Tor Nessling
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vuorineuvos Tor Ragnar Nessling |
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Tor Nessling at a truck launch in 1962
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| Born |
6 September 1901 Helsinki, Finland |
| Died | 23 November 1971 (aged 70) Helsinki, Finland |
| Citizenship | Finland |
| Education | diplomi-insinööri |
| Alma mater | Helsinki University of Technology |
| Occupation | General Manager |
| Years active | 1931–1970 |
| Employer | Oy Suomen Autoteollisuus Ab |
| Predecessor | John Hellsten |
| Successor | Erik Gillberg |
| Spouse(s) | Greta Maria ("Maj") née Kock |
| Parent(s) | John Nessling and Greta née Grönholm |
| Awards |
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Tor Ragnar Nessling MSc (diplomi-insinööri) (6 September 1901 – 23 November 1971) was a leading Finnish industrialist, entrepreneur and engineer. For nearly four decades he was the general manager of the Finnish heavy vehicle producer Suomen Autoteollisuus (SAT). His contribution to national development was officially recognized by the Finnish President who appointed Nessling as a "Vuorineuvos".
Nessling became head of SAT in 1932, soon after the company's foundation. He developed the business in an era when only few believed in the possibility of a Finnish automotive industry, and a decade later had become the company's majority shareholder. Nessling took a patriarchal approach to his leadership of the company, which he built into a producer of trucks, bus chassis, rail vehicles and specialist terminal tractors. Nessling lost his controlling shareholding following a merger in 1968, resigned in 1970 and died the following year.
Nessling's parents were engineer John Nessling and Greta née Grönholm. Nessling did his abitur at the Helsinki coeducational (Swedish language) in 1920. He continued his studies at the Mechanical Engineering Faculty of the Helsinki University of Technology: simultaneously he studied Geology at the University of Helsinki between 1922 and 1924. Nessling graduated as a diplomi-insinööri in 1924. He traveled in Sweden, the UK, Germany and the USA, and between 1926 and 1928 Nessling worked successively for three Finnish automobile import companies Korpivaara & Halla, Henry-Auto and Auto-Bil. He worked as manager in the auto-business with Munkkisaaren Autotalli ja Konepaja from 1928 to 1929 and then with Autovarikko between 1929 and 1930.
In 1929 Nessling was appointed Technical Manager of the bus and coach builder Autoteollisuus-Bilindustri. Nessling wanted to develop a new branch of industry for his country and in the same year he became interested in starting a lorry and bus industry in Finland. Autoteollisuus–Bilindustri put together its activities with another coachbuilder Osakeyhtiö Autokoritehdas in 1931. The name of the new company was Suomen Autoteollisuus (Finnish Auto-industry) and its first General Manager was John Hellsten. It is often claimed that Nessling was a founder of SAT: he was not. The operation was organised by Karl Arthur Nordgrén, Emil Anton Winckelmann and Lars Wilhelm Åberg. However, the year after the company's creation Nessling was appointed General Manager of the SAT.
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