Vallox

Driving business growth through industrial design and concept development

A new generation of roof fans restored Vallox’s competitiveness in a changing market. Concept and mechanical design carried out together with Gofore laid the foundation for a solution that seamlessly replaced the previous product range, generated new growth, and received recognition in the national Plootu Fennica competition.

OBJECTIVE

Innovative design to revitalise a declining business

What happens when a long-serving product no longer meets customer expectations or industry requirements? For Vallox, a developer of ventilation units and systems, the question became highly relevant when its roof fan product family, originally developed in the 1990s, was beginning to fall behind the times.

“With the old product family, our roof fan business would inevitably have declined and eventually disappeared. We wanted to develop a next-generation solution that would utilise the latest fan technology, energy-efficient solutions, and new features requested by customers,” says Petri Koivunen, Design Manager at Vallox.

The goal was to develop a range of roof fans that would be cost-effective to manufacture, durable, and easy to install and maintain. The design also needed to scale across different product sizes and integrate naturally into architects’ designs.

“With the old product family, our roof fan business would inevitably have declined and eventually disappeared. We wanted to develop a next-generation solution that would utilise the latest fan technology, energy-efficient solutions, and new features requested by customers."

Petri Koivunen, Design Manager, Vallox

SOLUTION

An almost production-ready Ccncept in three months

Vallox needed a partner for the industrial design and concept development of the new roof fan range. The solution was found through Huld, now part of Gofore, with whom Vallox had already collaborated for many years on product development projects. The work began with market research, deepening customer understanding, and a kickoff workshop to refine the objectives and define the technical and production-related constraints.

“After receiving the brief, we certainly didn’t lock ourselves away in a room to design in isolation. Instead, we developed the different solutions in close collaboration. The evolution of the design was reviewed in weekly meetings, ensuring that the concept met both the objectives and the realities of production,” says Iiro Laaksonen, Principal Designer at Gofore.

The project combined customer-driven design with practical expertise in sheet metal manufacturing. In less than three months, the team produced a product concept that was already very close to commercialisation, after which Vallox’s own team optimised the models for its production processes.

“Gofore has strong ideation and design capabilities, but also a clear understanding of what is genuinely feasible and how a concept can be brought into production,” Koivunen says.

First prize in the Plootu Fennica competition

In the Plootu Fennica sheet metal product competition, products are evaluated based on criteria such as innovation, structure, and manufacturing technology. According to the jury, the Exxeo product family successfully combines ease of installation, usability, maintainability, and functionality through excellent design.

“The structure is very well protected, and manufacturability has been carefully considered in this highly price-competitive product category. The roof fan has a pleasing appearance, and thanks to skilful design, it appears more compact than it actually is when viewed from the most common angle — from below,” the jury stated in its reasoning.

Plootu Fennica is a competition organised by the Sheet Metal Products Industry Group of Technology Industries of Finland.

OUTCOME

A new product family delivered growth and award-winning success

The Exxeo product family elevated Vallox’s roof fan offering to a new level despite the difficult years faced by the construction industry. The overall solution combines refined design, a scalable structure, and easy installation and maintenance.

“From a business perspective, the new product family replaced the old one extremely smoothly. We’ve now been selling it for several years, and it has also generated growth for us. With Gofore’s support, we were able to meet our product development needs related to design and concept creation,” says Koivunen.

The end result better serves architects, HVAC designers, installers, and property owners alike. The product family has received positive customer feedback and, in 2026, the Exxeo range won the industrial category of the Plootu Fennica sheet metal product competition.

The Exxeo product family includes seven roof fan models with different airflow capacities, as well as three different control options. The control units are integrated inside the casing behind a safety hatch. Photo: Vallox.

Important figures

3 months to redesign the product family
7 different roof fan models
1st place in an industry design competition

Project highlights

Object

Vallox’s long-serving roof fan product family was no longer meeting the demands of a changing market. The objective was to develop a next-generation solution that would be cost-effective to manufacture, easy to install and maintain, and visually appealing to architects.

Solution

Gofore supported Vallox in the industrial design, concept development, and mechanical design of the new roof fan range. Through close collaboration, the teams developed a concept very close to commercialisation in under three months. In addition to functionality and appearance, the design process also considered manufacturability and the practical realities of sheet metal production.

Outcome

The new Exxeo product family seamlessly replaced the previous range and turned Vallox’s roof fan business back towards growth. The final result serves the entire lifecycle more comprehensively — from architects to maintenance professionals — and won the industrial category of the Plootu Fennica competition in 2026.

EXPERTISE