Mirka Scandinavia
Mirka Scandinavia AB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mirka Ltd. and provides most sectors in the Nordic market with high-quality grinding tools and concept solutions. Mirka has coined the term dust-free grinding and has greatly contributed to a significantly improved
work environment.
They process all segments with a highly specialized sales force all over the country and are headquartered with customer service and administration in Karlstad. For grinding in car damage repair, the wood and furniture industries, as well as painting, they offer cutting-edge products that are highly appreciated by professional users. Furthermore, they are a leading supplier of abrasive materials to the hardware, paint and building materials trade.
Mirka Ltd.
The company is a world leader in abrasive material technology and offers a wide range of high-quality grinding products, tools and entire grinding systems for special needs. They have developed a unique concept of dust-free grinding, combined with efficient surface treatment methods, offers customers a complete grinding system.
During many years in the industry, they have built up advanced and targeted product development. The company is today a specialist in flexible abrasive materials and a supplier of complete grinding systems that enable dust-free surface treatment.
Thanks to their Power Tools department’s investments in innovation in design and product development, a faster development of new grinding and polishing machines is made possible. In addition to abrasive materials, the complete solution offered to customers includes a wide selection of different tools such as grinding and polishing machines, underlay plates, vacuum cleaners and high-quality polishes. With these products, They give their customers the opportunity for a complete, tailor-made grinding system for their own needs.
Their products are manufactured in Finland and over 97% of the products are sold in more than 100 countries around the world. It is a globally expanding company with 18 subsidiaries in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America and Asia.
The business
The head office, research and development department is located in Jeppo, on the west coast of Finland. Production facilities are located in Jeppo, Oravais and Karis. The finished product warehouse is located in Oravais. From there, the products are exported to more than 100 countries around the world.
Subsidiaries are located in the UK, Germany, USA, Sweden (with branches in Norway and Denmark), France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, China, Russia, Canada, Turkey, India, Belgium and the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES which maintain close contact with customers at the local level.
Responsibility for the environment
Environmental responsibility is a natural part of the companys activities and product development. They assures us that they take the environment into account in all their operations through the ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ISO 14001.
Already at the planning stage, they think about environmental issues and reuse. Not only do they strive to think about the environmental impact of our own operations, but they also work with our subcontractors to pay attention to environmental impact at all stages of the planning and production process. Their environmental policy also means that the equipment and abrasive materials manufactured must last a long time, and therefore a goal in their product development is to make them even more sustainable. This means that the amount of waste will be even less.
They are constantly trying to improve the working environment for their customers, as well as to develop the ergonomic characteristics of their products. The dust-free abrasive material Abranet®, developed and patented by Mirka, represents a major improvement in the working environment and provides reduced environmental impact.
Abranet radically improves the traditionally demanding working conditions in factories and paintings by reducing the amount of hazardous dust in the air when grinding. Since workers are not exposed to dust, the requirements for air exchange become less and this, in turn, saves energy costs.
Ecological thinking and continued development are their principles both when choosing raw materials and when planning the structure of our products. In most cases, an environmentally friendly production process is also economical, efficient and safe. It is such processes that they want to develop and work on.
Dedicated to the finish
The motto, ‘Dedicated to the finish’, says everything about the company’s high standards. They place high demands on themselves, their surroundings , their products and innovations. This is the secret of their success. The staff is encouraged to continuously question traditional solutions and to develop unique solutions through creative thinking, which gives customers a clear advantage.
Their mesh grinding concept makes them the first abrasive material manufacturer in the world to develop a dust-free grinding method that actually meets the requirements – grinding without dust!
They are also the first company in the abrasive materials industry to receive the three most important quality certificates – the ISO 9001:2000 quality certificate, the ISO 14001 environmental certificate and the occupational health and safety certificate OHSAS 18001.
