1921-1927 THE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Sako is a special case in the Finnish industrial history.  It was first started in 1919, when the Finnish Civil Guards needed a workshop to repair Russian-made rifles obtained during the Civil War. The workshop was made economically independent on 1 April 1921, and that is the day which Sako considers its day of birth. Instead of only repairing, Sako also started to manufacture guns. The guns, intended for the use of the Civil Guards, were made by assembling barrels obtained from Switzerland and Germany with old Russian guns.

1927–1944 FROM A REPAIR WORKSHOP TO A RIFLE MANUFACTURER

In 1927 the workshop was made into a limited company called Suojeluskuntain Ase- ja Konepaja Osakeyhtiö, abbreviated as Sako – the Firearms and Machine Workshop of the Civil Guard. At the same time, the company moved from Helsinki to Riihimäki, to the same industrial lot on which Sako still operates. In Riihimäki, they started the assembly of the new rifle model, the m/28. This model, dubbed Pystykorva – the Spitzhound, proved to be of even higher quality than the equivalent guns used by the defence forces. About that time, the company started to manufacture cartridges as well.    Near the end of the 1930s the political climate in Europe changed and the Finnish government initiate an extensive military build-up program. Due to the state’s sizable orders for pistol cartridges, the economic situation of Sako was stabilized and the factory could be enlarged. Finland’s Winter War, the Interim Peace and the Continuation War were busy times. Sako became the largest pistol cartridge manufacturer in the country, because in practice, all cartridges shot with the submachine gun were made by Sako. In addition, the volumes of orders for the newest rifle model, the m/39, grew to unprecedented heights. The number of employees rose to 800, of whom a significant number were women during the war.  Riihimäki was bombed, but Sako’s factory site was spared any great damage. 

1944–1961 THE FIRST STEPS INTO A LARGER WORLD

According to Elias Hydén, the jaeger colonel who started in 1946 as Sako’s executive director, the company had to return to weapons manufacture. In 1946, the company started the production of the field gun model L46 that had been designed earlier during the war. The model sold well in Finland, the Nordic countries and Western Europe. 

The most important break-through and Colonel Hydéns most important accomplishment was Sako’s access to the United States market. The possibilities in this affluent country with a strong weapons culture were enormous, but so was the competition. The extent of the success of the high-quality rifle surprised everyone, and in the 1950s, Sako’s exports to the United States grew year by year. In 1952, the United States was already Sako’s largest export country, and in 1953, the sales there surpassed Sako’s domestic Finnish sales.

1961-1986 THE YEARS OF GROWTH AND HARDSHIP

In 1962, Suomen Kaapelitehdas (Finnish Cable Factory) bought the shares of this growing company from the Finnish Red Cross. Near the end of the decade, the Cable Factory and Sako were transferred to the ownership of a multi-industry company, Nokia. For Sako, the 1960s were a decade of growth and development.

In addition to field guns and cartridges, the company restarted the manufacture of military guns, as it obtained an order for new assault rifles from the defence forces. This upswing turned into a threatening downward slide in the 1970s. The recent deal regarding assault rifles pushed Sako into a vicious cycle of non-profitable years and the oil crisis took its toll of international sales.

The company’s profitability was weakened, and staff had to be let go one year after another. In 1985, Nokia agreed with the state-owned Valmet to unite the weapons businesses of the companies. The new company, Sako-Valmet, was comprised of three weapons factories, i.e., those in Riihimäki, Tourula in Jyväskylä, and Tikkakoski, and it started operations at the beginning of 1986.

1986-1999 THE NEW WINDS BLOW

It had been obvious for a long time that the resources of a company the size of Sako together with the interests of its owners at that time, Nokia and Valmet, would not suffice in international competition. It was mandatory for the company to become a part of a larger entity in the weapons industry. That was accomplished at the turn of the millennium, when the major Italian company, Beretta, took an interest in Sako and obtained its shares.

2000-2021 TOWARDS THE NEW MILLENNIUM

In the ownership of Beretta, Sako has seen 21 years of growth. The owner, large and committed to the industry, has supported the development of Sako and its volumes. One of the sales successes has been the Tikka T3, the millionth piece of which was sold by Sako in 2020. That same year, the company introduced the new Sako S20 hybrid rifle. The launch of this technically highly developed rifle neatly coincided with Sako’s long-term production record. In 2020, Sako also developed and launched a new, lead-free Sako Powerhead Blade cartridge to meet the needs of the most demanding lead-free hunters. Sako is moving to its second century as a highly competent weapons manufacturer with a long-term focus and a solid grip of its times.