Company Bytes · Episode 2 · Company Bytes · Season 1 · It started as something else
Nokia's Paper Mill
Before phones, Nokia made paper. On 12 May 1865, Fredrik Idestam got permission to build a groundwood pulp mill in Tampere, Finland, the date Nokia counts as its founding. A second mill opened near the town of Nokia in 1868, and the company took the town's name in 1871.
A mill in Tampere
On 12 May 1865, Fredrik Idestam received permission to build a mill at the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere, a city in Finland. Nokia counts that day as its founding date, so the company's birthday comes from a paper mill, not a phone.
What a groundwood pulp mill does
A groundwood pulp mill grinds wood into pulp: the soft, wet mush of wood fibres that paper is made from. The pulp is then pressed and dried into sheets. Our video simplifies the wood to "logs" and shows the mill as our own simple drawing, not a picture of the real building.
How the company got its name
In 1868, a second mill opened near a town called Nokia, on the Nokianvirta river. In 1871, the company took the town's name. So "Nokia" was a place before it was a company.
Rubber boots first? Not quite
A popular story says Nokia began with rubber boots. That isn't right. Rubber came from a separate company that later merged with Nokia. Phones came even later, and we leave the details of those later years for another day.
Try it yourself
Pick a company whose name you know well, and look up where the name came from. Is it a person, a place or a made-up word? Then check whether the company's own founding date matches what history books say: Nokia's comes from a mill permit in 1865.
Good to know
- Idestam received permission for a groundwood pulp mill at the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere on 12 May 1865, which Nokia counts as its founding date.
- A second mill near the town of Nokia (on the Nokianvirta river) followed in 1868, and the company took the town's name in 1871.
- Nokia did not start with rubber boots: the rubber company was a separate business that merged in later.
- "Phones came even later" is kept general on purpose: no phone dates or models are given.
- "Logs" simplifies wood.
- All artwork in the video is our own. No logos, phone designs or brand lettering are shown. Byte Sized Academy is not affiliated with or endorsed by any company mentioned.
Your take
Paper, rubber, phones: what should Nokia make next? There's no wrong answer. Tell us what you think of the story, and your pick for what comes next, in the comments.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Fredrik Idestam": permission for a groundwood pulp mill in Tampere on 12 May 1865 and the second mill near Nokia in 1868
- Wikipedia, "History of Nokia": 12 May 1865 as the founding date, the name taken from the town in 1871, and the rubber company as a separate business that merged in later
Video transcript
Nokia started out making paper. So how did a paper company get its name, and end up in phones?
On May 12, 1865, a man named Fredrik Idestam got permission to build a mill in Tampere, Finland.
It was a groundwood pulp mill. It ground up logs into pulp, the soft mush that paper is made from.
Nokia still counts that day in 1865 as its founding date.
In 1868, a second mill opened near a town called Nokia. And in 1871, the company took the town's name.
You may hear that Nokia began with rubber boots. Not quite. Rubber came from a separate company that merged in later. Phones came even later.
Paper, rubber, phones. What should Nokia make next? Comment below!
That's your byte.