980s. Hence, this case describes the prior and initial phases of Biohit, examining also its commitment to innovation and its management practices. The case ends with the situation as of March 2010 and includes the reflections of Biohit's managers on the future of the company. At this point, Osmo was intending to hand over his executive position to someone from outside the family, on the grounds that none of his three sons was able or willing to take up the position. However, he planned to continue as owner, inventor, and full–time board member of Biohit. The managers of Biohit had high hopes of making a breakthrough with diagnostics products that had been under intensive development over a long period.