History

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History

1958

It all began with the need to find a small motor for a piece of gardening machinery. A suitable motor was not available in Finland so Oiva Pietarinen bought the part from abroad. Realising that there would be wider demand for similar motors, he set up Masino in 1958 and began to import motors to Finland.

Oiva Pietarinen was born in Pielavesi in North Savo. His parents were school teachers, who placed a high value on education. Oiva was only 11 when he moved away from home to attend grammar school in Kuopio. After Kuopio, he continued his studies in Helsinki, graduating as a machinery engineer from Helsinki University of Technology. Since early childhood, Oiva had been passionate about mechanical devices, and setting up a technology company was a natural step for him.

The first steps in business and growth

At the time of Masino’s establishment, running a business was more complicated than it is today. Even though by the end of 1950s rationing was a thing of the past, the general economic situation, characterised by strikes and high inflation, made things difficult for business owners. Oiva’s determination, his desire to succeed and his courage to take risks, combined with hard work, paid off and Masino went from strength to strength.

In the early stages, the company’s first agency agreement was with the German company Ilo Werke, whose Ilo motors were sold particularly for pump systems used by fire services, for example. One of the main milestones in Masino’s early history was the deal signed with Voith in 1960, making Masino Voith’s representative in Finland.

Roots in Helsinki

In 1958, the newly established Masino needed premises. Even though the owners lived in Espoo, Helsinki was chosen as the company’s domicile. The first office premises were located in the city centre, at Hietalahdenkatu 8. They consisted of a single small room, for which Oiva rented a phone and bought a typewriter.

The company did not stay in this location for long, as a year later Masino moved to Ratakatu, then to Fredrikinkatu in 1961 and to Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu in 1963. The company’s last address in Helsinki was Elimäenkatu, to where it moved in 1969. Sometimes the company had to move because the ownership of the rental property changed hands and sometimes it outgrew the facilities.

Because the company could not originally afford its own warehouse, it only acquired its first storage facility on Ilkantie in the Haaga district of Helsinki in 1966, from where the warehouse moved to more spacious premises on Riihitie in Tikkurila, Vantaa. The company continued to have its office on Elimäenkatu until 1975, when the company found new premises on Koivumäentie in Itä-Pakila. The warehouse moved from Tikkurila to Hyrylä in 1971, where the company’s repair workshop and aggregate building facilities were located.

Move to Vantaa in 1978

The company officially changed its domicile to Vantaa in 1978, when it moved its warehouse and maintenance services to Kuriiritie in Tikkurila. This was the first time that all of Masino’s operations were located under one roof, which saved time as there was no longer a need to travel between the office and the warehouse. The arrangement also helped reduce costs significantly.

At the beginning of the 1980s, Masino’s financial situation improved rapidly when it gained some large-scale projects. This allowed it to build its own facility, with Petikko in Vantaa selected as the location. The area had plots available for a suitable price. In addition, Petikko is located alongside Ring Road III and close to the airport, which made it easier to transport products and arrange customer visits. The opening of the premises was celebrated on Tiilitie in Petikko on 13 June 1983, on the company’s 25th anniversary.

Second generation enters the company

Oiva Pietarinen’s son Jarmo Pietarinen started working in the sales of hydraulic couplings at Masino in 1983. Later, Jarmo was appointed as the financial director, taking over the overall responsibility for financial administration and the aggregate department, which was a significant business segment for Masino at the time.

In 1988, the ownership of Masino was transferred to Jarmo Pietarinen, and at the age of 32 he became Masino’s managing director. With the energy and courage of youth, Jarmo accepted the challenge brought about by the position. His goal was to renew, modernise and expand Masino. He succeeded in doing so and over the course of ten years Masino grew into a multi-sector business.

Move to new address

to Kärkikuja

Even though they had been extended in the late 1990s, the premises in Petikko could not meet the needs of the company, which had grown through business acquisitions. In 2000, Masino bought a plot on Kärkikuja in Tuupakka and launched a large-scale construction project. The company moved to the new premises at the end of June 2002.

Staff well-being was given special attention in the design, with the facilities housing a spacious canteen, gym, saunas and dressing rooms, and a sauna for entertaining visitors. The premises offer plenty of space for administrative, storage and maintenance operations and Sejo’s sales point, even though the number of employees has grown by almost 50% since the beginning of the 2000s. As the plot still has some building rights remaining to meet future needs, the company head office is likely to remain on the site for quite some time.

