Martela
Encyclopedia
Martela is a family company founded 1945 in Helsinki
, Finland
and its shares are quoted on the OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki. The company has production facilities in Finland
, Sweden
and Poland
. The company's main markets include the regions around the Baltic Sea
and Norway
, the Netherlands, Ukraine
, Hungary
and Japan
.
In 2010, Martela Group’s turnover was EUR 108.4 million and it employed an average of 601 employees.
Martela is the largest company in its sector in Finland and one of the three largest in the Nordic countries. Martela also offers a wider range of services that support the maintenance and modification of interior solutions than anyone else. In Finland, Martela offers a comprehensive service that can cover the entire process of change from initial inventory and design to removal and maintenance.
Martela, then called Tehokaluste Oy, was established in 1945. Operations did not begin with production first, as with many competitors. Instead, the company focused on designing products and marketing them to customers. The founders of the company with business degrees were Matti S. Martela, Henrik Virkkunen, Unto Eskola and Jonne Jahnukainen, plus Svante Nurmiranta and interior architect Wladimir Rumjantsew.
Even before the company had been property established, Matti S. Martela had received orders for Tehokaluste from his future key client – the Finnish Government. He had offered the Director of the Resettlement Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Veikko Vennamo, writing desks designed by interior architect Rumjantsew. Vennamo initially ordered fifty desks, but before the company had time even to deliver these, another order arrived for fifty more. A hundred desks was such a major order for the young company that it supported operations for the first months. The government continued to be Tehokaluste’s biggest client throughout the 1940s. The first order began a healthy relationship with the Finnish Government’s central procurement unit that lasted for decades.
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...
, 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...
and its shares are quoted on the OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki. The company has production facilities in 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...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The company's main markets include the regions around the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the Netherlands, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In 2010, Martela Group’s turnover was EUR 108.4 million and it employed an average of 601 employees.
Martela is the largest company in its sector in Finland and one of the three largest in the Nordic countries. Martela also offers a wider range of services that support the maintenance and modification of interior solutions than anyone else. In Finland, Martela offers a comprehensive service that can cover the entire process of change from initial inventory and design to removal and maintenance.
History - The foundation of Martela (Tehokaluste)
Matti S. Martela worked at the Riihimäki woodworking company that he himself had founded. He had good relations to business circles and knew that there was demand for new office furniture. His idea was groundbreaking in its simplicity: create a company in Finland that would develop and market sensibly designed office furniture according to the new office standards.Martela, then called Tehokaluste Oy, was established in 1945. Operations did not begin with production first, as with many competitors. Instead, the company focused on designing products and marketing them to customers. The founders of the company with business degrees were Matti S. Martela, Henrik Virkkunen, Unto Eskola and Jonne Jahnukainen, plus Svante Nurmiranta and interior architect Wladimir Rumjantsew.
Even before the company had been property established, Matti S. Martela had received orders for Tehokaluste from his future key client – the Finnish Government. He had offered the Director of the Resettlement Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Veikko Vennamo, writing desks designed by interior architect Rumjantsew. Vennamo initially ordered fifty desks, but before the company had time even to deliver these, another order arrived for fifty more. A hundred desks was such a major order for the young company that it supported operations for the first months. The government continued to be Tehokaluste’s biggest client throughout the 1940s. The first order began a healthy relationship with the Finnish Government’s central procurement unit that lasted for decades.