Company presentation
Located in the heart of Hämeenlinna, Verkatehdas Event Centre opened its doors in 2007. Our purpose is to ensure that there is a place in Hämeenlinna to organise different types of events that bring people together, whether they be meetings, concerts, hybrid or virtual events, fairs, corporate functions or even mass vaccinations against worldwide pandemics, as witnessed in 2021.
The red-bricked factory buildings of the Verkatehdas property were renovated in a way that honoured the Hämeenlinna Verkatehdas factory that had been manufacturing baize fabrics since 1895. More than half a million visitors arrive at Verkatehdas each year to enjoy various events.
The heart of Verkatehdas is its 703-seat Vanaja Hall, which adapts easily from a rock venue to a meeting space, or from a seminar hall to a stand-up comedy club. In addition to Vanaja Hall, Verkatehdas has a whole host of different types and sizes of venues that are perfect, for example, for meetings, hybrid or virtual events, fairs, gigs, corporate parties, plays, customer functions, seminars and training events.
There are also nearly 40 different commercial spaces situated in the Verkatehdas quarter that are particularly suitable for actors in the creative sector. Together, the companies, communities and freelancers of the area form a dynamically creative community.
Verkatehdas’ mission is to facilitate unforgettable event experiences for its private and company customers. This is realised by providing an interesting event milieu, an accessible location, brilliant catering and functional technical solutions. We want to offer our customers top-of-the-line services from our highly experienced professional personnel, who are here to implement your events from the initial idea to the shutting off of lights.
We warmly welcome you to Verkatehdas!
Verkatehdas in figures
The turnover of Verkatehdas was
4 287 597
euros in 2019.
Verkatehdas employs approximately
20
steadfast event industry professionals.
Verkatehdas is owned
100
per cent by the City of Hämeenlinna.
Verkatehdas was founded in
2007.
Verkatehdas was visited by
665 200
guests in 2019.
The capacity of Vanaja Hall is
703
seats.
The flat, open floor arrangement in Vanaja Hall accommodates
1176
people.
The total area of the properties of the Verkatehdas complex is around
30 000
square metres.
Altogether
40
companies, communities or freelancers have rented space in Verkatehdas’ commercial facilities.
A total of
297
person-years were realised throughout the Verkatehdas quarter in 2019.
The utilisation rate of the commercial facilities was
99,5 %
in 2019.
Verkatehdas and Hämeenlinna Theatre merged as of
1.1.2022.
Environmental responsibility
We assume responsibility for our environment and pay special attention to ecological and environmental considerations as an integral part of our operations.
Renewable energy use and energy savings
Our electricity is produced by 100% renewable energy. Our properties are heated by district heating, which is produced by 91 % renewable energy.
Since 2009, we have worked in earnest to decrease our energy consumption. Concrete measures have included the optimization of our ventilation system and the reduction of our water consumption. By 2018, we had managed to decrease the specific consumption of heating energy by 25%.
Restaurant operations
Verkatehdas Restaurant minimises its waste by many means. Our kitchen staff has been trained to pay close attention to the reduction in waste during food preparation, stock turnover and raw material acquisition.
We favour Finnish products. A total of 80% of the meat, dairy and vegetable products we use are produced domestically. We are part of the Steps to Organic programme and we endeavour to increase our use of organic products.
We stopped using plastic disposable cups entirely during 2020. We have minimised the number of dishes to be washed at each setting through good service planning.
Property maintenance and new construction
We have committed to maintaining the properties (14 buildings, total of nearly 30,000 square metres) as part of a valued and protected built environment. The buildings are healthy, they have a planned and controlled programme for maintenance that prevents any maintenance backlog. We always call on highly skilled and professional co-operative partners and responsible contractors for any building needs.
