14 Dec 06
F-18 Hornet
Did you know that the company which currently builds the Cayman and Boxster for Porsche, and which built models for Saab for many years, also supplied jets to the Finnish airforce? Finland is not usually noted for either its car-making or aeronautical industries, but companies such as Valmet have been carrying out contract work in these areas for better known firms for many years.
Valmet was formed from the amalgamation of the national airforce aircraft factory (which had made versions of Hansa-Brandenburg, Caudron, Fokker, Bristol Blenheim, Gloster Gamecock, De Havilland Moth and other aircraft between the two world wars, as well as indigenously designed planes and adaptations) and other state-owned industrial concerns in 1951. It went on to make the Saab 35 Draken under licence, as well as planes including the BAE Hawk and F-18C Hornet, plus its self-designed Tuuli ('wind', rejected by the Finnish airforce in favour of the Saab 91 Safir), the unsuccessful Vihuri ('squall'), the more popular L-70 Vinka trainer plane of the 1980s and the 1990s L-90 Redigo.
Valmet absorbed further businesses, and moved all its aviation activities to the former Karhumaki factory at Kuorovesi in 1967. It subsequently formed a joint car-making venture with Saab in 1968, and Saab-Valmet went on to make the 96 for Saab at the factory in Uusikaupunki. Since then, Valmet has built cars including versions of the Saabs 95, 99, 90, 900, 900 Cabriolet, 9000 and 9-3 Cabriolet, supplementing Saab's own production or creating special limited-run models, the Lada Samara, Talbot Horizon and Solara, Opel Calibra and now the Boxster and Cayman.
The Valmet Corporation took sole ownership of this car-making division in 1992, and following a merger in 1999 it is now owned by the Metso corporation, a global engineering/technology/energy group. The aeronautical unit was spun off in 1996 and is now part of Patria Finavitec Oy. Patria, majority owned by the Finnish state but with a stake taken by EADS, makes aerostructures (aircraft body sections) as well as providing support and servicing for aircraft operators, pilot training and manufacturing of weapons, tanks and defence equipment.
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