Akun Tehdas

About Akun Tehdas

Founded in 2008, Akun Tehdas is a Finnish event technology company based in Tampere. They deliver full productions for some of Finland's biggest events, bringing together lighting, audio, video, structures, and the people to run them. The company's roots trace back to Eppu Normaali, one of Finland's most iconic punk rock bands, and that energy still runs through everything they do.

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Today, Akun Tehdas has around 52 full-time employees and works with more than 100 freelancers. They run house tech at Nokia Arena in Tampere, serve as a long-term partner to the Tampere-talo conference center, and produce some of the country's largest festivals. In recent years, they also acquired the Finnish broadcasting operations of Warner Bros., adding a new dimension to an already diverse business.

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Nelli Petro works across the company as a producer, project manager, and sustainability coordinator. Her role takes her from early-stage sales through to on-site execution, and she oversees the team responsible for managing waste and resources across all projects.

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The challenge: project management and warehouse in separate platforms

Before Rentman, Akun Tehdas used warehouse management software that did one thing well: tracking gear. But it wasn't built for the complexity of running full productions.

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Nelli describes the gap clearly. They knew roughly where their equipment was, but the software couldn't help with crew scheduling, project timelines, or the coordination that holds a live event together. As the company grew and took on more simultaneous productions, that gap became harder to ignore.

“We wanted something that combined project management and warehouse operations in one place. Schedules, crew, all of it. That's what pushed us to look for a new solution."
_{Nelli Petro, Producer & Project Manager, Akun Tehdas}

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Finding Rentman

Rentman came up early in their search. Akun Tehdas evaluated a few options, but Rentman stood out from the start. What convinced them wasn't a single feature. It was the full picture.

“Rentman is the 360 platform that we need. It starts with sales, helps us a lot there, and then guides us through the whole process."
_{Nelli Petro, Producer & Project Manager, Akun Tehdas}

Once the decision to implement Rentman was made, the team began adapting to the new system and procedures. As with any workflow change, the transition took time and is still evolving as the team continues to explore the platform’s features and possibilities. Learning how to use Rentman effectively has been an essential part of the process, helping Akun Tehdas work more efficiently, consistently, and professionally.

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How Rentman changed the way they work

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One platform for all their projects

Akun Tehdas now uses Rentman across the full project lifecycle. Quotations, warehouse management, crew planning, production info, and call sheets all live in the same system. Invoicing data is compiled in Rentman and passed to their finance team from there.

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A walkthrough of a recent Eppu Normaali show at Bolt Arena shows how this works in practice. Nelli starts with the equipment list, checks what's in stock and what needs to be sub-rented, then builds out the production info, including accommodation, meals, transport, electricity orders, and stagehands. The whole project document, with links to designs and all supporting details, comes together in one place.

“Rentman has made us more professional. Not everyone has to know everything because the software shows us what the situation is. Now we have all the information we need, right there."
_{Nelli Petro, Producer & Project Manager, Akun Tehdas}

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Crew planning with visual timelines

For a show like the Eppu Normaali dates at Bolt Arena, Akun Tehdas brings together 29 technicians and assistant techs across prep, rigging, stage build-up, and show days. Managing that coordination across separate platforms was never going to work.

For Nelli, the timelines are what make the difference. At a glance, you can see the full picture of a project and spot any mistakes or double bookings before they become a problem.

“With Rentman, you can see if you have any mistakes, double bookings, or if something is missing. It just shows the whole picture, and that's what we love about it."
_{Nelli Petro, Producer & Project Manager, Akun Tehdas}

Equipment tracking at scale

With hundreds to over a thousand projects running through the company each year, knowing where every piece of gear is and when it's coming back is non-negotiable.

“Rentman is really a savior. We need to know where everything is and when it's coming back. With so many different pieces of gear and gigs at the same time, Rentman gives us the overview we need."
_{Nelli Petro, Producer & Project Manager, Akun Tehdas}

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The team no longer needs to call around to confirm what's where or chase down gear. As Nelli says, it has significantly reduced the amount of time they spend on the phone.

“We don't have to guess or make phone calls to make sure gear is already back or if it is leaving. It just saves a lot of time."
_{Nelli Petro, Producer & Project Manager, Akun Tehdas}

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Templates & production documents

Project managers at Akun Tehdas use Rentman's templates constantly. Production info sheets and call sheets are built directly in the system, customized with their own fields for logistics details, and then printed or shared.

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What's next for Akun Tehdas

Akun Tehdas is moving to a new, larger warehouse by the end of the year. Rentman is central to the transition plan. The team is using warehouse location data in the system to map out how gear will be organized in the new space, helping them move with structure rather than chaos. Rentman's support team has already been involved in the planning.

“Rentman is a perfect tool for that. We have already had some help from Rentman planning all these things."
_{Nelli Petro, Producer & Project Manager, Akun Tehdas}

Curious what Rentman can do for your AV & event production operations? Start your 1-month free trial today.