An idyllic summer's day in Fiskars Village is full of small craftsmen's workshops, majestic hardwood trees along the village road, fine architecture and delicious local flavors. How different life was when the construction works of the blast furnace or the main building were underway, the trees were just saplings and iron ore was brought in barges right next to the warehouse.
On October 31, 1649, Christina, Queen of Sweden, signed a privilege, an exclusive right based on law, under which the Dutch merchant Peter Thorwöste was granted permission to found an ironworks along the Fiskars river. Water power, waterways and the wood coal provided by the surrounding woods meant that the location was excellent. The blast furnace was the first construction. Then, after copper was found, a copper workshop, and in the 1800s, Finland's first cutlery mill and soon after, Finland's first machine workshop.
An important turn in the history of the ironworks was in 1822 when a pharmacist from Turku, John Julin, became the owner. During his time, the focus was already on products targeted to consumers: scissors, fine cutlery, pots and farming implements. Julin was also involved in founding a school in the village, a bank for the workers as well as the Finnish Literature Society and many other associations. Indeed, the Village has been a pioneer not only in industrial innovations but also in schooling and nursing.
From ironworks to a brand house
Fiskars became a limited liability company in 1883 and it was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1915. Economic upswings and downswings, as well as company acquisitions and sales, molded the company. By the end of 1900s, Fiskars was a conglomerate that included electronics as well as cranes in addition to the traditional Fiskars brand garden and kitchen tools, and the majority of its turnover came from America.
In the current millennium, the direction of the company has been further clarified, and the focus has been on consumer products. With the acquisition of Iittala Group, the company's position in tableware and kitchen products strengthened in 2007, and the acquisition of the Royal Copenhagen business in 2013 extended the market areas in the Nordic countries and Asia. The 2015 acquisition brought world-class porcelain and crystal brands: Wedgwood, Waterford, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert.
In 2019, 370 years have passed since the ironworks were founded. The fuel that got us this far is not experience alone, it takes also courage for renewal and belief in the future. Even though challenges have changed in the course of centuries, we believe that the same courage and belief will take us forward also in the future. On this journey, we want to make the everyday extraordinary and to have a positive, lasting impact on people's quality of life.
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- Our heritage
- Our brands
