C.J. Hartman

Oy C.J. Hartman Ab is a Finnish family-owned company based in Vaasa and the parent company of Hartman Group. The group includes the subsidiary Hartman Järn Ab and the sister company Oy Hartman Invest Ab. Hartman Järn operates stores in Espoo, Jakobstad (Pietarsaari), Karleby (Kokkola), Seinäjoki and Vaasa, while professional builders are served from offices in Tampere and Espoo. The business has been run by five generations of the same family. The company traces its origins to 1862, when Carl Johan Hartman, then 24 years old, founded a colonial goods store on the edge of the new market square in Vaasa. The store sold fabrics, food, cheese, spirits, work machines, punch and liqueur made by Hartman himself, as well as kitchen utensils, water closets, American seed drills, foreign spices and porcelain. From the beginning it also had an iron department. Over the decades the business shifted from colonial goods toward iron and building supplies, and in 1892 the iron department's turnover exceeded that of all other departments combined; newspaper advertisements changed the name from C. J. Hartmans kolonialhandel to C. J. Hartmans Jernboda. Today the group operates as a hardware and building-materials retailer. Its online store, Järnaffär Hartman, offers campaign prices on products such as window putty, window seals, laminate flooring, bathroom furniture and cabinets, alongside tools from brands such as DeWalt. The company serves both consumers and professional builders, with dedicated offices for professionals in Tampere and Espoo. Ownership remains with the Hartman family, and the company is not publicly listed. The group structure places Oy C.J. Hartman Ab as the parent, with Hartman Järn Ab as the operating retail subsidiary and Oy Hartman Invest Ab as a sister company.

Oy C.J. Hartman Ab is a Finnish family company from Vaasa and the parent company of Hartman Group. The group also includes the subsidiary Hartman Järn Ab and the sister company Oy Hartman Invest Ab. Hartman Järn has stores in Espoo, Jakobstad, Karleby, Seinäjoki and Vaasa, and professional builders are served from offices in Tampere and Espoo. Hartman has been run by five generations of the same family. The founder, Carl Johan Hartman, was a third-generation entrepreneur. 1862–1909 (Carl Johan Hartman): In 1862 Carl Johan Hartman, aged 24, founded a colonial goods store on the edge of the new market square. The premises at Hovrättsesplanaden 15 were rented. Hartman was a third-generation entrepreneur; his grandfather Johan Hartman was an alderman who owned several residential buildings in Vaasa, and his father, Carl Fredrik Hartman, had a grocery store until 1825. In his store on the edge of Vaasa market he sold, among other things, fabrics, food, cheese, spirits, work machines, and punch and liqueur that he made himself. The store also sold kitchen utensils, water closets, American seed drills, foreign spices and porcelain. It also had an iron department from the beginning. Hartman also owned Lahti Ölbryggeri, founded by Niilo Lahti, which operated in Vaasa and produced about 350,000 bottles of German-type beer per year. In 1869 he bought business properties at Hovrättsesplanaden 15 and Kyrkoesplanaden 1 from his former employer, Nils Petter Åberg, who had run into financial difficulties. Hartman originally sold local agricultural products to Sweden, but the export ceased in 1876. The store sold Russian food, colonial goods and metal industry products imported from Western Europe. He also began distributing domestic industrial products. Besides Hartman, the store had two sales assistants. In 1881 a department selling iron goods and castings was established. The store was one of Finland's earliest specialized stores in the iron industry. The family stated that the transition from selling colonial goods to an iron store was probably due to two reasons: first, there was less competition in the hardware trade, while everyone sold colonial goods; and demand for building materials increased sharply when Old Vaasa burned down and the city was rebuilt at its current location on the Klemetsö peninsula. Hartman and Viktor Schauman took over the bankruptcy estate of Pohjola Bränneri in 1883. At the same time the company received permission to produce spirits. In 1888 Hartman was awarded the title of commercial counsellor for his work for trade and industry in Vaasa. In 1890 Lahti Ölbryggeri was sold to Bocks Bryggeri Ab. During the first 30 years the colonial trade was a trading house that imported and exported, selling food, iron goods, tobacco, spirits, fabrics and porcelain. In the 1890s Hartman employed 15 workers who worked from seven in the morning to seven in the evening. In 1892 the iron department's turnover exceeded the combined turnover of all other departments, and in newspaper advertisements C. J. Hartmans kolonialhandel was changed to C. J. Hartmans Jernboda. Legislation accelerated specialization in the hardware trade. The sale of colonial goods stopped when authorities required the food department to be separated from the iron store: cheeses and turpentine could not be sold in the same store. The sale of imported wines ceased in the early 20th century. 1910–1936 (Erik Hartman): In 1910 the business passed to Carl Johan's youngest son, Erik Hartman, then 72 years old, who had been appointed a merchant by his father despite having dreamed of becoming an architect. According to the family, he "avenged" his father by having Hartman's business house built — a commercial palace in granite in central Vaasa, designed by Kauno Kallio, instead of his father's store. Kallio had attended the Lyceum in Vaasa. The building's load-bearing structure was based on a column-and-beam system of reinforced concrete. The house was one of the first concrete buildings in Finland with a column-and-beam load-bearing structure; the concrete structures were erected by the Swedish construction company Kreuger & Toll, under the leadership of the famous businessman and financial genius Ivar Kreuger. The building's two large dome roofs were also unique in Finland. They were not intended to be used as such, but to balance the otherwise massive building. In 1912 the first part of the house was completed and operations moved there temporarily. The building was completed in 1913, when the store also opened. The large shop windows of the iron store had fallen off the train, so the store operated without window panes in early summer. Carl Johan Hartman died in 1917. Erik Hartman was appointed Swedish vice-consul the following year. In 1922 the company employed 24 people. The recession of the 1930s was largely overcome by rental income from Hartman's house. In 1934 the company's turnover rose above pre-recession levels. Erik Hartman, 57, died on a recreational trip to Germany in 1936. 1936–1970 (Lars Hartman): Erik Hartman had decided to leave the company as an inheritance to his eldest son, Lars, who dreamed of a sea captain's career and was sent to study at the Business School of London. He also graduated from Helsinki as an economist from the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration. Lars Hartman became head of the family company in 1936. During Lars Hartman's time the company became an iron and building supplies store. The company founded its first offices outside Vaasa, in 1938 in Rovaniemi, where Pohjolan Rauta Oy was bought, and in Jakobstad, where Järn Ab - Rauta Oy was acquired. In 1942 operations began in Karleby, where a majority share in Alfred Björklund's hardware store was bought. Lars Hartman participated in both the Winter and Continuation Wars and led the company with the help of Emil Öist. During the Second World War some of the copper roofs on the domes of Hartman's house had to be handed over to the weapons industry. The Rovaniemi office was closed in 1950 and the store in Jakobstad was sold in 1952. Hartman's sons joined the company, Lars-Erik in 1958 and Gustaf in 1959. The company became a limited company in 1964, and the following year a boat hall and outboard motor workshop opened in Vaasa. In 1967 the basement warehouse at Hartman h... [text truncated in source].

