Curiosity for wood for over 110 years
Since 1908, Raute has been committed to wood. Today, we are a listed family company serving customer worldwide. It has been quite a journey into the smarter use of wood.
Milestones
Raute was established on April 30, 1908 as Lahden Rauta- ja Metalliteollisuustehdas Oy. Located in the southern Finnish town of Lahti, we first manufactured wood processing machines, furniture, scales and vessels. In 1911, a 36-year-old engineer Henrik Schwartzberg, later Henrik Mustakallio, took the lead of operations.
We decided to expand to the manufacturing of plywood machines and exported first time to Russia.
WWII resulted in large reparation work. At the same time, we strengthened our Soviet relationship that has lasted ever since. We expanded in multiple fronts and already employed hundreds of experts. Our new factory was built in Nastola (Lahti), Finland.
While the oil crisis challenged businesses worldwide, our export expanded well. We opened a new sales office in the USA, and even won the first deal in East Germany. We also delivered first projects with know-how and services support.
The era of business leaps on multiple fronts. We delivered the first LVL system in Finland, and opened new sales offices in Singapore and in Santiago, Chile. Our acquisition of Durand Machine Company Ltd. speeded up our growth in the North American plywood market. In product development, our focus shifted to automation and digitalization.
We decided to focus on selected customer segments. In 1994, Raute listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, and the company name changed to Raute Oyj.
Productivity and sustainability of wood processing got under spotlight. We acquired new machine vision knowhow from Mecano Group. Raute Service LLC was established in St. Petersburg to provide maintenance and spare parts services in Russia. Subsidiary Raute Machinery co., Ltd started its operations to serve better our Chinese customers. We celebrated our 100th birthday!
We took the lead in smart production models for veneer, plywood and LVL and launched Raute Smart Mill and several other innovations in peeling, patching, drying and laying. During 2005 we opened our first local Service Center in St Petersburg to be closer to our customers. Acquisition of Metriguard Inc. completed our offering in veneer grading technology.
We will intensify digitalization of veneer, plywood and LVL production and continue to find new value opportunities from wood. Acquisition of Hiottu strengthened our digital capabilities.
Raute's History: 114 years of work wrought in iron
Learn about Raute's history and journey over the past century.
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