Martela
Martela is a Finnish office-furniture company providing workplace products and services, including workplace planning, installation, relocation, removal and maintenance.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Martela is a Finnish furniture company focused primarily on offices and other professional environments. The business was established in 1945 under the name Tehokaluste Oy by a group that included entrepreneur Matti S. Martela, business professionals Henrik Virkkunen, Unto Eskola and Jonne Jahnukainen, manufacturer Svante Nurmiranta, and interior architect Wladimir Rumjantsew. Rather than beginning as a conventional furniture manufacturer, the new company initially concentrated on product design and marketing. Its founding premise was that Finland needed well-designed, practical office furniture suited to emerging modern workplace standards. The company obtained an important customer before its operations were fully established. Matti S. Martela presented desks designed by Wladimir Rumjantsew to Veikko Vennamo, director of the Resettlement Department of Finland's Ministry of Agriculture. Vennamo first ordered 50 desks and then placed a second order for another 50 before the first shipment had been completed. The resulting 100-desk contract provided a substantial early foundation for the young business. The Finnish Government became Tehokaluste's most important customer during the 1940s, and the relationship with the government's central procurement organization continued for decades. Over time, the company developed from a design-and-marketing venture into a broader office-furniture supplier. Its business has centered on furnishing workplaces, with products and services intended to support changing office layouts, employee needs and organizational transitions. In Finland, Martela's offering can cover a workplace change process from the initial inventory and design stages through implementation, removal and ongoing maintenance. This service model places the company beyond the role of a product vendor alone: it also acts as a workplace-planning and change-management partner. Martela is described as the largest company in its sector in Finland and one of the three largest office-furniture companies in the Nordic countries. Its activities therefore combine a strong Finnish home-market position with regional Nordic influence. The brand's scope includes furniture for office environments and related workplace services, while its historical identity is linked to functional design, professional procurement and practical workspace organization. The company remained active as Martela Group in 2024. According to the referenced company information, the group reported turnover of EUR 86.7 million and an average workforce of 372 employees that year. These figures indicate a specialist business rather than a mass-market consumer furniture brand. Martela's current positioning is therefore best understood as a Nordic workplace-solutions company built around office furniture, space planning and lifecycle services.
History
Martela's origins date to 1945, when the company was founded in Finland as Tehokaluste Oy. Its founders were Matti S. Martela, Henrik Virkkunen, Unto Eskola, Jonne Jahnukainen, Svante Nurmiranta and interior architect Wladimir Rumjantsew. The founding concept differed from that of many furniture businesses of the period. Instead of starting primarily with its own manufacturing capacity, Tehokaluste initially focused on developing and marketing office furniture. The objective was to respond to demand for sensibly designed products that reflected new standards in office planning and working environments. The company's first major commercial opportunity came from the Finnish Government. Matti S. Martela had established contact with Veikko Vennamo, director of the Resettlement Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, and offered desks designed by Wladimir Rumjantsew. Vennamo placed an initial order for 50 desks. Before Tehokaluste could deliver that order, a second order for another 50 desks followed. The combined order for 100 desks was exceptionally important for a newly established business and helped sustain the company's operations during its first months. The government became Tehokaluste's principal customer throughout the 1940s. Its early relationship with Finland's public procurement system continued for decades, giving the company an important institutional customer base and reinforcing its expertise in furnishing professional workplaces. This early experience also established a lasting link between the brand and large-scale office and public-sector environments rather than purely household furniture. As the business developed, it expanded from its original design-and-marketing role into the supply of office furniture and related workplace solutions. The Martela name became associated with furniture for offices and other professional settings. Its activities eventually included not only the supply of individual products but also planning and implementation services for broader workplace changes. In Finland, the company has presented its service capability as covering the full change process: assessing existing furniture and space, designing a new workplace, carrying out the change, removing unwanted items and maintaining the resulting environment. Martela's market position grew to make it the largest company in its sector in Finland and one of the three largest in the Nordic countries. The company thus combines a strong domestic base with regional Nordic activity. Its business model is centered on specialist workplace expertise, with furniture, interiors and associated services treated as parts of an integrated professional offering. By 2024, Martela Group remained an active Finnish workplace-furniture business. The referenced information reports 2024 turnover of EUR 86.7 million and an average workforce of 372 employees. These figures provide a current scale indicator for the group, although the available reference material does not provide a detailed chronology of later acquisitions, leadership changes, product launches or geographic expansion. The brand's documented historical trajectory nevertheless runs from a design-led Finnish office-furniture startup, through long-standing public-sector supply relationships, to a Nordic workplace-solutions company offering products and services across the office lifecycle.
