Black-and-orange product design

One of the oldest industrial enterprises in the world has its origins in the forests of Finland. The Fiskars of today, a group of companies with operations all over the globe, was founded in 1649 in a place of the same name and granted the privilege of producing cast iron and forged products by Queen Christina of Sweden. Now, 360 years later, the company markets a considerably expanded portfolio of products. Total sales of € 663 mio in 2009 break down into € 300 mio from the home division, € 231 mio from the garden segment and € 128 mio from the outdoor division, with the rest accounted for by other activities such as real estate business. Currently the company achieves 33 per cent of total sales in North America. However, the greater part of its business (67 per cent) is still generated predominantly in Europe, with a minor share claimed by Asia and Australia. The garden division, which concentrates on hand-held tools, has attracted attention in Europe over the last two years through increased investment in marketing, primarily through TV commercials. For instance, an intensive campaign promoting the company’s weeder tool in Germany caused sales figures to accelerate by nearly “0 – 100” and lead to an overall total of 130 000 units sold. It is with great self-confidence that Thomas Enckell, President Garden EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Asia), claims “a leading position in Europe” for Fiskars’ garden business. “Design” and “innovation” are the concepts that this claim is based on. Enckell showed no false modesty at the spoga+gafa garden trade fair, for example, when formulating what it is all about: “reinventing gardening”. The company has indeed achieved a leading position in certain areas. The black-and-orange brand is rated as the number one manufacturer of cutting tools in Scandinavia and the USA, while in Germany, Europe’s biggest individual DIY and garden market, Fiskars ranks itself among the three leading brands in the country. Its garden tools are manufactured at two plants in Finland and Poland. The focus at present is on the upgraded range of axes. It comprises four universal and four splitting axes, plus a machete. It goes without saying that the “enclosed” axe head has been retained: the blade is insert-moulded into the handle of construction-reinforced fibreglass composite materials. Work has also been done on the blade geometry. The edges of the wedge-shaped blade of the splitting axes are rounded to make it easier to get them out of the wood…