Haarla Factory

Haarla Factory
(Haarlan tehdas)
Paasikiventie 16-18

Bertel Strömmer, 1919-20, 1932
Harry W. Schreck, 1944-50
Style: Classicism

Toivo Rafael Harberg, later Haarla, moved to Tampere in the late 19th century and opened a wholesale store there in 1900. In 1903, he founded the Tampere Letter and Paper Refinement Factory. When the paper manufacturers were cartelised in 1918, Haarla could no longer buy his raw material at the same price as some of his competitors. Thus he founded his own paper factory, which was built in Santalahti in 1919-20 with the designs of Bertel Strömmer. The transverse wing on the building's western side was expanded in 1932 toward Näsijärvi, again with Strömmer's drawings. At the end of the 1930s the factory was producing 6000 tons of paper a year and employed 190 people. The section alongside Paasikiventie was raised in 1950 to three stories with the designs of Harry W. Schreck. The façades are cleanly laid red brick and the transverse wing's mighty upper windows are the building's trademark feature. The 38 metre high chimney on the side of the lake is significant in the cityscape and an important monument in the local history of Santalahti's industrial past. In the 1980s, the factory moved to Tesoma and the building has since been used for other purposes. The lower additional sections around the core building were demolished in the 1990s.