Ahlstrom
Ahlstrom has its roots in Finland: the founder, Antti Ahlström, was one of Finland's most prominent 19th-century businessmen. The company was founded in 1851 and timber trading, shipping, and sawmill operations started to grow. The company focused on pulp, paper and timber production and machinery, later expanding to glassworks (Iittala and Karhula). Ahlstrom's paper production began in Varkaus in 1921 on Europe's largest paper production machine.[10] By the beginning of the 1930s, Ahlstrom had grown into Finland's largest industrial conglomerate.[11]
The outbreak of World War II led the company to convert much of its production to support the Finnish war effort. Following the war, the company played a major role in Finland's reconstruction and in its war reparations obligation. Ahlstrom alone accounted for nearly 15 percent of the country's total reparations. The company continued to expand into the 1950s, stepping up its engineering operations while also expanding into chemical wood processing technology.[11]
Ahlstrom Corporation began to rapidly grow internationally in 1963, by acquiring a majority interest in a paper mill in Mathi close to Turin, Italy, that produced filter papers and rifle cartridge paper. This was the first significant international acquisition made by a Finnish company and made Ahlstrom a pioneer among major Finnish companies in internationalization.[10]
The town of Varkaus grew up around the A. Ahlström paper mills. In the 1930s, the Sunila Plant in Karhula (now Kotka), designed by Alvar Aalto, was built by Ahlström. In the 1980s, in a large swap of facilities, the Varkaus works were handed over to Enso Gutzeit (now Stora Enso).
During the 1980s, Ahlstrom left the newsprint and magazine paper market and focused its operations on specialty papers. One of the most profound decisions in Finnish industrial history was made in 1987, when Ahlstrom unexpectedly sold its paper-producing units. Leaving newsprint production increased the relative value of Ahlstrom's specialty paper and engineering units.
In the 1990s, Ahlstrom expanded its focus to include nonwoven products. At the end of 1996, Ahlstrom Corporation continued its expansion by acquiring the French specialty paper and nonwovens producer Sibille-Dalle. During that same year, Ahlstrom Corporation established the Ahlstrom Paper Group to encompass the company's fiber-based materials operations.
In 2000, Ahlstrom acquired Dexter Corporation's nonwovens production facilities in the United States, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Recently, Ahlstrom is among the largest Nordic companies. The Ahlström family are still significant shareholders in the Ahlstrom Corporation.
In 2001, the group split into three companies. The manufacturing divisions were transferred to the now public Ahlstrom Corporation. Ahlstrom Capital Oy was established as a private investment company. And A.Ahlstrom Osakeyhtio was established as a private forestry and real estate management company.
In October 2005, Professor Johan Erik Gullichsen, chairman of Ahlstrom Corporation, was inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame for his innovations in the processing of pulp fiber suspensions at medium consistency.[12]
In 2012, Ahlstrom Corporation announced that its Label and Processing business area will be combined with Munksjö Group.
In 2016, Ahlstrom Corporation and Munksjö Oyj announced a plan to merge the two companies.[13]
