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The history of Uponor dates back to 1918, when Aukusti Asko-Avonius founded a
carpentry workshop in Lahti. In the 1920s the company, which was trading under
the name Asko at that time, opened its first store and a new furniture factory.
The affiliated company, Upo Oy, was established in 1938 and furniture production
was expanded to include household appliances during the 1940s and 50s.
The Group entered the plastic pipe industry in 1965, when a pipe production
plant was opened in Nastola. The internationalisation of the Group's operations
began in 1982, when a new subsidiary, Oy Uponor Ab, was established. Through
acquisitions, Oy Uponor Ab expanded rapidly into the Nordic countries. The
company mainly focused on pipe systems for municipal engineering and building
products, grew rapidly also during the 80s and, as a result of several
acquisitions, extended operations throughout Western Europe.
Uponor entered a new field of industry, hot water pipe systems, by purchasing
two of the largest companies in the field, Wirsbo of Sweden and Hewing of
Germany, at which point its business spread into North America. After the
acquisition of Aldyl gas pipe operations in the early 1990s, Uponor's business
activities had reached South America. In the 1990s, the Uponor plastic pipe
operations became the core area of the Group's business operations. This marked
the beginning of a new era, during which the Group invested strongly in the
development of Uponor, which at that time was a subsidiary of Asko Group, and
started to divest of companies involved in sectors further away from the core
business.
By the early 2000s, all the non-core divisions were divested, and operations
focused on the core plastic pipe business. The parent company's name was changed
to Uponor Corporation at the turn of the millennium. During the early years of
the new millennium, Uponor carried out an extensive restructuring programme
aimed at increasing efficiency and focusing on businesses where the Group had a
strong market position, with the aim of securing a leading position as
international provider of housing and environmental infrastructure solutions.
For more information see www.uponor.com
Corporate presentation 2008
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