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The history of Uusimäen Konepaja Ky

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A strange light phenomenon appeared in Lappajärvi in 1953. A blue light wedge split a dark waking village. From the chink of the curtains the peepers saw how the smoking light was flashing in the windows and in the chink of the door of the workshop of blacksmith Eero. The ignorant thought that the bad accident had happened but over the day became clear that Eero Uusimäki had acquired the welding device for his workshop. Eero bought the transformer in the neighbour parish. The device was a self-made prototype which a skilful Eero developed by building a controller in the ground wire which allowed to do more versatile welding works. The same device served for a long time and it also was used for the melting of frozen water pipes. There was no electric power in every house at that time so electricity was borrowed by power cables, which were raised to the nearest open air-cables by a long stick with an iron hook, so electricity was obtained to the machine. The local electricity company which still functions, Vimpelin Voima Oy, did not consider this as a anyhow bad matter. Main thing was that water flowed also in cold winters.

On the stage of the entrepreneur of the metal field 1949 many kinds of knowledge was needed so Eero first began the study in the home-industry-school of Äänekoski and after it in blacksmithschool in Ypäjä. Eero acted as the blacksmith in Jalasjärvi and Lapua after graduating his both schools as a head of the class with their praiseworthy degrees until he built, with his own allowances when no one did not grant a loan, his first own workshop in his home yard.
- In the beginning I started to shoe horses, to iron sleighs and to do all kind of blacksmith work. The timbered workshop was quite elementary, but at least an umbrella, the leaking skin bellows, file bench and anvil were yet in the forge. Fortunately I made tongs and other craft tools at school and there are plenty of them are still working. My workshop got the villagers' popularity, the horses came also from the neighbour parishes. I operated for about two years in this workshop earning, among others, the first engagement rings, Eero Uusimäki remembers.

The countryside and the agriculture changed from a horse equipments, stubble plough and tree harrows fast at that time, to a Valmet 15, Grey-Fergusson and Zetor tractors, so the workshop also had to be developed. Eero acquired his workshop, grinding machine and electric fan to the forge. Eero built himself a machine hammer. Eero's grandfather predicted that it will be the wolf of three hundred Finnish marks. That was the price of the bought parts of the hammer. That hammer did not become a wolf but it served for decades as a factory of province famous plough dowels. Nowadays that machine hammer is not any more in the production use but still operates as forge, too! Otherwise Eero made those plough dowels totally sign-specifically with the help of the diagrams developed by himself, the ploughs themselves did not need to be delivered to a workshop. Accordingly to the same principle JAKE products also are delivered so probably there is some  family fault...

Then the old timber workshop became small and the new 10x15 metric brick hall rose with the help of the assistance decision of Kauppa- and Teollisuusministeriö signed by Ahti Karjalainen in 1960. Uusimäen Korjaamo became the name of the company. That same brick hall served as the paintshop of JAKE up to the beginning of the year 2005 and the workshop equipment are still there in the working order, also the forge and the machine hammer.

Eero remembers more: - I acquired more machines. We made and repaired agriculture machines, tractor trailers and sleighs. The bookkeeping and the receipts came along to the picture as the first employed workers also. We also began the maintenance work, repairs and painting work of cars. We also got subcontracting, among others, from Uno Wikar & Co (later Oy Wikar Ab / Kronos) and from the Pietarsaari factories of Wärtsilä (later NokkaTume Oy).

After 20 years the premises again became small and Eero decided to extend still once, when the own boys were also interested in the field. The modern industrial hall with its social premises, offices and new machines was created. When Eero's age of retirement approached after a couple of years, the change of generation began: the company model became a limited partnership company through the partnership firm and Uusimäen Konepaja Ky was born.

- This way the generation changed and ended as an entrepreneur of the metal field of my long and eventful life-work which has lasted four decades. I hope that the boys also are continuing at similar relentless toughness as I have done. I also am grateful from the fact that I have been allowed to be totally healthy during my whole life, Eero says.

I (the writer) myself have been often asked how long the old master further led the company also after the retiring, as perhaps the situation quite often after the change of generation is. The answer in our case is: not even one day! Eero has followed from the sidelines genuinely interested and has let us boys make our own decisions.

During his pension days Eero Uusimäki has extended his perspective to a life and world by travelling and by following the progress of the development tightly. The vantage point had been near when the boys continued work and developed the company into the modern company of the metal industry with their own products on the shade of which so important subcontracting stayed during their own period.

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