In European terms, Kemi-Tornio represents a unique urban junction where two regions in different countries, Finland and Sweden, operate together in close co-operation. The boundless co-operation in this geographical region has a history that reaches centuries back. The Finnish Kemi-Tornio region comprises the cities of Kemi and Tornio, and municipalities Keminmaa, Simo and Tervola. This region works closely together with the town of Haparanda in Sweden. The population of the Kemi-Tornio region is about 61 000 residents (2016). Kemi-Tornio locates in the southern Lapland of Finland.
Located at an intersection of river Kemijoki and the Gulf of Bothnia (the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea) Kemi has had ideal transportation possibilities to build an important economy out of a forest industry. For decades two pulp factories have ruled the town’s industry and trade. When in 1972 a steel factory was inaugurated in Tornio, a town 25 kilometers on a costal line towards the Swedish boarder, the region’s economic development relied strongly on the primary production. The role of these industrial propellers is still prominent in the Kemi-Tornio region (as the area is nowadays called), but the developments of last two decades advanced for a technology industry to be strongly positioned in the region, particularly in Kemi. Town officials in Kemi-Tornio worked together with their colleagues of nearby communities (Keminmaa, Simo and Tervola) to establish a business park with an emphasis on technology. This helped the towns to expand the industrial base in the region, and secure its economic future.
City of Kemi www.kemi.fi
Municipality of Keminmaa www.keminmaa.fi
Municipality of Simo www.simo.fi
Municipality of Tervola www.tervola.fi
City of Tornio www.tornio.fi
