We are pleased to announce that the three finalists in each category of the “Entrepreneurship Award 2026”, Estonia’s longest-running business competition, have been revealed. CHEMI-PHARM has been selected as one of three finalists in the Industry Changemaker category. The competition will recognise the year’s leading exporter, innovator, investor, future builder, industry changemaker, tourism promoter and employer.
The winners of the competition, organised by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS) and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, will be announced on 14 November at the “Estonia’s Best Companies 2026” awards gala.
According to Ursel Velve, Chair of the EIS Management Board, this year’s finalists share a determination to go beyond existing solutions and create new opportunities both for their own companies and for the Estonian economy (eis.ee).
Innovation in every area
Reza Yeganeh, a member of CHEMI-PHARM’s management board, outlined the company’s strategy and key initiatives for improving efficiency, strengthening competitiveness and making manufacturing smarter. He explained that an innovative mindset is embedded throughout the company, from production and engineering to sales, quality and product development. Improving process efficiency is part of everyday work. Whether through automation, digitalisation or changes implemented through the quality management system, the goal is always to work smarter and more efficiently. CHEMI-PHARM uses an IT system developed in-house that covers all areas of its operations, enabling process management, monitoring and continuous improvement.
AI ensures quality on the production line
Keeping pace with advances in artificial intelligence is important to the company, helping it achieve its goals faster, more effectively and more efficiently. AI has become part of everyday work across several areas. It helps shorten time-consuming processes, analyse a range of key indicators, and generate forecasts and recommendations for next steps. AI is used to ensure product quality and manage production processes. AI-powered camera systems on the production lines detect non-conforming products during production, ensuring that only products that meet the requirements reach customers.
To help coordinate production processes, certain camera systems monitor space utilisation in production areas and signal when products need to be moved to the next stage of production or into the warehouse.
In product development, AI helps reduce the time spent on preliminary research, assess ideas against regulatory requirements at an early stage, and identify potential obstacles that could arise later in development. This supports better risk management and allows solutions to be prepared before problems arise.
Regulations are the biggest challenge to growth
The company has substantial growth potential, and realising it requires sustained effort year after year. Growth is an exciting journey in an increasingly complex and competitive world. The greatest challenges come from evolving regulations, which have a significant impact on the competitiveness of companies in the European Union and Estonia. When competing in international markets, it is always important to assess whether new requirements could put European companies at a disadvantage compared with manufacturers in other regions that are not subject to the same obligations.
Introducing regulations is relatively straightforward, but implementing them, demonstrating compliance and meeting reporting requirements demand considerable resources. Companies’ resources, however, are limited. The more resources they must devote to administrative obligations, the less capacity they have to invest in innovation, product development and bringing new solutions to market faster.
Solutions that protect people worldwide
CHEMI-PHARM is pursuing its vision of becoming Northern Europe’s leading manufacturer of sustainable and innovative hygiene solutions, with products that reduce the risk of infection and help save lives worldwide. To achieve this, we must continue to be smart, innovative and proactive. Innovations require ongoing monitoring, refinement and evaluation to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations and to assess their impact on processes, products and the working environment. Through our work and our products, we help reduce the spread of infections and save lives. We are proud to have earned the trust of the healthcare sector not only in Estonia but also internationally. Our products are used in various parts of the world to protect workers, patients, customers and family members from infections.
