Fiskars
Encyclopedia
This article is about the company. For the village this company was founded in, see Fiskars, Finland
Fiskars, Finland
Fiskars is a village in the town of Raseborg in western Uusimaa, Finland. The village is the site of the former Fiskars Bruk, which was founded in 1646 and gave rise to the company Fiskars....

.

The Fiskars Corporation (Fiskars Oyj Abp; ) is a metal and consumer brands company founded in 1649 at Fiskars Bruk , a locality now in the town of Raseborg
Raseborg
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Raseborg&action=editRaseborg is a town and municipality of Finland. It was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Ekenäs, Karis and Pohja were consolidated into a single town....

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, about 100 km west of Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 on the old main road from Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

 to Vyborg
Vyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...

. Fiskars is best known today for its scissors
Scissors
Scissors are hand-operated cutting instruments. They consist of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting various thin materials, such as paper, cardboard, metal foil, thin...

, axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

s, and high-quality knives
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

.

History

The Fiskars Corporation was formed in 1649 when a Dutch merchant named Peter Thorwöste was given a charter to establish a blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...

 and forging operation in the small village of Fiskars. The furnace produced pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...

 that was shingled
Shingling (metallurgy)
Shingling was a stage in the production of bar iron or steel, in the finery and puddling processes. As with many ironmaking terms, this is derived from the French - cinglage....

 to wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

 in the finery forge
Finery forge
Iron tapped from the blast furnace is pig iron, and contains significant amounts of carbon and silicon. To produce malleable wrought iron, it needs to undergo a further process. In the early modern period, this was carried out in a finery forge....

s powered by water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...

s.
In the early years, Fiskars made nails, wire, hoes, and metal reinforced wheels from wrought iron.

As industrial and economic development accelerated in Europe, Fiskars was on the forefront of innovation, and expanded the knifeworks to become a premier steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 and ironworks company, manufacturing agricultural machinery, steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

s, and household utensils, including candlestick
Candlestick
A candlestick, chamberstick, or candelabrum is a holder for one or more candles, used for illumination, rituals, or decorative purposes. The name 'candlestick' derives from the fact that it is usually tall and stick-shaped.Candlesticks are also called candle holders...

s, forks, and scissors. The first pair of Fiskars scissors was created more than 130 years ago, and made of heavy forged steel. One of their most recognizable products, the orange colored scissors were designed in 1967. Fiskars was also one of the first companies in Europe to manufacture microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...

s.

Fiskars was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange
Helsinki Stock Exchange
The Helsinki Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Helsinki, Finland. Since 3 September 2003 it has been part of OMX, referred to as OMX Helsinki . Since NASDAQ's acquisition of OMX in February 2008, the official name of the Helsinki exchange has been NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.- History :The...

 in 1915.

Today

Fiskars is now a holding company. Their largest holding is Fiskars Brands, which still produces the traditional craft and garden products that made the company famous. This division is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, United States. The business areas of Fiskars Brands include Outdoor Recreation, Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, USA; Fiskars School, Office, and Craft, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Fiskars Garden and Outdoor Living, Sauk City, Wisconsin
Sauk City, Wisconsin
Sauk City is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,109 at the 2000 census. The first incorporated village in the state, the community was founded by Agoston Haraszthy and his business partner, Robert Bryant...

, USA; Fiskars Europe, Brussels, Belgium; and Fiskars Corporation and Fiskars Housewares, Helsinki, Finland.

Iittala Group
Iittala
Iittala is a Finnish design company specialising in houseware objects made on the principle of "modern Scandinavian design". [N.B. The official logo of the Company is all in lower case - iittala. Using upper case for the initial i can cause some confusion as it may be mistaken for an L.] The Iittala...

, the Finnish houseware design company, was acquired by Fiskars in 2007.

Inha Works, located on Ähtäri
Ähtäri
Ähtäri is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .The municipality is unilingual Finnish....

