Wärtsilä
Ab Wärtsilä Oy, an iron works in Värtsilä, Northern Karelia, was in financial problems; the company was deeply in debt due to a long-time unprofitable operation. Wahlforss had gained reputation as a capable restructurer and hired as General Manager of the company. Wahlforss repeated the same as he had done before – he started to travel around the country to introduce the company products, but soon he realised that the company would not become profitable by producing just raw iron bars. Wahlforss decided to step up in degree of processing and soon the company started producing nails, band iron, radiators and other products. With these actions Wahlforss managed to lead the company result slightly to positive side in period 1927–1931, but it still did not manage to shorten its debts.[6]
New problems came in 1931 during the Great Depression; Wärtsilä's financial situation got alarming and it was on verge of bankruptcy. The trading was stopped in Helsinki stock exchange. But two factors saved the company; the first one was galvanised wire production, which Wärtsilä had started right before the depression as the first company in the Nordic Countries. The second one was the company personnel which agreed about lowering of salaries in order to save the company. Already in 1932 Wärtsilä could pay dividend to its shareholders and the same trend continued in the following years.[6]
Robert Mattson, the major shareholder of engineering company Kone- ja Siltarakennus, died in 1935. Kone ja Silta was a big industrial company that owned a big workshop in Hakaniemi in Helsinki, but also the Hietalahti shipyard and Crichton-Vulcan in Turku. Mattson's shares were kept in strongroom in Pohjoismaiden Yhdyspankki (PYP) as deposit for debts. Rainer von Fieandt, who was a board member in Kone ja Silta, Wärtsilä and PYP, organised together with Wahlforss a gigantic acquisition – Wärtsilä, an East Finnish company with 700 employees, took over the leading metal industry company of Finland in 1935. The transaction was fully funded by a loan given by PYP.[6]
The new Wärtsilä Corporation lead now four units which all were barely profitable; therefore, many financial specialists expressed their doubts on the future of the company. However, Wahlforss restructured and developed the corporation determinedly during the 1930s. In 1938 the total number of employees reached 6 000.[6]
The acquisition put Wahlforss on pedestal; he was the chairman first in the Finnish Metal Industry Association in 1937–1942 and thereafter in the Finnish Industrial Union 1942–1946. During the Second World War he travelled to USA to purchase weapons. After the war ended, Wahlforss participated in negotiations about war reparations with Soviet Union representatives and he was sent to Paris to attend as an expert attendee in the peace treaty negotiations in 1947. Over 40% of all war reparations which consisted of metal products were produced by Wärtsilä. At the end of 1940s number of personnel in Wärtsilä reached already 11 000.[6]
Until 1954 Wahlforss was a member of delegation that negotiated about Soviet exports. In his negotiations with Soviet representatives he gained a legendary reputation; Wahlforss could only speak a couple of words in Russian and he did not know very much about naval architecture – but he was a true businessman and therefore he made a number of ship deals with Soviet Union.[6]
Wahlforss resigned from the position of General Manager in 1961 but he remained as board member until his death in 1969.[6]
