Fiskars

History

The Fiskars Corporation was formed in 1649 when a Dutch merchant named Peter Thorwöste was given a charter to establish a blast furnace and forging operation in the small village of Fiskars. The furnace produced pig iron that was shingled to wrought iron in the finery forges powered by water wheels. In the early years, Fiskars made nails, wire, hoes, and metal reinforced wheels from wrought iron.

In the late eighteenth century, copper was discovered in nearby Orijärvi and thus the focus of production shifted to processing copper from the Orijärvi mine. For almost 80 years, Fiskars main source of business came from copper however, by the nineteenth century there was little copper left in Orijärvi.

In 1822 the apothecary Johan Jacob Julin (later, von Julin) from Turku acquired the Fiskars ironworks and village. During this time the ironworks were actively developed and production focused on processing iron. In 1832 the first cutlery mill in Finland was founded in Fiskars with the production range increasing from knives to include forks and scissors.

In 1915 Fiskars was listed at Helsinki Stock Exchange. In September 2015, Fiskars celebrated 100 years of being listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange along with Nokia, Wärtsilä and UPM.

Fiskars is perhaps best known for its scissors and their distinct orange colored handles. The first pair was manufactured in 1967 and had prototypes with handles in black, red, green and orange. After an internal vote at Fiskars, the orange color was chosen. That same orange color, Fiskars Orange, was officially registered as a trademark in Finland in 2003 and in the US in 2007. In 1977, Fiskars founded a scissors factory in the United States to provide a basis for international trade and further expansion.

In 2007 Fiskars acquired both Iittala and Leborgne which strengthened the company's position in the kitchenware and table top categories as well as the garden tools business. The acquisition of Royal Copenhagen in 2013 complemented Fiskars tableware offering with hand-painted porcelain and strengthened the company in the Nordic countries and in Asia. In 2015, Fiskars acquired the WWRD group of companies (WWRD) and its portfolio of luxury home and lifestyle brands, which include Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert and Rogaška.

Today

Fiskars Corporation is made up of two strategic business units: SBU Living and SBU Functional. Fiskars’ three primary reporting segments are Living, Functional and Other. Fiskars' Other-segment contains the Group’s investment portfolio, the real estate unit, corporate headquarters and shared services. In addition, Fiskars reports group-level net sales for three secondary reporting segments: Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

SBU Functional creates tools for use in and around the house and outdoors under brands such as Fiskars, Gerber, Gilmour and Leborgne. SBU Living offers a wide range of products for tabletop, giftware and interior décor under brands such as Iittala, Wedgwood, Waterford, Royal Copenhagen, Arabia, Rörstrand, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert.

Fiskars’ products are available in more than 100 countries and after the acquisition of WWRD, the company employs around 8,600 people in over 30 countries.

Fiskars headquarters are located in Fiskars Campus in the Arabianranta district of Helsinki, Finland.

Brands and products

According to the Fiskars Group, its key international brands are:

Other notable brands:

Financial

In 2015, Fiskars recorded net sales of 1,105 million euros and an adjusted operating profit of 65,1 million euros. Cash flow from operating activities was 47.6 million euros.