Nokia - from paper to cell phones
News News blog
Maybe you used to have a Nokia cellphone in the past.... But did you know that Nokia originally produced paper products?
The company was founded in 1865 by engineer Fredrik Idestam near Tampere in southwestern Finland and initially manufactured paper products that were exported mainly to Russia and Great Britain.
In 1868, Idestam opened a second mill in Nokia, a town not far to the west. This second plant eventually gave the company the name Nokia.
The following years of the company's history were characterized by corporate acquisitions, which increasingly transformed Nokia into a conglomerate.
Nokia Corporation (Nokia Oyj) was finally formed in 1967 through the merger of Nokia Aktiebolag - the original paper mill - with Suomen Gummitehdas (Finnish Rubber Works) and Suomen Kaapelitehdas (Finnish Cable Works). This merger laid the foundation for the future technology company, although the group's four business areas initially consisted of paper, electronics, rubber and cable.
In 1970, crepe paper was produced, and in 1977 Nokia and its competitor Serlachius bought British Tissue Ltd. Shortly afterwards, Nokia also bought its competitor Serlachius.
High-quality tissue papers were now increasingly produced, but half of the production was sold in 1989. In 1990-1991, the second half of production was finally also sold and Nokia focused more and more on the electronics sector.