- 2024
Martela Group reports current operating scale
[1]Martela Group is reported to have generated EUR 86.7 million in turnover and employed an average of 372 people during 2024.
- 1945
Tehokaluste Oy is established
[1]The company that later became associated with Martela is founded in Finland by Matti S. Martela, Henrik Virkkunen, Unto Eskola, Jonne Jahnukainen, Svante Nurmiranta and Wladimir Rumjantsew.
- 1945
First major government desk orders
[1]The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture's Resettlement Department orders desks designed by Wladimir Rumjantsew. An initial order for 50 desks is followed by a second order for 50 more, helping support the young company's first months.
Products and positioning
A Finnish and Nordic workplace-furniture specialist combining office-product design with end-to-end workplace planning and lifecycle services. Martela emphasizes practical, well-designed professional environments and can support customers from workplace assessment and design through implementation, removal and maintenance.
Workplace furniture
Office furniture
Martela's core offering is furniture for offices and other professional environments. The documented business scope includes products intended for modern workplace standards, supported by planning and implementation services. The available reference does not identify individual current product-family names, but the company's office-furniture role includes furnishing work areas and broader professional interiors.
Workplace services
Workplace planning and change services
In Finland, Martela can support a workplace change from initial inventory and design through implementation, removal and maintenance. This offering treats furniture and workplace planning as an integrated service, helping organizations reorganize offices and manage the practical lifecycle of their working environments.
Office furniture · 1945
Desks
Desks were among the company's earliest documented products. In 1945, desks designed by interior architect Wladimir Rumjantsew were ordered by the Finnish Government's Resettlement Department. The early orders established Martela's predecessor as a supplier of functional furniture for institutional and professional workplaces.
Brand decisions
1945
Launch as a design-and-marketing office-furniture companyStrategyBackground
The founders identified demand in Finland for sensibly designed office furniture aligned with new office standards. The business was organized around product development and marketing before it established a production-led operating model.
Action taken
Tehokaluste Oy was established to develop and market office furniture, using external or partner production capabilities rather than beginning solely as a manufacturer.
Aftermath
The approach enabled the young company to pursue institutional customers quickly and contributed to its early government business.
1945
Prioritize Finnish Government procurementOtherBackground
The company received an early opportunity to supply desks to the Resettlement Department of Finland's Ministry of Agriculture.
Action taken
Martela's predecessor accepted an initial order for 50 desks and a subsequent order for a further 50 desks.
Aftermath
The 100-desk order supported the company's first months and helped establish a government procurement relationship that continued for decades.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Combination of Martela Corporation's share series and new shares registered with the Trade Register[2]
Reported:
Martela Corporation's combination of its share series and new shares has been registered with the Trade Register.
- Unconfirmed
Final results of Martela Corporation's directed share issue[3]
Reported:
Yahoo Finance reported the final results of Martela Corporation's directed share issue.
- Unconfirmed
Martela Corporation publishes exemption document regarding share issue and admission of new shares to trading[4]
Reported:
Martela Corporation published an exemption document regarding its share issue, the combination of share series, and the application for admission of the new shares to trading on a regulated market.
Sources4 sources
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