Finland Industry

The Finnish industry produces mostly metal and workshop products, but also the forest industry and the production of electronics produce important income. Industrial production is mainly concentrated in the southern parts of the country and along the coast.

Industrialization in Finland took off seriously after the Second World War. The industry was largely built up with the help of foreign loans. Throughout the post-war period, industrial production has been a prerequisite for economic growth. Since the 1980s, Finnish large companies have developed into multinational companies engaged in high-tech production.

• According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER, FI stands for the country of Finland in geography.

The forest industry is still important to the country’s economy, but nowadays the metal and machine industries are more important. The Finnish forest industry is one of the most productive in the world. The manufacture of chemicals and chemical products has also risen sharply in recent decades.

Success in the export market in the 1990s led to a rapid increase in industrial production. Then a number of international large companies established themselves in Finland and Finnish companies started investing abroad again as the economy picked up after the worst crisis years at the beginning of the decade (see Finance). During this period, Finland also developed a high-tech industry focused on, among other things, information and telecommunications technology.

The country’s largest and most successful company for many years was the electronics company Nokia, which has long been one of the leading manufacturers of mobile phones. However, since 2008 Nokia’s position has weakened significantly, partly because of increased competition (see Finance).

Many Finnish companies have moved production to countries with lower wages and corporate taxes than Finland. Several companies have been merged with Swedish companies, such as Stora Enso, which operates in the forest and pulp industry, and the telecommunications company TeliaSonera.

• COUNTRYAAH: List of top trading partners of Finland. Includes countries that imported most shipments from and exported most goods to the country.

During the first decade after the turn of the millennium, industrial development went much slower than during the 1990s. Growth slowed down, among other things, due to reduced demand in the export market, especially during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. In the first year of the 2010s, industrial production fell further, partly as a result of high labor costs. Especially difficult was the mobile phone (due to fierce competition) and the paper industry (declining demand).

2019

December

Prime Minister Antti Rinne resigns

December 3

Prime Minister Antti Rinne submits his resignation to President Sauli Niinistö. A political crisis that started after a trade union conflict at the Finnish post office in November (see November) will be his fall. The Center Party has stated that it no longer has any confidence in Rinne after his handling of the post office crisis. Rinne is accused, among other things, of having gone through falsehood in Parliament.

November

Settlement after two weeks postal strike

November 27th

For two weeks in November, several thousand employees at the Post Office have been protesting against the transfer of 700 parcel sorters to a subsidiary with another collective agreement, which means that some of them will receive a lower salary. The PAU union announced the strike, which also spread to, among others, employees of Finnair airline and public transport in Helsinki. An agreement is finally reached between PAU and the employer. The conflict has caused a political crisis which results in the responsible Social Democratic Minister Sirpa Paatero leaving his post after defending the Post Office’s actions against the employees.

October

Finland cancels arms exports to Turkey

October 9

Following Turkey’s offensive in northeastern Syria, Finland stops all export of defense equipment to the country. Prime Minister Antti Rinne said in a press release that Finland supports the EU’s condemnation of the Turkish invasion of Syria.

June

New government ready

June 3

After intensive negotiations, the party leader for the Social Democrats (SDP) Antti Rinne succeeds in sewing together a center-left government together with the Center, the Greens, the Swedish People’s Party (SFP) and the Left Federation. The government will consist of 19 ministers, of which several heavy items go to the Social Democrats, in addition to the Prime Minister’s post also the posts of Minister of Europe and Minister of Trade and Aid. The center will receive the post of Minister of Finance, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be led by the Greens.

May

The largest party in the EU elections

May 26

The Assembly will receive just over 20 percent of the vote in the European Parliament elections and 3 seats. Four parties receive two seats in parliament: the Green League (which will be the second largest party with 16 percent of the vote), the Social Democrats, the true Finns and the Center, which backs by more than 6 percentage points.

April

Even result in the Finnish election

April 13

The Social Democrats will be the largest party in the parliamentary elections in Finland with 17.7 percent of the vote and 40 seats according to preliminary results. Party leader Antti Rinne will now try to find a coalition partner and form a left-wing government for the first time in two decades. But two more parties come close: the True Finns with 17.5 percent and 39 seats and the Collective Party, which holds 17.0 percent of the votes, secures 38 seats. The big loser is outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipiläs Center, who only gets just over 13 percent.

March

The government is leaving

March 8th

After it is clear that the government will not succeed in passing a priority health care reform, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä submits his resignation application to President Sauli Niinistö. It is approved by the president, who, however, asks Sipilä and the government to remain in the form of an expedition government until the parliamentary elections on April 14. The fact that the government has failed to get the Riksdag’s support for the comprehensive reform of the future healthcare system is a major defeat. The reform would partly mean that responsibility for care would be transferred from the municipalities to 18 landscapes. This has been an important issue for the Center. At the same time, the Collecting Party would get through one of its goals about the role of private healthcare companies.