LOIMAAN KIVI TODAY
In 2011, the 90-year-old company had a change of owners. The Palin family decided to step away from the stone refining industry, and sold Loimaan Kivi to Mikko Paljakka, then an employee at the company.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Paljakka had already made a long career at the company. A short period as an intern in 1991 was the first time the young boy was in touch with the stone industry. After that, every summer when not studying was spent at Loimaan Kivi. His summer jobs included the installing of headstones as well as cutting, sanding and finishing stone at the factory. “Pack yourself a big lunch for tomorrow, boy, at four in the morning you’re coming to help install a sculpture on the yard of the University of Kuopio”, Reino Palin told him after just a few days at his summer job. During these summers he learned from stone industry professionals with years or decades of experience working in the company.
Paljakka who finished his studies as an industrial engineer in 1999 was hired as Loimaan Kivi’s production manager on a permanent basis. His title changed from production manager to sales manager and factory manager before he became an entrepreneur.
”I’ve walked this rocky road with steady steps, always towards something new. I look back with gratitude at the privilege I’ve had of experiencing the industry from so many different perspectives. Now and in the future, I want to see Loimaan Kivi keep growing, so that we also in the future can create everlasting things out of Finnish granite. I look to the future with trust”
– Mikko Paljakka
Read more about the present day »
Mikko Paljakka owns Loimaan Kivi together with Länsi-Suomen Pääomarahasto. Our network of outlets consists of 12 of our own stores in the south of Finland. Our factory is in Loimaa. Loimaan Kivi currently has 82 employees.
In 2013, Loimaan Kivi Oy expanded by acquiring Uotilan Kivi Oy, based in Rauma. The acquisition strengthened Loimaan Kivi Oy:s position in the headstone market.
In 2014 Loimaan Kivi Oy made the largest investment in its history when it acquired Suomen Kivivalmiste Oy, based in Korpilahti and Viitasaari. This buyout cemented the company’s position in the natural stone market. Aside from the stone refinement business, the acquisition also included four quarries in the middle of Finland.
In 2016 Loimaan Kivi bought a quarry at Varpaisjärvi from Palin Granit Oy. Varpaisjärvi Black diabase has improved Loimaan Kivi’s access to black stone. Now, Loimaan Kivi Oy is in possession of six quarries all together, in Varpaisjärvi, Viitasaari and Korpilahti.
The Loimaan Kivi group currently employs 110 people.