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Products
with a Finnish Flair
by Tuomas Lindstrom
Assistant Editor
To
most North Americans, Finland is a mysterious country located “somewhere
in Scandinavia.” However, with a little investigation
and research, Finland emerges as a country with technological
and economic wealth that far exceeds its size and population.
Most readers of the FINN-ISH LINE are familiar with Finn-Power International,
Inc. Yet there are hundreds of other Finnish companies whose products have made
an impact in the areas of business, manufacturing, transportation, and design.
Below is a sample of some of those Finnish companies and their products.
iittala
 A
Division of the Hackman Group, iittala Oy Ab is a leading
manufacturer and marketer of premium homewares based
on Scandinavian design. The history of iittala is quite
extensive. In 1873 the Swedish Rörstrand
founded the Arabia factory in Helsinki, Finland. Then in 1876, Hackman established
a cutlery factory in Nurmes, Finland, near Vyborg and in 1881 the iittala Glassworks
was founded. Hackman has continued to evolve through the years, and in 2003
the iittala Oy Ab division was formed.
The products of iittala are too numerous to cover in this article,
however we’ve included some samples. One of them is a design from the
famous Finnish Architect Alvar Aalto, who designed the Finlandia Vase for the
Paris
Fair in 1936. This vase is sometimes referred to as the Savoy Vase, and is
considered a design icon of the 20th century
Two bestsellers from iittala are the Essence and the Origo lines.
Origo has been listed in Oprah’s O Magazine as one of her favorite things.
To learn more about the products and history of iittala Oy Ab and
the Hackman Group, visit the following websites: www.iittala.com or www.hackmangroup.com
Nokia
 Everyone has heard of Nokia, but some don’t know that
it is from Finland (many people think it is Japanese).
Nokia is actually headquartered in Espoo, Finland, about 15 minutes
from the capital Helsinki. Nokia can trace its roots to
1865, to a forest industry enterprise in Southwestern Finland.
About 30 years later, in 1898 the Finnish Rubber Works
Ltd, was founded, and then in 1912, Finnish Cable works was founded.
Slowly the companies began to have the same owners, and
in 1967 emerged as the Nokia Corporation.
Nokia
Headquarters, Espoo, Finland |
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Nokia
introduced the first car phone in 1981, when world’s
first cellular mobile network NMT opened in Scandinavia.
Eventually Nokia launched the world’s first
NMT handportable, the Nokia Cityman. Throughout the 1980’s,
Nokia kept expanding in the telecommunications and consumer
electronics market through numerous acquisitions. Nokia
has concentrated on telecommunications, as its core business
through the 1990’s, making it one of the largest
telecommunications companies in the world.
Nokia
3100
Mobile
Phone |
Nokia
is the leading supplier of mobile phones (not surprising
since over 3 out of 5 Finns have a cell phone) and
a leading supplier of mobile, fixed broadband and IP networks.
Nokia is one of the largest companies in Finland. To learn
more, visit www.nokia.com
Finlandia Vodka
 Finlandia Vodka was introduced in Scandinavia in 1970. In
1971, it was introduced to the U.S. market. During the 1970’s
and 1980’s, its popularity spread throughout the world.
With its popularity gaining momentum in the 1990’s,
Finlandia Vodka has evolved into one of the top premium
vodka brands in the world.
 Finlandia
is distilled exclusively in the village of Koskenkorva,
Finland, from the finest Finnish six-row barley
grown. The water in Finlandia Vodka is naturally filtered
through an
ancient glacial moraine, that has been formed over
10,000 years ago during the Ice Age. The water is so pure that
it requires no chemical treatment.
Finlandia was restructured to operate as a joint venture
between the Finnish Altia group and the U.S. Brown-Forman
Corporation, as Finlandia Vodka Worldwide Ltd (FVW). Brown-Forman
continues to be responsible for global sales and distribution,
while Finlandia Vodka Worldwide, is responsible for trademark
and global marketing assets.
 And today Finlandia Vodka is 007 James Bond’s new choice
in his martini’s, “Shaken not Stirred.” The
change took place in 2002, in the movie Die Another
Day,
when Finlandia became the new Bond Vodka.
To learn more about Finlandia Vodka, visit the
following websites: www.finlandiavodka.com or www.brown-forman.com.
Look
for additional articles on Finnish companies
in
future
issues
of the FINN-ISH LINE.
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710
Remington Road 
Volume
13 Issue 1 -
July 2003