At over 350 years of age, Fiskars is the second oldest registered legal entity in the world. We owe this long tradition to our commitment to producing products that make life easier for our customers. Our trademark is the brilliantly simple design as well as the passion for our work. We owe centuries of innovation to the Fiskars® tools we use today. Founded in 1649, Fiskars is now one of the oldest companies in the Western world. When the ironworks were founded in Fiskars, Finland was under Swedish domination. In 1649, Peter Thorwöste was granted permission to build a blast furnace and a bar iron plant in Fiskars, as well as to manufacture cast iron and wrought iron products. Most of the bar iron produced in the metal works was transported to Sweden to be sold on the iron market in the old town of Stockholm. In Fiskars, iron was also used to make nails, threads, knives, hooks, iron wheels and other products. After the Great Nordic War (1700-1721), the ironworks came into the possession of a dealer named John Montgomerie in 1731, who recruited better-trained workers for production abroad. After Montgomerie, John Jennings and Robert Finlay took over Fiskars. In 1783 the ironworks were taken over by the Björkman family and the focus of production shifted to processing copper ore from the nearby Orijärvi copper mine. In the nineteenth century, copper stocks in Orijärvi were running out, so the blast furnace was closed in 1802. Since then, there has been no basic iron production in Fiskars village. In 1822 the ironworks and the village of Fiskars were bought by the pharmacist Johan Jacob Julin (later "von Julin") from Turku. When Finland's first cutlery factory was founded in Fiskars in 1832, the product range expanded from knives to forks and scissors. In 1837 Fiskars offered another novelty in Finland when a machine factory was opened in the village. In the thirties of the nineteenth century the factory produced the first steam engine in Finland. The tradition of Fiskars, after which reforms and innovations were implemented immediately, has its origins in this period. Fiskars had a significant influence on the development of Finnish agriculture, and the Fiskars plough factory produced over a million ploughs in its heyday. Under Julin's leadership, Fiskars became famous for its innovations in agriculture and household goods, and the name Fiskars became a trademark for high quality. 1883 - Fiskars becomes a limited liability company. After the death of J.J. Julin, the ironworks were run by a guardianship administration. Gradually, the power gathered in the hands of Emil Lindsay of Julin and the limited liability company Fiskars was founded. The Finnish economy suffered from the great collapse of the stock markets in 1929, which slowed down the growth of Fiskars. In Finland, the effects of the crash were felt until the mid-1930s. It was not until the end of the Second World War that Fiskars' management was able to implement its plans to reform its corporate structure, which made mass production possible. The scissors with orange plastic handles are one of Fiskars' best-known products. But how did you decide to make the handles of the scissors orange? When the first basic models were to be produced in 1967, the product designer wanted them in black, red or green. When the prototype went into production, the machine operator decided to consume the orange that was still in his machine. So the prototypes were produced in four different colours, of which orange and black were the most popular. A decision had to be made. At Fiskars, an internal vote was carried out, with the result that Fiskars' scissors would have orange handles. 1999 - Fiskars celebrates its 350th anniversary. Of course, the 350th anniversary of the ironworks was celebrated in spring and summer 1999 in many ways at the birthplace of the company in Fiskars village. The "Fiskars Today" exhibition, visited by more than 60,000 visitors, presented the company's activities and products around the world. Various concerts and other events also brought company employees, customers and other interested groups to the Fiskars village for the celebrations. Today, Fiskars is known mainly for consumer goods such as scissors and gardening equipment. This is the largest part of the company, operated by Fiskars Brands and divided into four divisions: Craft, Garden, Houseware and Outdoor Recreation. Fiskars' boatbuilding tradition is continued by Inha Works, which produces Buster aluminium fishing boats and recreational boats as well as hinges and rail fasteners for the Northern European market. The Real Estate Group manages almost 15,000 hectares of real estate and facilities, most of which are located in the southwest of Finland. In 2007, the scissors with the orange handles will enter their fortieth year, while the Buster boat will be 30 years old. The shape of the legendary scissors, designed by Olof Bäckström in 1967, resembles the classic tailor's scissors. At their time, they introduced new and user-friendly ergonomics to the market. The orange design of the handles was a coincidence. However, Fiskars Orange® was registered as a trademark in Finland in 2004 and in the USA in January 2007.