Mirka celebrates 80 years of pioneering surface finishing

Mirka (UK) parent company, Mirka (Finland), is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, growing to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers in the surface finishing industry.

For eight decades, Mirka has been at the forefront of innovation in abrasives manufacturing, including pioneering dust-free sanding with the launch of Abranet in 2001 as well as several award-winning power tools such as the DEROS.

Mirka was founded in 1943 in Helsinki by the engineer Onni Aulo, but due to the continuation of WWII, production did not start until 1946. Headquartered in the heart of rural Ostrobothnia, Finland, the company has expanded with a network of daughter companies spanning the entire globe, with Mirka (UK) becoming the first daughter company to be established in 1979.

While the business is a very different company today, its core vision remains the same; to give people and its customers the opportunity to perform better and achieve that perfect finish. Its daily operations are continually striving to improve its products, added-value services, and training support to enable its employees to fulfil their potential and for its customers to continue to be successful.

“The most important element of our evolution has always been to listen to the voice of our customers,” said Mirka’s CEO, Stefan Sjöberg. “We are proud of all the milestones we have achieved, but to stay relevant we must also look forward to the next big thing, and here we see a lot of potential.

“The Green Deal in the European Union, and the green transition in the world, in general, are things that will shape how we look at our business and how we perform - not only for Mirka but for the entire industry. The company that solves this puzzle will be relevant for many years to come, and looking at our organisation today, I am confident that Mirka will be here to celebrate its 90th and 100th anniversaries as well.”

www.mirka.co.uk