Did you know that Nokia started as a paper mill company?
When we think of a product, we immediately associate it with the best brands that produce it. For example, when you talk about phones, you think of Nokia, Samsung or iPhone. When you are discussing video games, you think of Nintendo or PlayStation, and when you talk about motorcycles, you can’t avoid mentioning Harley Davidson. This demonstrates that these businesses have left an indelible mark in their respective industries.
What if we told you that some of the most popular brands began doing something completely different from what they are doing and famous for, now? One example is Nokia, which started as a paper mill. Here are the stories of three such brands.
The weaving history of Toyota!
The mastermind behind Toyota, the popular automobile company, is Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese engineer. In 1924, he created Japan’s first mechanical weaving machine called Toyoda Automatic Loom, Type G. Yes, Toyota sold weaving machines before automobiles! In 1926, he founded Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. This company specialised in manufacturing and selling automatic weaving machines. Toyoda sold the patent for his G-type machine and gave the proceeds to his son. His son was the one who put money into automobiles, and the rest is history! The automobile division, under Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, produced its first car in 1935 using Ford and Chevrolet parts. The same year, it also released its first truck. In the following year, it changed its name to Toyota to make it easier to pronounce. While Toyota Automobile continues to be a huge success, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works is still operating as usual!
Nokia’s inception as a paper mill company!
Nokia, the pioneer in phone manufacturing, was started in 1865 as a paper mill company based in Finland. It was founded by Fredrik Idestam, a Finnish mining engineer, who later established another paper mill on the banks of Finland’s Nokianvirta River in a town called Nokia. This is how the company got its name: Nokia Ab. Over time, Nokia Ab got involved in electricity generation and was purchased by a cable company in 1922. These businesses merged to form the Nokia Corporation. However, it did not yet concentrate on phones. The company manufactured toilet paper, automobile tyres, bicycles, computers and even rubber shoes!
It was only in 1979 that Nokia entered the mobile phone manufacturing business. How? It formed a subsidiary (branch) called Mobira Oy. Mobira Oy, in collaboration with a Finnish TV manufacturer called Solora invented the first car telephone, which weighed more than 10 kg! The phone did not work out for long for an obvious reason (its weight).
In 1984, Nokia purchased Solora and released the world’s first mobile phone, the Mobira Cityman 900! Since the 1990s, Nokia has solely focussed on producing phones that are among the best ones in the market. And that is how a company that started as a paper mill became the pioneer in mobile phone manufacturing!
Royal Dutch Shell sold shells!
The Royal Dutch Shell company is the world’s leading oil supplier, but it was not always an oil provider. Its humble beginnings can be traced back to 1833 when Marcus Samuel, an English businessman imported oriental shells in London, for use in interior designing. Yes, that is how the brand’s logo was created. It wasn’t until Marcus’s two sons took over, that the company began to shift towards oil trade. They were the first to transport crude oil in tankers! Previously, oil was transported in barrels, but tankers allowed for greater quantities to be shipped while also reducing leakages. They soon started a company called ‘Shell Transport and Trading Company’ in 1897. Because of their innovative idea, the company quickly expanded to the Far East, where it competed with the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company based in Netherlands. Eventually, the two companies merged in 1907, resulting in the now-famous Royal Dutch Shell. Recently, in 2022, the company decided to change its name to Shell plc. and shift its headquarters to London.