Fiskars to revise its ceramics production strategy
Fiskars Corporation Press Release January 18, 2011 at 2.30 pm
Fiskars Home, part of the Fiskars Group, announces its updated ceramic products production strategy. This will see operations at its factory in Helsinki (Arabia) focus on product development and design and industrial production of selected lines. The factory’s specialist expertise will be enhanced through a multi-million euro investment program. Alongside in-house production, Fiskars will continue developing flexible and efficient production with carefully selected suppliers.
The revision of the production strategy is intended to strengthen the international competitiveness of Fiskars Home’s products and secure the long-term development of the Arabia factory. As a result of the planned changes, codetermination negotiations will be held with all personnel at the factory, covering in total 230 employees. The expected reduction in personnel is expected to involve a maximum of 95 people. Negotiations will aim to identify alternative solutions for those who could be made redundant, such as retraining.
“By combining high-quality Finnish design and quality with new, more efficient production models, we will be able to become a leading international supplier of consumer goods for the home,” says Hille Korhonen, Fiskars’ Vice President, Operations. “The Arabia factory plays a major role in the product development of Fiskars’ ceramic products, and the factory’s unique expertise in colored ceramics gives us an important competitive advantage. This is why we are strengthening this expertise through investing in, among other things, a new clay milling and mixing and glaze system that will start up in the fall.”
The Fiskars Group is the market leader in homeware products in the Nordic region and has a large and highly regarded portfolio of brands. Fiskars Home produces and markets high-quality ceramic products under the Iittala, Arabia, Rörstrand, and Höganäs Keramik brands. Its Helsinki factory is the largest ceramics manufacturing facility in the Nordic region and produces Arabia and Iittala products.
Further Information:
Hille Korhonen
Vice President, Operations
tel. +358 204 39 5446
Fiskars is a leading global supplier of consumer products for the home, garden,and outdoors. The group has a strong portfolio of respected international brands, including Fiskars, Iittala, Gerber, Buster, and Silva. Founded in 1649 and listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Fiskars is Finland’s oldest company. Fiskars recorded net sales of EUR 663 million in 2009, and employs some 3,500 people in over 20 countries.
The Arabia factory
The Arabia factory was founded in Helsinki in 1873 on a lot called Arabia. Today, it is the largest ceramics manufacturing facility in the Nordic region and part of the Fiskars Group, developing and producing products marketed under the Arabia and Iittala brands. The Arabia factory remains based at its original location in the Vanhakaupunki district of Helsinki and it has built up a strong reputation for its expertise in glazes and specialty ceramics.
Over the years, Arabia Center, a popular visitor attraction, has grown around the factory. Arabia Center houses for example the studios of the Arabia Art Department Society, the Arabia Museum and Gallery, part of the Finnish Design Museum, the head office of the Fiskars Group, and an Iittala outlet store. The management, marketing, and sales functions for Fiskars’ Finnish brands Iittala, Arabia, Hackman, Fiskars and Buster are also based at the Fiskars Campus.