ABSTRACT
In February 2009, when Google decided to situate its server factory in Summa, and to redevelop the old Stora-Enso paper mill area in Hamina, in Southeast Finland, into a futuristic park of thousands of internet search engine servers, it sounded like an old industry site was just replaced by a new one. Google's investment of US$200 million into the development of the Summa industrial site came as a relief after the shock in 2007 when Stora-Enso announced its decision to close Summa paper mill and to relocate its paper production closer to markets in Asia and South-America. This decision meant 430 lost jobs in the region and had considerable effects on the industrial networks in the area. In addition, it ended over 50 years of paper-making history in the Kotka-Hamina region in Southeast Finland with the combined population of just over 75,000 inhabitants. However, the development of the Kotka-Hamina region – one of the most important export harbour clusters in Finland – is not just a story of an old industry being hit by globalization.
