Lassila & Tikanoja is a service company that makes the circular economy a reality. Together with our customers, we keep materials and properties in productive use for as long as possible and improve the use of raw materials and energy. By doing so, we create more value in the circular economy for our customers, our staff and society at large. When we succeed in this, the value generated for our owners will also increase. Our goal is to continuously increase the carbon footprint of our operations, ie the positive climate impact. We carry out social responsibility, among other things, by taking care of the working ability of our own personnel and also offering jobs to those who find it difficult to find employment. L&T operates in Finland and Sweden. The company's turnover in 2020 was EUR 751.9 million and the company employs 8,100 people. L&T is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

History

Lassila & Tikanoja was founded in 1905 as a wholesaler. Through many stages, L&T has developed into a service company that implements the circular economy in practice. We operate in Finland, Sweden and Russia.

1905: LASSILA & TIKANOJA ESTABLISHED

Josef Lassila and Frithjof Tikanoja founded Lassila & Tikanoja in 1905 in Vaasa. The company was a wholesaler whose products included fabric and clothing items as well as “heavy products” such as soap, herring, water buffalo and confectionery.

Over the years, the store's operations expanded throughout Finland and it became the largest private wholesaler in the Nordic countries.

1923-1980: FROM WHOLESALE TO THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY

Alongside the wholesale trade, Lassila & Tikanoja began manufacturing industrial clothing in 1923 and was one of Finland's largest clothing industry companies until the 1980s. At its best, Lassila & Tikanoja had industrial operations in almost twenty locations in Finland. The most well-known brands were Tiklas suits, shirts and blouses as well as Topman shoes.

Exports accounted for more than 50 percent of net sales since the 1960s and the company had significant operations in several European countries. The listing of Lassila & Tikanoja 's shares on the Helsinki Stock Exchange began in 1961.

1980s: NEW INDUSTRIES

In the 1980s, Lassila & Tikanoja expanded its operations with significant acquisitions. At the beginning of 1982, the nonwovens manufacturer JW Suominen Oy and in 1988 Amerplast Oy, which manufactured plastic flexible packaging, were acquired.

In 1989, Lassila & Tikanoja bought 74 percent of Säkkiväline Oy's shares. Finnish paper bag manufacturers founded Säkkivälinen in the 1960s to market waste bags and promote the use of the waste bag method. A separate company, Säkkiväline Oy, was founded in 1967. Through acquisitions, Säkkiväline expanded its operations to waste transportation, cleaning, industrial cleaning and damage repair. In the late 1980s, property maintenance became a new industry.

1990s: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IS THE MOST INDUSTRY'S LARGEST INDUSTRY

By the 1990s, Lassila & Tikanoja was a diversified group divided into the nonwovens, flexible packaging and tape industries (JW Suominen, Amerplast, Inka), the service industry (Säkkiväline) and the clothing and footwear industry. The clothing and footwear industry and wholesale were abandoned in the early part of the decade.

In 1995, Säkkiväline became a wholly owned subsidiary of Lassila & Tikanoja. The turnover of sack equipment grew strongly throughout the 1990s and at the end of the decade it already accounted for almost half of the group's turnover.

The sack device and the services it offers were systematically developed in the 1990s. Strong investments were made in waste recovery and recycling, cleaning operations were developed and hazardous waste management became part of the services. In property maintenance, operation control was developed, which included a central control room on call 24 hours a day. The development of environmental products focused in particular on products related to waste recovery.

Säkkivälinen became the leading player in environmental management in Finland when WM Ympäristöpalvelut Oy was acquired in the spring of 2000. 2001:

L&T Lassila & Tikanoja Corporation took its current form on September 30, 2001, when the then Lassila & Tikanoja plc was divided into two separate companies (Lassila & Tikanoja plc and Suominen Corporation).

Lassila & Tikanoja plc operated as Säkkiväline's parent company until March 31, 2002, when Säkkiväline merged with its parent company. At the same time, the L&T brand was launched, covering all of the company's industries: Environmental Services, Real Estate and User Services and Industrial Services.

2020: DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL

Lassila & Tikanoja is a service company that makes the circular economy a reality. Together with our customers, we keep materials and properties in productive use for as long as possible and increase the efficiency of the use of raw materials and energy. By doing so, we create more value in the circular economy for our customers, our staff and society at large. When we succeed in this, the value generated for our owners will also increase. Our goal is to continuously increase the carbon footprint of our operations, ie the positive climate impact. We carry out social responsibility, among other things, by taking care of the working ability of our own personnel and also offering jobs to those who find it difficult to find employment.

L&T operates in Finland and Sweden. The company's turnover in 2020 was EUR 751.9 million and the company employs 8,100 people. L&T is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.