Spring and early summer have been busy times for us at Nestor Cables. The construction of fibre optic networks has continued at a good pace in Finland and our factories in Finland and Estonia have been producing fibre optic cables, microducts, and fibre optic accessories at high volumes. In Finland, there is a fierce competition among the largest network operators for shares in the fibre optic market, which is also reflected in Nestor's operations.

Elsewhere in Europe, especially in Germany and the UK, the demand for fibre optic products has been significantly lower over the past year, due to the challenging economic situation, high inflation, and interest rates impacting consumer purchasing decisions. Many fibre network construction projects have been postponed or their volumes have been reduced. However, the situation is expected to improve in the coming months with significant market growth predicted for next spring.

This year Nestor Cables has launched a new way of building fibre optic networks with its Plug and Play products. We have already delivered these Plug and Play products to several Finnish network construction projects with excellent results. The construction is faster and easier and best of all, it brings cost savings. The basic idea of Plug and Play construction is to minimize the amount of fibre splicing needed on-site by using connectors installed on the cable at the factory. We have also started marketing these ideas in export markets and interest has been growing rapidly. Customers understand the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) approach, which means that Plug and Play construction is more efficient and brings overall savings to projects.

The beautiful but so short Finnish summer has arrived. Now it is time to recharge our batteries with summer holidays. Even though summer holidays are starting, Nestor's factories will remain operational without interruptions during the holiday months.

I thank our customers, partners, and personnel for the first half of the year and wish you all a sunny summer season!

Jarmo Rajala, 
CEO of Nestor Cables