User:Mmakinen/Oilon

Oilon is an international family-owned company specializing in energy and environmental technology. The company was founded in 1961 in Finland. Product development is a key priority for the company, the primary focus areas being energy efficiency and emission reduction. Oilon designs and manufactures burners and combustion systems for both liquid and gaseous fuels, ground-source heat pumps , and industrial heat pumps and chillers. The company’s products are used in power plants, industrial facilities, waste icineration plants, heat stations, and marine boilers, to name a few. They are used to provide heating and cooling for both individual buildings and wider districts. Additionally, Oilon provides heating solutions for households, including ground-source heat pumps and domestic burner systems.

Oilon is an international family-owned company specializing in energy and environmental technology. The company was founded in 1961 in Finland. Product development is a key priority for the company, the primary focus areas being energy efficiency and emission reduction. Oilon designs and manufactures burners and combustion systems for both liquid and gaseous fuels, ground-source heat pumps, and industrial heat pumps and chillers. The company’s products are used in power plants, industrial facilities, waste incineration plants, heat stations, and marine boilers, to name a few. They are used to provide heating and cooling for both individual buildings and wider districts. Additionally, Oilon provides heating solutions for households, including ground-source heat pumps and domestic burner systems.

In addition to three production plants in Finland, Oilon has extensive production facilities in China, the United States, and Russia. The company has sales offices in Russia, Brazil, and the United States as well as a network of distributors across the globe. International operations account for more than 60 per cent of the company’s turnover.

History
Oilon was founded in 1961 in the city of Helsinki, Finland by Urho Lehto and Jorma Manssila. The company’s initial operational concept was to design and manufacture heavy oil burners in Finland and sell them locally. The company would soon expand their portfolio to include burners that fire light fuel oil. Within the first year of operations, Oilon moved to the city of Lahti in southern Finland.

The company had been in operation for only a few months, when the company was joined by Ossi Leiwo, a newly-graduated Master of Science (Technology). Leiwo took the position of Technical Director at Oilon, and became a principal shareholder in the company.

In 1974 the rest of the company stock was acquired by members of the Leiwo family. Ossi Leiwo served as Oilon’s CEO for 23 years, from 1974 till 1997. His tenure as the Chairman of the Board spanned from 1974 till 2009. In 2009, he passed the baton to his daughter Päivi Leiwo, who headed the company as the Chairman of the Board till 2020. In 2020, Kjell Forsén, the CEO of Vaisala Oyj, was elected as the Chairman of the Board.

Company development
Oilon made their first forays into international markets already in the 1960s. In 1964, the company sold its first boilers to the Soviet Union. Since 1998, the company has maintained its own staff in Russia. In the 1990s, Oilon started to grow rapidly, and would continue on this upward path for the decades to come. In 1993, Oilon started selling products in the Asian markets. In 2002, Oilon established a new production plant in the city of Wuxi, China, and another in Hollola, Finland. This was the year that saw the start of the company’s ground-source heat pump business. In 2006, the company completed a major expansion of their production facilities in Wuxi.

In 2007, the company expanded their research and development center, and moved from acquiring ground-source heat pumps from external partners to making their own. Another milestone was reached, when Oilon finally became an enterprise by international standards. In 2011, Oilon’s operations in Wuxi were moved to even larger facilities. Additionally, Oilon reinforced their heat pump expertise by acquiring Oy Scancool Ab, a Finnish company specializing in industrial heat pumps and industrial chilling technology. In 2012, Oilon started operations in Brazil by establishing a sales office and service center. In 2014, the company founded a subsidiary, Oilon US, in the United States. In 2019, Oilon acquired Suomen Lämpöpumpputekniikka Oy, a Finnish heat pump manufacturer.