World of VEEN

Finn-Korkki Oy is a privately owned bottle closure manufacturer that offers a quick and reliable service. Their main products are ring-pull bottle closures, luxury aluminium closures and crown cork bottle caps. Finn-Korkki also manufactures special design closures for selected customers, aluminium candle cups and outdoor candle covers. The company's main operations are situated in Hämeenlinna, Southern Finland. They are the only company that manufacturers both ring pull closures and ring pull equipment, for sealing ring pull caps to bottles. Finn-Korkki is also unique in having certificates for ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environmental, OHSAS 18001 occupational health & safety and ISO 22000 HACCP standards.

The story of Finn-Korkki began in 1868, when August Wicander, a well-known Swedish industrialist at that time, established the company in Stockholm, Sweden. To start with their only product was cork stoppers. The manufacturing plant in Hämeenlinna was established in 1979 as a subsidiary of Wicanders to manufacture pull off bottle closures and traditional crown cork closures. During the early 1980s, the company developed the Maxi Crown ring-pull caps with a two-part design that minimised waste and maximised efficiency. Later the Maxi Crown closure changed name to RingCrown, a name that better describes the functionality of the closures. Equipment for sealing ring pull closures was also designed and made, with low maintenance and low capital cost being then & now guiding principles. In 1989, the Hämeenlinna factory became an independent firm, with a management buy out from the former parent company Wicanders. In the late 80s and early 90s, the company expanded its business to candle cups and candle covers, and purchased a graphical services company (Hämeenlinnan Grafitipalvelu Oy) to incorporate in-house pre-press services for better customer satisfaction and very short lead times. At the beginning of the 21st century, the company developed LuxTop a luxury aluminium closure that are used by VEEN today.

According to Rolf Nygård, the managing director of Finn-Korkki Oy, the VEEN co-operation and development of LuxTop is one interesting story that he will remember for the rest of his life. "Of course, there were a lot of risks involved, because no-one knew if the product would ever take off. However, as we see today, the risks paid off", he states. Tomi Grönfors, the MD of VEEN, adds that "the relationship has been very fruitful and we at VEEN are waiting very eagerly for the forthcoming years of close co-operation. Finn-Korkki is definitely one of the main reasons VEEN design has received so much attention over the last few years."