Lapin Kumi celebrates 70 years in business

Lapin Kumi, a company founded by Veikko Keskiruokanen, turns 70 on March 25 this year.

Ville Ruokanen and his uncle Risto Keskiruokanen proudly show around the rubber-scented premises to journalists. No wonder the premises emit the smell of rubber, since the store boasts roughly 15,000 tyres.

In the 1940s, the situation was different. In the war-ravaged Lapland, new tyres were not simply available. In the beginning, Veikko Keskiruokanen earned his living mainly from old tyres and boot repairs.

After the recession subsided, the company started to specialise and increased installations and sales activities. Over the decades since then, the company has expanded to different parts of Lapland and Finland, and the number of its permanent employees has soared to nearly 90 persons.

The company has managed to see the change of two subsequent generations taking charge. After Ville Ruokanen’s grandfather, his father rose to the helm. After his father retired 10 years ago, it was Ruokanen’s turn.

Selling the company to outsiders does not bode well. The emotional side is too strong. “You do not sell your own child, even if you are offered a good price. It was a matter of honour that I got to continue grandfather’s work,” Ruokanen told Daily Finland.

Standing beside, Risto Keskiruokanen, Ruokanen uncle, nods. He has worked at Lapin Kumi for a lifetime. “I am asked when I am going to retire. I am not going to slow down. If I am here as long as Veikko, then I have still 30 years remaining. Veikko was still running around at a hundred years,” Keskiruokanen told Finnish language daily Lapin Kansa.

Seventy years accounts for many ordeals. One of the most memorable was in October 2009 when the winter surprised tyre stores. A sudden snow storm created a mess in Rovaniemi. Cars were so crammed full in Lapin Kumi’s front yard in the early morning hours that some of the employees had to take the role of traffic controllers.

The vehicles left parked during the day were covered in snow. Employees moved around the yard trying to find out which keys belong to the parked cars. Car descriptions given by customers were of no help since a red Opel, Toyota and Ford could not be differentiated whilst buried under white fluff.

That day Lapin Kumi changed tyres for a total of 486 cars.