"Reusing the Industrial Past", an interesting conference, Tampere, Finland, August 10-15, 2010

ICOHTEC - The International Committee for the for the History of Technology and TiCCIH - The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage and History are organising a joint conference at Tampere, Finland in 10th -15th of August 2010. The minor partner in the conference is Worklab, the international association of labour museums.

The meeting will be a joint-conference, and it´s theme is broad enough to cover various approaches.

The programme of the conference will include over 260 presentations in scientific sessions, business meetings and general assemblies of organising organisations, excursions, social events, such as receptions and the banquet, and possible pre- and post-conference trips.

Conference info: http://www.tampere.fi/industrialpast2010/

Read more about the Tampere highlights: http://gotampere.smartpage.fi/en/highlights

The Cradle of Industry: The history of Tampere is tightly linked with the history of factories and mills, of which Finlayson, Tampella and Frenckell belong to the most important ones. All were once powered by the Tammerkoski Rapids, which also gave birth to the whole city. Today, the rapids together with old red-brick factory buildings make one of Finland's national heritage landscapes.

Tampella - woven from the water: All over Finland, the early industrial towns were located by rapids. The wood processing industry, in particular, sought locations near the water, as water was an essential element in its operations. How was the power of the rapids harnessed? How could the irregular power be converted into a stable flow of energy required by the factories?

While new technologies introduced in the wood processing industry turned Finnish forests into green gold and steered Finland's economy to a new direction, another driving force of the economy began to gain ground, namely the engineering industry. Finnish factories needed grinders and water turbines, ships and locomotives.

All of the above were manufactured by Oy Tampella Ab, founded beside the upper reaches of the Tammerkoski rapids in 1861. During the Second World War, Tampella began to manufacture arms and ammunition. After the war, the factory started to make paper machines. Machinery felts, in turn, were manufactured by the town's largest wool factory, Tampereen Verkatehdas, for use in the wood processing industry. Today, most of Tampella has been converted into a residential area, but, for example, the Vapriikki Museum Centre and Tampere Comedy Theatre also have their home there.

Tako and Tampella: The introduction of wood as the raw material for paper truly revolutionised Finnish industry. Thanks to Finland's 'green gold' - the forests - industry began to grow rapidly. Since the 1860's, groundwood mills as well as pulp and paper mills were founded near rapids all around the country. The first groundwood mill in Tampere started in 1865.

Turbines and mechanical wires for the purposes of industry are still produced in Tampere.

In the same place as 130 years ago, mechanical pulpwood is being ground at Tako - today M-Real -, and shipped to paperboard mills, where it will be converted into high-quality packaging materials, which will be used in industrial applications worldwide and eventually end up in the hands of consumers.

The forests remain the foundation of the Finns' well-being. Roughly 70 per cent of the country is covered with forest, making the forest-related industries the second-largest generator of export revenue in Finland after the metal industry. Finland is the leading exporter of printing and writing paper worldwide.