NOKIA

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 Nokia
Fredrik Idestam establishes a paper mill at the Tammerkoski Rapids in south-western Finland, where the Nokia story begins.

1898: Finnish Rubber Works founded Eduard Polón founds Finnish Rubber Works, which will later become Nokia's rubber business.


1912: Finnish Cable Works founded
Arvid Wickström starts Finnish Cable Works, the foundation of Nokia's cable and electronics businesses.

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

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

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

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