Foxa is currently working hard on the development of defense and tactical materials. Growing demands for camouflage, protection, and material functionality, for example, are driving product development, while the company prepares for upcoming tenders and new customer needs.
Foxa’s team has been further strengthened with the addition of Juha Ilén, who joined the product development team last fall.
Ilén is currently working primarily on tactical military materials. On the table are both ongoing tenders and long-term development projects aimed at preparing for future needs.
– In this job, you have to constantly keep track of what’s happening around the world. We discuss future needs and user experiences with customers and various defense forces. “When new materials or manufacturing methods emerge globally, we need to ensure they’re also feasible within our own production chain,” Ilén explains.
In the development of defense materials, requirements are constantly growing. For example, solutions related to camouflage and protection against drones are evolving rapidly. At the same time, innovations developed for defense use can later be utilized more broadly as so-called dual-use products.
Decades of experience in textiles and product development
Ilén, who graduated with a Master’s degree in Textile Engineering in the late 1990s, began his career at Friitala Fashion, where he designed new material combinations as part of a Tekes project in collaboration with fashion designer Jukka Rintala.
After a brief stint as a researcher, his path led him to Finlayson Forssa, where Ilén worked in product development from 2001 to 2008.
– I got to experience the old days of the vertical textile industry, where the entire chain was managed from yarn to the finished product. It was a unique and educational time.
“And it’s really great that here at Foxa, I have several old coworkers from my time at Finsku.”
After Finlayson Forssa went bankrupt, Ilén enrolled in industrial design studies while working as a product manager in the footwear industry.
In 2014, he moved into sports and wellness technology at Footbalance, where he served as head of product development for over a decade.
His responsibilities included physical products, devices, and software alike. At this international growth company, the role provided a vantage point into technology, marketing, global supply chains, and sales.
– Design and product development processes are ultimately very similar regardless of the industry. It’s about how to build a functional solution for the customer’s needs.
Sustainability and usability go hand in hand
Ilén is particularly interested in the sustainability, long lifespan, and usability of materials. According to him, sustainable solutions are born in the early stages of product development.
– Products of the highest possible quality and with the longest possible lifespan are often the most responsible option. Focusing solely on price does not lead to a sustainable outcome.
– Nor is responsibility about greenwashing, where recycled fibers are used but fail to measure up in a quality comparison.
He also points out that sustainability isn’t created by a single company.
– The entire supply chain must be committed to the same goals. You can’t achieve sustainability alone.
At Foxa, Ilén feels he has found an environment where extensive experience in textiles and an understanding of new technology come together naturally.
“My background at Finlayson has been helpful because the operating environment is familiar in many ways. At the same time, we’re doing a lot of new things here, and the ways of working are different. That’s what makes this interesting.”