• 1965

  A boat hall and outboard motor workshop opens in Vaasa.

• 1964

  The company becomes a limited company (aktiebolag).

• 1959

  Gustaf Hartman joins the company.

• 1958

  Lars-Erik Hartman joins the company.

• 1952

  The store in Jakobstad is sold.

• 1950

  The Rovaniemi office is closed.

• 1942

  Operations begin in Karleby with the purchase of a majority share in Alfred Björklund's hardware store.

• 1938

  First offices outside Vaasa: Rovaniemi (Pohjolan Rauta Oy acquired) and Jakobstad (Järn Ab - Rauta Oy acquired).

• 1936

  Erik Hartman dies; Lars Hartman becomes head of the family company.

• 1934

  The company's turnover rises above pre-recession levels.

• 1922

  The company employs 24 people.

• 1917

  Carl Johan Hartman dies.

• 1913

  Hartman's business house is completed and the store opens.

• 1912

  The first part of Hartman's business house is completed and operations move there temporarily.

• 1910

  The business passes to Carl Johan's youngest son, Erik Hartman.

• 1892

  The iron department's turnover exceeds the combined turnover of all other departments; the name changes to C. J. Hartmans Jernboda.

• 1890

  Lahti Ölbryggeri is sold to Bocks Bryggeri Ab.

• 1888

  Hartman is awarded the title of commercial counsellor for his work for trade and industry in Vaasa.

• 1883

  Hartman and Viktor Schauman take over the bankruptcy estate of Pohjola Bränneri and receive permission to produce spirits.

• 1881

  A department selling iron goods and castings is established; the store becomes one of Finland's earliest iron-industry specialty stores.

• 1876

  Export of local agricultural products to Sweden ceases.

• 1869

  Hartman buys business properties at Hovrättsesplanaden 15 and Kyrkoesplanaden 1 from his former employer Nils Petter Åberg.

• 1862

  Carl Johan Hartman, aged 24, founds a colonial goods store on the edge of the new market square in Vaasa.

A long-established, family-owned Finnish hardware and building-supplies retailer serving both consumers and professional builders.

• Iron and hardware goods

• Building materials

• Tools (including DeWalt professional power tools)

• Laminate flooring (e.g. Advanced laminat)

• Window putty and seals (e.g. Unica Fönsterkitt, P-fönstertätning)

• Bathroom furniture and cabinets (e.g. Vitra)

• Kitchen utensils and porcelain

• Paint and home improvement supplies

1. 1Järnaffär Hartman official websitehartman.fi
2. 2C.J. Hartman on Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3C.J. Hartman on Swedish Wikipediasv.wikipedia.org