All products are manufactured in Finland and over 97% of the production is sold in more than 100 countries around the world. They has subsidiaries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
Innovative products
The companys investments in product development and efficient production have made it possible to offer a wide range of technically first-class abrasive materials, individual tools and accessories, as well as entire grinding systems for special applications. These contribute to an increase in efficiency, a perfect end result and cost-effectiveness for their customers.
Their extensive range includes unique and patented products such as Abralon® and Abranet®. Both have quickly become respected concepts in the abrasive materials industry. These innovative products have already changed many people’s perception of grinding.
As efficiency is maximized and costs are minimized, it is easy to understand why their range is suitable for the most demanding applications.
It is definitely “the perfect grinding solution“!
History
The company was founded in Helsinki in 1943 by engineer Onni Aulo. The wartime conditions and technical problems allowed production to start only in January 1946. Despite the difficulties and rationing of the time, Onni Aulo managed to learn to master the production process within just under six months, which must be seen as a great success. After many different stages and varying financial successes, the company moved to the Kiitola factory property in Jeppo in 1962. Oy Keppo Ab bought the company in 1966 and in 1973 the companies merged.
Already in the early 1960s, they exported a large part to the United States. Deliveries also went to, among other things. England and Iceland. In the late 70s, exports accounted for 54% of turnover. In order to survive on the international market, it is necessary to abandon cheap bulk products and invest in product development and high-quality industrial products. In 1969, the first high-quality products were developed and at the same time the production of self-adhesive roundabouts began, which at that time constituted the most important product group.
In order to be able to manufacture the new products, a better machine park and larger spaces were needed, and therefore in 1972 it was decided to invest in a modern factory. The factory was completed the following year.
In 1977, part of the production was moved to Oravais and the factory there has been gradually expanded, most recently in 2003. The factory in Jeppo has been expanded in stages during the 80s and 90s. The high-bay warehouse, or the so-called The Jumbo Tower, which is the companys landmark in Jeppo, was completed in 1996. In September 2004, the newest building, Hall 9, and office space were inaugurated.
The first own sales company was founded in 1979 in England and in 1980 in Germany. A subsidiary was founded in the US in 1985, followed by Sweden and France in 1992, Italy in 1995 and Spain in 2003, Mexico in 2005 and Brazil in 2006. An export office was established in 1996 in Malaysia and moved to Singapore in 2000.
Today, it is a subsidiary that administers the entire Asia Pacific region. In 2006, an agency was started in Shanghai, China. The agency in China became an independent subsidiary in 2008. In the same year, they also founded a subsidiary in Russia. In 2009, a new subsidiary was founded in Canada and the subsidiary in Sweden was changed to Mirka Skandinavia with branches in Norway and Denmark. The newest subsidiary was founded in 2010 in India to strengthen Mirka’s position in Asia.
Today the company is an international belonging to the KWH group of companies. The KWH Group was formed in 1984 when Oy Keppo Ab bought half of the shares in Oy Wiik & Höglund Ab. The KWH Group is today a well-known player in the international business world.
KWH Group
The KWH Group is a global, family-owned Finnish company that produces and markets plastic products, abrasive materials and tools and offers logistics services. www.kwhgroup.com
KWH Pipe Develops, manufactures and markets high-quality plastic pipes and piping systems to the water and plumbing industry. The company offers environmentally friendly products, pre-insulated piping systems, as well as special machines and production technology. http://www.prevex.com
KWH Mirka Develops and manufactures abrasive materials and modern grinders that offer a clear advantage to users. Mesh grinding is a revolutionary dust-free grinding solution. www.mirka.com
KWH Logistics Markets customer-specific logistics services. Backman-Trummer offers international air, road and sea freight, stevedoring and storage operations. KWH Freeze is Finland’s leading commercial freezer storage company. www.backman-trummer.fi
KWH Invest The division includes KWH Plast, which manufactures packaging films and injection-molded food packaging as well as labels, and Prevex, which produces hvac products and customer-specific components. Prevex is the market leader in water traps for sinks in Scandinavia. www.kwhplast.com www.prevex.com
NolimitsSociety are proud partners of Mirka.