Piteå’s geographic location in southern Norrbotten, close to the four cities of Skellefteå, Älvsbyn, Luleå and Boden, offers a labour market region of about 225,000 inhabitants within a radius of about 48 miles or a 50-minute commute.
Our long history of forestry and forest industries as a stable economic base is evident by our large wood industry with leading mills, industrial house builders, and two large pulp mills, of which one is Europe’s largest. We are also a world leader in technology and expertise on reprocessing the by-products of these industries into renewable energy.
Focus at renewable products and energy
Examples of this are the two unique facilities that opened in 2010 for producing renewable motor fuels. SunPine AB, located at Piteå’s deep-water harbour, became the first industrial facility for producing renewable diesel using by-products from the forest as its raw material. Chemrec, ETC, close proximity to the Smurfit Kappa pulp mill in Piteå, have helped Chemrec build the world’s first production facility for the biofuel BioDME.
Phase one of Europe’s largest wind farms with up to 1,101 wind turbines started 2013. Piteå also has vast expertise in the metal and engineering industries and a composite cluster with the Swerea Sicomp research institute at its base.
Besides industry, a large service sector has emerged, resulting in substantial infrastructure investments. Piteå Näringsfastigheter, the municipality owned real estate company, has created a business park at the unique cultural and historical environment at Furunäset. Many companies within banking, technology, consultancy, telemarketing, etc. employ about 700 persons here.
Visit Piteå
The tourism industry is strong, Piteå is the most visited destination in the region during the summer. With several annual events such as Piteå Summer Games, the street festival Piteå Dansar och Ler, and the trade fair Stora Nolia Piteå is Piteå a town with many possibilities to arrange events.
Pite Havsbad, located in the beautiful archipalago of the Bothnia bay, on the white sandy beaches and with an impressing capacity and a wide range of activities.
2023 at Pite havsbad we welcome RACE OF CHAMPIONS - Race Of Champions (ROC) in Scandinavia is again to be held on the frozen Baltic Sea at Pite Havsbad Sweden, only 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. The Race Of Champions brings together some of the world’s best drivers for a unique head-to-head race in identical cars to see who really is the fastest of them all.
Piteå has about one million visitors each year, and are famous of the warm welcoming for both groups and private travelling.
Piteå has an attractive downtown area with two major shopping centres, located on the first pedestrian street in Sweden, a street that is heated all year-round.
Go to visitors and learn more about all the events, activities and what to see in Piteå.
Winter sports and indoor skiing
Arctic Falls offers the tire and vehicle component industry best possible testing conditions in the Kalla Tunnel, particularly for testing products with high technical standard in a cold climate with a high level of service, safety and environmental standards.
The future can be found in Piteå.
Expanding creative and cultural industries
Luleå University of Technology’s Department of Music and Media is located in Piteå. The School of Music (one of six in Sweden) is integrated with Acusticum, a unique business park for companies in the creative and cultural industries. A concert hall as Studio Acusticum, with world-class acoustics, which, besides being a venue for events, offers opportunities for interdisciplinary research in music, sound, media and technology.
Thirty miles to the north is Luleå and Scandinavia’s northernmost technological university with about 19,000 students and 1,500 employees. Research is conducted at Luleå University of Technology in close collaboration with industry. They are world leaders in the fields of mining engineering, metallurgy and high-performance steel.
Piteå’s proximity to airports in Luleå, Skellefteå and Arvidsjaur, freight rail, and Piteå Port and Hub, the Gulf of Bothnia’s leading port for forest products, ensure excellent transportation links.
Trivia: The county councils of the four northernmost counties commissioned a scientific study to investigate what the people of northern Sweden think about their lives. It shows that residents of Piteå are the happiest of all the northern counties. The survey was conducted by Nils-Gustav Lundgren, professor of economic history at Luleå University of Technology.
