Sales Manager Tuomas Kivistö – BussiPro represents more brands than any other company

“I remember the early days when Jussi and I used to pack spare parts in the vestibule of Jussi’s home. I also remember when we used to sit side by side in a tiny office in a corner of the warehouse. We sat there selling parts and processing orders wearing puffer jackets and woolly hats because it was so cold,” says Sales Manager Tuomas Kivistö, one of BussiPro’s two owners.

Fast forward ten years, and Tuomas is sitting in his own, warm office behind a glass screen. BussiPro represents more brands related to the maintenance and repair of buses, coaches, lorries and other heavy equipment than any other company in Finland. The company has grown and found its place on the spare parts market both in Finland and elsewhere in Europe – and the growth continues. Tuomas and Jussi must have been doing something right.

Tuomas has a degree in logistics, and he used to work as a spare part manager at Koiviston Auto, which is where he met BussiPro’s co-owner Jussi Raunisto, an automotive engineer who had been appointed as a maintenance manager. Jussi moved on from Koiviston Auto, but the pair got back in touch a few years later: Jussi had established his own business, and he made Tuomas an offer that was so interesting that he left a secure job for a new and unknown future. “Many people questioned my decision back then,” Tuomas recalls.

“And this is where we are now: more represented brands than any other company. That is of course not an end in itself,” Tuomas points out. “The idea is that it offers our customers security and reliability, in terms of both lead times and prices. Sourcing parts from abroad has been very challenging in general for the past couple of years. With our wide network of suppliers, we are able to serve our customers better than our competitors are. If we can’t get the part we need from one supplier, we contact another one. We don’t give up until we have shipped the part our customer needs,” he says, explaining the company’s can-do attitude.

“And this service is the key to BussiPro’s success. Prices are important of course, and we are competitive in that department, but delivering the right part at the right time is just as important. This approach has led to the development of our comprehensive BusCare and TruckCare services, which have been designed to ensure that vehicles stay on the road instead of being stuck at the workshop waiting for parts.”

“I enjoy long-distance cross-country skiing in the winter and jogging in the summer,” Tuomas says. You could say that resilience and determination are the defining traits of Tuomas’ character. BussiPro’s growth and success are based on these traits – and the journey continues.