Stara Helsinki

What Stara Helsinki does

Stara Helsinki is a municipal public enterprise (liikelaitos / affärsverk) of the City of Helsinki that delivers urban construction, maintenance, and logistics services to the municipality. Originating as a City construction office in 1878, reorganized as an independent operator in 2009, and formalized as a public enterprise in 2017, Stara employs approximately 1,200 professionals across 150 distinct job titles, expanding to roughly 1,500 in summer months with seasonal staff. The organization operates exclusively as the City of Helsinki's internal service provider, with no competitive tendering required for intra-municipal orders.

Service delivery is structured around six units: Urban Infrastructure Construction (streets, parks, squares, and geotechnical work); City Infrastructure Maintenance (ongoing upkeep covering approximately 50% of Helsinki's street and green areas); Construction Engineering (building repair and renovation); Environmental Management (urban forests, coastal and archipelago cleaning, greenhouse cultivation, arboriculture, and plant-group design); Logistics (a logistics center serving 200+ contract suppliers plus sign service, reuse center, flag service, and equipment rental); and Administration. Operational capabilities include CNC machining and 3D modeling for custom furniture production, a warehouse robot, and a plant-cultivation database at the historic City Garden (Kaupunginpuutarha), which produces around 105,000 summer flowers annually for Helsinki parks. Emergency-readiness and rapid-response services — storm damage, flood prevention, oil-spill response, and state-visit security support — round out the mandate.

The business model is inter-entity municipal charging: the City of Helsinki funds Stara through internal cost allocation rather than external revenue, and pricing is not publicly disclosed. R&D cooperation is conducted with University of Helsinki, Aalto University, VTT Technical Research Centre, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Forum Virium, and Vaisala. Certifications include EcoCompass (environmental) and RALA (construction quality); the entity is a member of the Baltic Sea Challenge network. Karoliina Rajakallio was appointed CEO effective February 23, 2026, succeeding prior leadership.

Name

Stara Helsinki

Legal name

Stara, Helsingin kaupungin rakentamispalveluliikelaitos

Website

https://stara.hel.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1878

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Stara Helsinki is the City of Helsinki's municipal public enterprise for urban construction and maintenance, employing approximately 1,200 professionals to build, maintain, and manage streets, parks, public buildings, logistics, and natural areas for the City of Helsinki.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Construction and Maintenance Services

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925), Executive Offices (92111), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744), Operative Builders (1531), Asphalt Paving & Roofing Materials (2950)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Works / In-House Municipal Collection Operations (EUAIAAAF), Tree Care & Arborist Services (IMAIAIAB), State/Provincial Transportation, Roads & Public Works Administration (BPAIABAK)

Keywords

• Municipal construction services
• Urban infrastructure maintenance
• Public works services
• Street and park maintenance
• Municipal logistics services

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Internal Service Provision: Stara operates as a public enterprise of the City of Helsinki, providing construction, maintenance, and logistics services exclusively to City of Helsinki departments and internal operators. Services are ordered directly without competitive tendering. Revenue comes from inter-entity charging within the municipal budget.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Stara is the City of Helsinki's public construction services enterprise (liikelaitos) that builds, renovates, and maintains the city's streets, parks, squares, and public buildings, and provides logistics, fleet, and equipment services to City of Helsinki departments. It also delivers environmental management (urban forests, nature areas, coastal cleanup, greenhouse cultivation) and rapid-response emergency readiness services, all ordered directly by municipal departments without competitive tendering.