Third generation taking over at the helm of the 60-year-old company

In 2015, Masino elected its first board with two members from outside the family: Heikki Ala-Ilkka and Topi Saarenhovi. The third generation is getting ready for its turn at the helm: Jarmo Pietarinen’s children Suvi, Mikko and Anni Pietarinen are actively involved in the management of the company via their seats on the company board.

– Looking back, the best part has been seeing Masino develop and grow at a suitable pace. We have qualified, independent staff and I feel confident in giving them lots of responsibility,’ says Jarmo Pietarinen, adding: ‘I’m also delighted that my children want to be involved in Masino, because this ensures the continuation of a family-owned company. said Jarmo Pietarinen at Masino's 60th anniversary celebration for its staff in June 2018.

On 1 January 2020, Mikko Pietarinen took over as CEO of Masino-Konaflex and on 1 September 2021, Suvi Pietarinen as CEO of Masino Industry.

The Board of Directors of Masino Group Oy, the parent company of Masino Group, was renewed in March 2022. After the retirement of Heikki Ala-Ilka, who had been Chairman of the Board since 2015, Suvi Pietarinen, a member of the third generation of the owning family, took over as Chairman. In addition to Topi Saarenhovi, who will continue on the Board, Anna Tapio, CEO of Suomen Asuntomessut and Mika Salokangas, a member of the Board of Directors of Telko, which is part of the Aspo Group, joined the Board as new members.

Anna Tapio, M.Sc. (Econ.), has previously worked in sales and marketing management positions at SRV Construction, as a director at ISS Service and as a consultant at McKinsey&Company.

Mika Salokangas, M.Sc. (Econ.), has previously held positions such as Managing Director at Ahlsell, Director at Wihuri, Managing Director at Agora Networks and Managing Director at Saab-Auto.

The renewed Board of Directors has a total of seven members, pictured from left Suvi Pietarinen, Topi Saarenhovi, Mikko Pietarinen, Anna Tapio, Mika Salokangas, Anni Pietarinen and Jarmo Pietarinen.

Sights on the future

In 2019, Masino Group acquired Suomen TPP Oy, which is a leading product supplier and expert in the areas of rock reinforcement, ventilation solutions for underground worksites, and concrete and other reinforcement fibres.

In 2020, Masino Group signed another deal, acquiring the family-run Konaflex, which has been in operation for four decades. The company now operates under the name Masino-Konaflex, and with its broad expertise accumulated over its long history, it offers a wide range of products and services related to power transmission and hydraulics.

In 2022, an acquisition was made in which Eurofasteners Oy and Oü were merged into the Masino Group. Eurofasteners provides C-product services to industry and operates in two locations: in Vantaa, Finland, and in Harjumaa, Estonia.

The acquisition of Eurofasteners increased the turnover of the Masino Group companies to EUR 80 million and the number of employees to 180.

The company’s goal is to grow even further, both organically and through business deals.

Mikko Pietarinen appointed CEO of Masino Group as of 1.1.2023

Mikko represents the third generation of Masino Group's family-owned company. He has worked for Masino in a variety of roles many years and as of January 1st, 2020 as CEO of Masino-Konaflex Ltd. Mikko has been a member of the Board of Directors of Masino Group since 2009.

The current CEO, Jarmo Pietarinen, who has led Masino Group for almost 35 years, since 1988, will continue to act as an advisor and working closely with the Group's different development projects. Jarmo will also continue as a member of the Board of Directors of Masino Group.

The change of CEO does not involve any ownership changes. All Masino Group companies will remain in the ownership of the Pietarinen family.

Today

These days, Masino Group has operations in many locations in Finland and in one in Estonia. In addition to Vantaa’s head office, the Masino-Konaflex office on Pyymosantie and the Eurofasteners office on Niittytie and Estonia, it has Masino Industry’s production and office premises in Ylöjärvi; Sejo, Welding and Masino-Konaflex’s sales, storage and maintenance facilities built in 2020 in Turku, and Sejo’s sales point in Tampere. In addition, it has mobile salespeople in the regions of Oulu, Kuopio and Ostrobothnia.

In the future, changes in operating environments in Finland and abroad alike will take place even more rapidly, and correspondingly the needs of Masino’s customers will change at an increasing pace. Therefore, flexible operations, development of expertise and utilisation of digital solutions will play an important role in ensuring that Masino will continue to act in the best interests of its customers over the coming decades.