Machine faults can cost millions: SSAB and Metsä Group adopt Finnish AI tool that finds hidden defects

A Finnish startup called Rotomate has built an AI "colleague" for industrial plants that turns machine data into plain-language maintenance recommendations. The tool is being adopted by steelmaker SSAB and forest-industry company Metsä Group, according to a report in Tekniikka&Talous. The headline frames the stakes: machine faults can cost millions, and the tool is meant to find defects that would otherwise stay hidden.

The system works from data collected at the plant itself and uses it to tell maintenance staff what needs attention. Its recommendations are written in clear language rather than as raw readings or technical alerts.

A human expert can check the reasoning behind each recommendation without difficulty. If the expert wants to dig deeper, they can ask the AI follow-up questions. The design keeps people in the loop: the AI proposes and explains, and the specialist verifies and decides.

Rotomate's chief executive explains to Tekniikka&Talous how the tool works. The source material available here gives only this overview, so it does not include details such as the technical methods, the specific equipment monitored, pricing, or measured savings at SSAB and Metsä Group.

The story matters because unplanned equipment failures in heavy industry such as steel and pulp and paper production can be very expensive. A tool that explains its advice in a way experts can audit addresses a common barrier to using AI in such settings, namely whether engineers can trust recommendations they can't inspect. The adoption by two large Nordic industrial names is also a sign of Finnish AI startups finding customers in core industry.