64 WHAT TRADIES WANT.GOOD COMPANY
I
t seems simplicity and innovation don’t
sit well side-by-side, especially in
today’s high-tech tools and hardware.
But Finland-based Fiskars proves the
two concepts belong together. Just take a
look at the company’s approach to the good
ol’ axe and the simple-as-a-pimple hammer.
When Fiskars grabs hold of them, these
things become advanced-technology works
of art, but retain the simplicity which makes
them such a valuable asset to any tradie.
ROYAL DECREE
Fiskars was founded in 1649 in the small
Finnish village of the same name about 90km
north of Helsinki when Queen Christina
of Sweden granted Peter Thorwöste the
privilege to manufacture cast-iron and
forged products. Today, as one of the
western world’s oldest companies, Fiskars
has grown into a multinational corporation.
With products sold in more than 100
countries around the world, a listing on the
Helsinki stock exchange, and celebrating
368 years of operation in 2017, Fiskars is a
big name in tools the world over.
Over three centuries...that’s some serious
time on the job!IN THE BEGINNING
When Thorwöste kicked off he had a blast
furnace and bar hammer and produced bar
iron for use mostly in the rapdily growing
Stockholm area. He also offered nails,
thread, knives, hoes, iron wheels and
hardware.
He must’ve worked like a Trojan, because
the whole operation grew until it was sold
in the late 1700s and again in the 1800s,
by which time the foundry was focused on
processing iron and moved into cutlery,
scissors and on to its first steam engine.For an excellent Finnish
Here and inset: Fiskars’ campus entrance.Forging and working iron remained a big
part of Fiskars’ activities and over one million
ploughs were produced by the workshop.
The company’s focus on quality and
innovation continued over time. Striking tools
like hammers and axes became a particular
field of interest, and now the orange handles
are a marker of high-quality tools to tradies
the world over.ON STRIKE
Today Fiskars may be a large, diverse and
international concern, but getting a hammer
to strike a nail or an axe to slice timber
more efficiently and neatly still occupies a
lot of corporate thinking. So much so that it
developed the unique Isocore technology to
reduce vibration and increase user comfort
and safety. The heads of the striking tools- any of various axes, tomahawks and
hammers from framers up to sledgies – are
all built with premium materials, including
heat-treated forged steel with a rust-resistant
coating. The heads, vibration-sleeve steel
tubes and handles are all assembled with
high-precision rivets. Even the shape of the
handle is carefully crafted to offer better grip,
less blisters and a shape that offers more
safety and control during use.
It’s all backed with a full lifetime warranty,
of course.
Fiskars