KWH Group
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Headquarters | Vaasa, Finland |
|
Key people
|
Henrik Höglund, Chairman Kjell Antus, President Stefan Sjöberg (Mirka) Hannu Uusi-Pohjola (KWH Logistics) Mikael Lillvik (KWH Invest) |
| Products |
Abrasives Logistics Services Real estate holdings Plastic plumbing products |
| Revenue | € 395 million euro (2016) |
| € 48,0 million euro (2016) | |
| € 36,3 million euro (2016) | |
|
Number of employees
|
1729 (2016) |
| Website | KWH Group |
KWH Group is one of Finland's leading companies in abrasives, logistics services and plastics. It is headquartered in Vaasa, Finland.
From a modest start in the timber industry, by 1939 it was the biggest timber exporter in Finland, accounting for 26% of the country’s total lumber exports and some 20% of pulpwood exports. The company was the world's largest fox and mink fur producer in the 1960s and 1970s, producing approximately 10% of all Finnish mink furs, equivalent to 2% of world production in 1973.
After expanding into plastics production in the 1950s, the company was the first in Finland to manufacture expanded polystyrene sheets with its brand name Styrox. Establishing a niche expertise in plastic pipe manufacturing, the company was the first in the world to manufacture a 600 mm diameter pipe in 1964, thereby gaining international recognition.
Today, the Mirka Group (previously KWH Mirka Group until 2016) is one of the largest manufacturers in the world in terms of volume in the "flexible abrasives materials" industry.
Emil Höglund and Edvin Wiik were both in the timber business. Emil Höglund worked as a clerk and Edvin Wiik worked as an independent buyer of timber for the Hellnäs sawmills. As the sawmill was expected to foreclose after defaulting on its payments, both were faced with unemployment. Discussing their options, they decided to establish their own company, Wiik & Höglund, which was founded on August 28, 1929. The company was to engage in trade in round timber, pit props and pulpwood. Wiik acted as a buyer, and Höglund, having studied at a commercial college and spent some time in England in 1928, was responsible for sales and bookkeeping.
Though they had a prosperous first year in business, thanks to their previous experience in the timber sector, the company also faced periodic difficulties, for example during the Depression years of 1930-1933. However, in the late 1930s, the company expanded fast, and became one of the major round timber exporters in Finland, with Emil Höglund travelling as a salesman to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Britain. By 1939 Wiik & Höglund was the biggest timber exporter in Finland, accounting for 26% of the country’s total lumber exports and some 20% of pulpwood exports.
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Wikipedia