Product overview

Stara Helsinki is the City of Helsinki's public construction services enterprise (liikelaitos) providing comprehensive urban environment services through six main service units: Urban Infrastructure Construction (building streets, parks, squares), City Infrastructure Maintenance (ongoing upkeep of public areas), Construction Engineering (building repairs and renovations), Environmental Management (forests, nature areas, greenhouse cultivation), Logistics (vehicles, transport, logistics center with 200+ suppliers, sign service, reuse center), and Administration. The organization manages approximately 50% of Helsinki's street and green areas, operates the historic City Garden (Kaupunginpuutarha) where it grows over 100,000 seasonal flowers annually, and maintains the Winter Garden (Talvipuutarha) as a public attraction. Services are delivered directly to city departments without competitive tendering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urban Infrastructure Construction Builds and renovates streets, parks, and squares in Helsinki, providing expert services related to soil and bedrock for City of Helsinki departments.
• City Infrastructure Maintenance
• Construction Engineering
• Environmental Management
• Logistics
• Readiness and Emergency Services
• Sign Service
• Reuse Centre
• Summer Flowers Production
• City Garden Facility (Kaupunginpuutarha)
• Winter Garden (Talvipuutarha)

Quantifiable outcome

• Stara manages approximately 50% of Helsingin's street and green area maintenance
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• University of HelsinkiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStara collaborates with University of Helsinki on research and development projects related to urban environment management and construction services.
• Aalto UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStara works with Aalto University on R&D cooperation in areas relevant to urban construction and maintenance.
• Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (TTL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on occupational health and safety research related to construction and maintenance work.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch and technology cooperation with VTT on technical solutions for urban infrastructure.
• Forum ViriumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation platform partnership focused on piloting new operating models and pre-commercial procurements.
• VaisalaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation on weather and environmental monitoring solutions relevant to urban maintenance operations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Skanska AB: Global construction and development company with strong Nordic and Finnish presence in civil engineering, road-building and public infrastructure. Comparable for the construction and public-works portion of Stara's portfolio, though operates across multiple geographies and segments.
• YIT Corporation: Finland's largest construction company focused on urban development, housing and infrastructure. Overlaps with Stara's building renovation, street construction and urban environment services, but serves external commercial customers across Finland and the Baltics.
• NCC (NCC Group): Major Nordic construction and infrastructure company with significant road, civil engineering and property development operations in Finland. Comparable as a peer for the urban construction and infrastructure maintenance services Stara delivers, but operating as a commercial contractor competing for tenders.

Others

• Ramboll Finland: International engineering, consulting and project management firm with significant Finnish operations in infrastructure, environment and urban planning. Adjacent to Stara's environmental management, planning and construction engineering capabilities, but as a consultancy rather than an operational contractor.
• Forum Virium Helsinki: Helsinki city-owned innovation company piloting smart-city and digital urban services. Directly comparable as a City of Helsinki public enterprise and an existing Stara R&D partner, but focused on innovation pilots rather than physical construction and maintenance.

Direct peers

• Destia Oy: Finland's largest infrastructure construction and maintenance company, owned by Ahlström Capital. Directly comparable to Stara's road, street and urban infrastructure maintenance operations, but operates as a private-sector contractor serving both public and private clients nationwide.
• Helsinki Region Environmental Services (HSY): Joint municipal authority owned by Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen that provides water supply, waste management and environmental services. Directly comparable as a Helsinki-area public enterprise delivering municipal infrastructure services to city residents and departments.

Regional players

• Espoo City Municipal Services / Espoon kaupunkitekniikka: Municipal unit of the City of Espoo handling street maintenance, parks and urban infrastructure for Finland's second-largest city. Comparable as a regional in-house municipal construction/maintenance provider adjacent to Helsinki's metropolitan area, but operating under Espoo rather than Helsinki.
• Stockholm Park & Roads Administration (Trafiknämnden / Stockholm Stad): Municipal authority in Stockholm responsible for park and road maintenance, street cleaning and public infrastructure. Closest Nordic equivalent to Stara's model as an in-house municipal service provider for a Nordic capital, though operating in Sweden rather than Finland.

Emerging players

• Sitowise Group: Finnish expert services firm in built environment design, infrastructure engineering and digital solutions. Comparable to the engineering, planning and design functions embedded within Stara's construction and maintenance operations, but operating commercially across the Nordics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/starahelsinki
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starahelsinki
• Instagraminstagram.com/starahelsinki

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stara Helsinki