Valmet — RoboInd Global

Overview

Valmet goes all the way back to the 1750s. It was then that a small shipyard was established in the Viapori fortress on the islands outside Helsinki. In the early 20th century it ended up under the ownership of the Finnish state and became part of Valmet. Tamfelt was established in 1797 and became one of the leading suppliers of technical textiles. These operations have now been integrated into our organization.Valmet documentary tells about our 220 years of industrial history linked with events that occurred in the history of the world. It also describes the insights and solutions that modern-day Valmet has been built on. The documentary is a story about how to rise to the position of market leader and how significant the hard work of past generations is to the success of the present-day company.The origins of Tamfelt go back to Jokioisten Verkatehdas, which was founded by the governor of Turku province, Ernst Gustav von Willebrand, with permission granted by the royal authorities in Stockholm on May 17th, 1797. Willebrand wanted to produce cloth using the new English machine method and the wool from the sheep of Jokioinen manor. At first he had 15 workers and two weaving looms. In 1798, the entire mill was burnt to the ground, but it was quickly rebuilt, and carding and weaving machines were in use as early as 1800. At that time, the mill was unique in Finland.In 1858 Orson E. Merrill came to Beloit in Wisconsin (USA) and started a foundry at 637 Third Street. Next year he took in a partner, George Houston. The company's, known as Merrill and Houston Iron Works, principal product was a water wheel developed by Houston, but the firm could also supply horseshoe nails, iron and steel castings, saws, augurs, spokes, and a variety of iron products.In 1860, Merrill’s brother asked Merrill and Houston to make parts for his paper machine. By 1862, Merrill and Houston was producing complete paper machines, building four machines the first year.Jokioinen Verkatehdas was hindered by the lack of water. To ensure the water supply the mill was moved from Jokioinen to the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere. Production started in 1859. The mill was named A.I Frietsch & Co., but was commonly referred to as "Tampereen Verkatehdas". The machines were moved from Jokioinen and many of the workers relocated, too.In 1863, Frietsch went bankrupt. The mill was taken over by the Bank of Finland and was soon sold to Frans von Frenckell, A.W. Wahren, Nils Procopé, August Borgström and Carl Zuhr. This was the foundation of Tampereen Verkatehdas Osakeyhtiö (Tampere woollen and worsted mill).Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad (KMW), a metal workshop, was founded by Gustav Adolf Andersson in 1860 in Karlstad, Sweden. In 1865, after the conflagration of Karlstad, the company got a major order: casting of new church bells for the Karlstad cathedral. The expansion of the railway network in Sweden opened new markets for locomotive, carriage and railroad equipment producers KMW being one of the companies benefitting from this development.In 1885, four employees of Merrill and Houston formed a new company, Beloit Iron Works. T. Organizer and president of Beloit Iron Works was Fred Messer, who had been superintendent at Merrill and Houston. The company leased the old Merrill and Houston plant from its new owner for its operations, and hired ten employees.In 1888, the Tampereen Verkatehdas mill was destroyed by fire, one of the biggest in the history of Tampere. The whole town came out that summer night to see the main building consumed in just a few hours. The new mill was, however, built quickly and production re-started after only a short break. The next year, the mill was damaged by a flood. Politics then intervened to cut off trade with Russia. Finland became independent and in the battle of Tampere, in 1918, the company's raw material store burned down. In 1936, a new building was constructed specifically to meet the needs of machine felt production. The 1940s brought war once again. There was a manpower shortage and little fuel. Air raids disrupted normal life. On March 2, 1940, the mill was hit by 16 bombs.In 1891 KMW delivers its first paper machine to Mänttä paper mill in Finland after long negotiations with Gustaf Adolf Serlachius. Before the machine started its journey to Finland it was presented thoroughly to the Swedish press by engineer Wilhelm Hesslin. In 1895 the company manufactures its first Yankee machine with a diameter of 2,400 mm. The development and construction work was led by Hesslin.Valmet’s automation business are in aviation? One of our earliest innovations was a flight recorder (“black box”) developed by Valtion Lentokonetehdas in 1942 to improve aviation safety. The company became part of Valtion Metallitehtaat in 1945 and was renamed Valmet in 1951. Safety remains a core value for us today. In the photo, test pilot Esko Halme is pictured with the black box, nicknamed “Mata Hari,” in 1953.The first paper machines made by Kone ja Silta were delivered from Finland to the Soviet Union in connection with the war compensations in 1945-1952. Kone ja Silta received its first paper machine order from Czechoslovakia in 1949 with a 3-year delivery time. From the beginning of 1950s paper machines started to be an important part of the production program. In the 50s, paper machines were delivered to all over the world, including China, Switzerland, Soviet Union, France, Finland, among others.The machine felt division had always lived in the shadow of the woolen mill. But, in the 1950s, when the woolen industry encountered many difficulties, the machine felt division took on the role of savior. The felt mill flourished and for the first time, in 1960, its sales exceeded those of the woolen mill. This development was due to the declining market situation in the woolen industry combined with strong growth in the Finnish paper industry and the successful export of machine felts. Exports started in 1956. The production of filter fabrics began in 1965, and from then on the company focused on technical textiles.<img src="https://www.roboind.com/file/upload/company/profile_web_remaining_20261029/910102128-1.jpg" alt=""><img src="https://www.roboind.com/file/upload/company/profile_web_remaining_20261029/910102128-2.jpg" alt="Valmet 225 years of history and journey"><img src="https://www.roboind.com/file/upload/company/profile_web_remaining_20261029/910102128-3.jpg" alt=""><img src="https://www.roboind.com/file/upload/company/profile_web_remaining_20261029/910102128-4.jpg" alt="">