, Finland, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiskars that produces aluminium boats with the Buster
Buster
-Works:* Buster , a film starring Phil Collins** Buster , the soundtrack to the film* "Buster", theme song by Nanna Lüders Jensen for the Danish television show Busters verden-Characters and mascots:...

brand name.

Fiskars is also the largest shareholder of its associated company, Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include large combustion engines...

 and also operates a real estate group that manages about 150 km² of land near the birthplace of the company.

Fiskars Corporation, headquartered out of Helsinki, is the company's global headquarters and oversees all of these operations.

Fiskars has over 4,300 employees worldwide. Most of these employees work in offices that oversee the companies operation in the country or region which they serve. The countries and regions are Asia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, UK, and USA. The company also has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, China, and other locations, but many products are not manufactured offshore to their markets.

Brands and products

According to the Fiskars Group, its core international brands, as of 2009, are:
  • Fiskars (scissors, gardening tools)
  • Iittala
    Iittala
    Iittala is a Finnish design company specialising in houseware objects made on the principle of "modern Scandinavian design". [N.B. The official logo of the Company is all in lower case - iittala. Using upper case for the initial i can cause some confusion as it may be mistaken for an L.] The Iittala...

     (kitchenware, glassware)
  • Gerber
    Gerber Legendary Blades
    Gerber Legendary Blades is a maker of consumer knives and multitools headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, United States, within the Portland metropolitan area. Currently Gerber is a sub-division of Fiskars Brands Inc, owned by the Fiskars company of Finland...

     (knives and multitools)
  • Silva
    Silva compass
    Silva compass, or Silva of Sweden, aka Silva Sweden AB is an outdoors products company, most known for their high-grade compasses and other navigational equipment including GPS tools, mapping software, and altimeters for aircraft. They also offer a marine range...

     (outdoor products, especially navigational equipment)
  • Buster (boats)


After acquiring Iittala Group and Silva 2006-2007, Fiskars also owns several locally strong brands, including:
  • Arabia (ceramics, kitchenware; Finland)
  • BodaNova (glassware, cutlery; Sweden)
  • Brunton
    Brunton, Inc.
    Brunton, Inc. is a manufacturer of technical gear for outdoor activity located in Riverton, Wyoming. Brunton is well known for innovation in the categories of recreational compasses and navigation gear, binoculars, backpacking equipment, family camping, GPS, headlamps, solar panels for portable...

     (outdoor equipment; United States; to be sold to Fenix Outdoor AB)
  • Hackman
    Hackman
    Hackman was a cutlery and cookware company founded in Finland in 1790. Nowadays the Hackman brand is owned by Iittala Group, which was acquired by Fiskars Corporation in 2007....

     (cookware; cutlery; Finland)
  • Höganäs Keramik
    Höganäs Keramik
    Höganäs Keramik began its manufacturing operations as far back as 1909. Nowadays, the company is a typical design company and a part of Iittala Group, which is also known for BodaNova, Rörstrand and Iittala design brands, among others...

    (ceramics; Sweden)
  • Høyang-Polaris (cookware; Norway)
  • Raadvad (Denmark)
  • Rörstrand (porcelain; Sweden)


In Finland, according to a 2008 survey which included both Finnish and international brands, Fiskars was the most respected brand among consumers. There were three other Fiskars-owned brands in the top 5: Arabia (#2), Iittala (#4) and Hackman (#5).

Financial

Fiskars Corporation's net sales in fiscal year 2008 were € 697.0
million, up from € 647.0 in 2007. The increase was mainly due to the acquisitions of Iittala Group and Leborgne in 2007.

Cash flow from operations in 2008 was € 97.0 million compared to € 82.0 million in 2007.

The operating profit (EBIT) was € 70.9 million compared to € 106.9 million last year. The decrease was primarily caused by non-recurring items totalling € 34.9 million. Earnings per share for the year were € 0.64, down from € 1.40 in 2007.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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