Nokia The Asian Mobile Giant History

Nokia started by making paper – the original communications technology
The history of Nokia goes back to 1865. That was when Fredrik Idestam built a wood pulp mill on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids, in southern Finland. A few years later, he built a second mill by the Nokianvirta river – the place that gave Nokia its name.
Who was Fredrik Idestam?
A mining engineer by trade, Idestam brought a new, cheaper paper manufacturing process to Finland from Germany.
It was a great success. Idestam’s invention won a bronze medal at the Paris World Exposition in 1867, and he is considered to be the father of Finland’s paper industry.
Idestam named his company Nokia Ab in 1871
Nokia Ab added electricity generation to its business activities in 1902
Did you know?
The Nokianvirta river is named after a dark, furry animal that was locally known as the nokia – a type of marten.

The first Nokia century began with Fredrik Idestam's paper mill on the banks of the Nokianvirta river. Between 1865 and 1967, the company would become a major industrial force; but it took a merger with a cable company and a rubber firm to set the new Nokia Corporation on the path to electronics...

1865: The birth of NokiaFredrik Idestam establishes a paper mill at the Tammerkoski Rapids in south-western Finland, where the Nokia story begins.

1898: Finnish Rubber Works foundedArvid Wickström founds Finnish Rubber Works, which will later become Nokia's rubber business.

1912: Finnish Cable Works foundedEduard Polón starts Finnish Cable Works, the foundation of Nokia's cable and electronics businesses.

1937: Verner Weckman, industry heavyweightFormer Olympic wrestler Verner Weckman becomes President of Finnish Cable Works.

1960: First electronics departmentCable Works establishes its first electronics department, selling and operating computers.

1962: First in-house electrical deviceThe Cable Works electronics department produces its first in-house electrical device - a pulse analyzer for nuclear power plants.

1967: The mergerNokia Ab, Finnish Rubber Works and Finnish Cable works formally merge to create Nokia Corporation.