The Iittala glass factory

P. M. Abrahamsson, a Swedish-born glassblower, opens a glass factory in the small village of Iittala, formerly of the municipality of Kalvola.

Incandescent light bulb

Incandescent light bulbs are first used in the Finlayson cotton mill in Tampere, a bustling factory town in Southern Finland.

Iittala glass factory receives its first light bulbs

The first 60 light bulbs provide lighting for the factory’s smoothing room and office. The workers in the blowing house continue to work by the light from the furnace and the molten glass.

Finland relies on imported lighting glassware

The first batches of lighting glassware are imported to Finland.

A. Ahlström Oy

Claes Nordstedt, son of Anders Nordstedt and both factory manager and majority shareholder of the Iittala glass factory since 1897, sells off his company shares to A. Ahlström Group.

Extensive lighting glassware production in Finland

Finland finally becomes self-sufficient in lighting glassware production. Kauklahti glassworks, an Espoo-based company, is the largest producer of lighting glassware in Finland.

The threaded-lip globe standard

Erkki Hyppönen comes up with a national standard for threaded-lip light fixture globes.

Riihimäki glassworks trades out their luminaire production to the Iittala glass factory

Riihimäki glassworks, in turn, takes over Iittala’s crystal glass and pressed glass production.

The Iittala luminaire selection

The Iittala luminaire selection consists of almost 1,000 different

The Iittala glass factory hires Designer Valto “Vate” Kokko (b. 26 May 1933, d. 25 May 2017 in Helsinki). Kokko is tasked with designing new proprietary luminaires for Iittala as well as trimming out and modernising the company’s existing luminaire selection. Kokko designs a brand identity for the selection and comes up with the I-Valo logo.

The I-Valo luminaire factory is completed

I-Valo is managed as a department of the Iittala glass factory. Håkan Söderström, M.Sc. (Tech.), serves as the plant’s property manager before being promoted to Factory Manager. Paavo Paajanen, B.Eng, serves as I-Valo’s product manager.

Concerted effort to develop a high-quality industrial luminaire

I-Valo started looking into the problem of reliable industrial lighting with various individuals who had deep understanding of the subject. The general consensus was that nobody was making a luminaire that would be suitable for harsh industrial conditions. Reliable lighting was a challenge, especially due to:

• dust particles and other impurities in the air,
• corrosion,
• unusual ambient temperatures, and
• mechanical damage.

As this was a problem shared across all industrial facilities, industry representatives were more than willing to work on a common solution.

Industrial luminaire production starts

In 1975, I-Valo received their first order for industrial luminaires from what was then known as Rautaruukki Oy. The order consisted of 250 vertical highbay luminaires with 400 W high-pressure sodium lamps, which would provide light for the company’s steelworks in the town of Raahe. Naturally, the luminaires were equipped with filters and rated for +100 ᵒC momentary and +80 ᵒC continuous ambient temperature.

Export sales begin

I-Valo makes its first deliveries to customers outside Finland. The company’s excellent standing among Finnish paper mills drives export sales, as Finnish-owned paper mills in England and France invest in I-Valo’s industrial luminaires. This success can be largely attributed to excellent contacts in the home market.

I-Valo moves house

As part of an internal reorganisation of the Ahlström group, I-Valo becomes part of the group’s construction materials division.

I-Valo procures its globes from the Iittala glass factory; some of the globes are made in house and the rest are imported.

Fame and glory

Later in the same year, I-Valo participates in the BATIMAT construction fair held in Paris and is awarded the gold medal for the best innovation in the lighting category. The selection is made from approximately 3,500 exhibitors from 28 different countries. The silver goes to lighting industry giant Philips.

The Strömfors factory manager takes charge of I-Valo’s business

Paavo Paajanen is appointed Factory Manager at the group’s luminaire factory. Paajanen heads I-Valo for a very long time before finally retiring in 2005.

I-Valo becomes I-Valo Oy, an independent company within the group

Factory Manager Paavo Paajanen is appointed Managing Director of I-Valo.

I-Valo’s first LED luminaire

I-Valo launches SOL LED, the company’s first LED luminaire. SOL LED is a general purpose luminaire intended for residential homes and public spaces. The luminaire is selected as the 2010 construction product of the year by the principal committee of the construction material and product information service of the Building Information Group.

The FIT FOR THE FUTURE -concept: pioneering sustainable development

To help their existing customers to make the transition to LED lighting, I-Valo launches two new upgrade kits, LED Retrofit and Service Pack. These kits allow I-Valo’s popular lowbay discharge lamp luminaires to be upgraded into energy-efficient LED

I-Valo Oy is acquired by Swedish lighting group Fagerhult

With subsidiaries in 30 countries around the world, Fagerhult is one of the leading groups in the European lighting sector. The company has a presence in more than 40 different countries. Fagerhult has been in the lighting business since 1945.