The history of Siemens in Finland
Groundbreaking inventions in three centuries – learn about the history of Siemens in Finland.
Groundbreaking inventions since 1855
Siemens has been electrifying Finnish society since 1855, when a telegraph line was completed from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. The pointer telegraph, the electric generator, the electric locomotive and other advanced inventions of Werner von Siemens created a solid foundation for the business of a multidisciplinary and rapidly internationalizing technology company.
15 inventions that changed Finland
When you scroll back through the history of technology, it is easy to agree with the sentence: where there is electricity, there is Siemens. Did you know that Siemens has also been involved in the following technical leaps in Finland?
Telegraph connection from St. Petersburg to Helsinki
In 1853, the Russian government asked Siemens & Halske to build a telegraph line from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. It was completed in 1855. This is how Finland was connected to the international telecommunications network.
Electrification of the Pasila engineering works
At the end of the 19th century, trains were powered by steam. The first generators connected to piston steam engines were installed at the Pasila engineering works in 1901. The generators were supplied and installed by Siemens.
Finland's first steam turbine plant in Tampere
Finnish fabrics and especially Klingendahl's cloth was known for high quality. The cloth factory was also a pioneer in technology. It commissioned Finland's first steam turbine plant in Tampere in 1906, supplied by Siemens.
Finland's first electrified kitchen
Finland's first electrified restaurant kitchen was at Lasipalatsi in Helsinki in 1935. Everything went well, and the restaurant received full marks from experts. The kitchen at Lasipalatsi was electrified with Siemens equipment.
Safe journey from Malmi Airport
On May 15, 1938, Malmi Airport had its opening ceremony. The transport connections for Finns improved. A new focus was placed on safety, so the airport's lighting and light signaling equipment was ordered from Siemens.
Olympic news from Helsinki to the world
19 July 1952 was a great day for Helsinki Olympic Stadium: running legend Paavo Nurmi carried the torch there. The world was hungry for news. The Post was handling communication and purchased many new telex machines from Siemens.
Plays at the National Theatre became lighter
Lights play a major role in theatres. So, the stage lighting at the National Theatre was renewed in 1958. The same had been done earlier at the National Opera. In both cases, the latest lighting technology came from Siemens.
Nuclear power began to generate electricity
Finland's first nuclear power plant, Loviisa I, was commissioned in May 1977. Siemens supplied the measurement, regulation and control technology and process control for both power plants in Loviisa.
Alko automated its high-bay warehouse
Alko automated its giant warehouse in Helsinki in June 1978. With the new technology the inventory was known down to the bottle. The computers and software for Alko's warehouse and the conveyor automation came from Siemens.
Phone calls without intermediaries
Finnish telephone traffic became fully automated on 1 April 1980, when the new automatic telephone exchange in Pello came into use. It was supplied by Siemens. This marked the end of the era for manual central exchanges.
The world's first GSM call
The opening call of Radiolinja's GSM center, supplied by Siemens, was made on July 1, 1991. The Bank of Finland's director Harri Holkeri made the world's first official GSM call to Tampere's deputy mayor Kaarina Suonio.
Cooperation with the Finnish Defense Forces
Siemens implemented a large-scale my.SAP.com-based enterprise resource planning system for the Finnish Defense Forces. A couple of years later, Siemens also delivered a nationwide SAP service center to the Finnish Defense Forces.
Historic electric locomotive order
VR Group ordered 80 Vectron electric locomotives from Siemens – still the largest order in VR's history. The locomotives are tailored to the challenging conditions in Finland and suitable for passenger and freight traffic.
Europe's smartest shopping center Sello
Long-term cooperation with Siemens since 2003 made Sello the first shopping center in Europe to receive a platinum-level LEED environmental rating during operation in 2015. Sello is connected to Siemens' virtual power plant.
Revolutionizing the textile industry
Spinnova has developed a technology to solve the sustainability problems of the clothing industry. Spinnova's first industrial-scale factory in Jyväskylä makes extensive use of Siemens' technology.
For over 170 years, Siemens has been shaping the country of Finland where we live in today. We have transformed great inventions into groundbreaking technology and responded to the challenges of our time – revolutionizing the everyday lives of Finns and helping to increase competitiveness. Visionary technology will remain at the core of our operations in the future. We work to ensure that future generations have a sustainable future.