5. Years 1906-1920
Lindfors sweets factory grows steadily (1906-1920)
After the death of A.W. Lindfors, Ivar Lindfors continued developing the factory. The subsequent years were prosperous.
In 1907 a 16 year old apprentice, Lennart Brunberg was employed. The young man learnt how to make sweets and little by little he started dreaming of a factory of his own.
Villa Ilomäki became too small for the growing factory. In 1908 Ivar Lindfors acquired new premises, a corner plot, adjacent to the Town Park.
The factory at Villa Ilomäki had reached its limits.
The sweets factory was installed in several wooden buildings, where previously a public laundry had been. A new building was also erected.
The inhabitants of central Porvoo were now able to enjoy fragrances of liquorice and chocolate.
New sweets from abroad
The sweets factory was still run by several family members. Karl Lindfors was candy master and boss. Karl had learnt the line of business in Sweden and America and used his knowledge in the factory. According to history books electricity was installed in the factory during this time.
Karl and his brother Viktor Lindfors were registered as owners of the factory from 1909 to 1913. In 1913 the factory was set up as a limited company.
At the same time Ivar Lindfors expanded the activities. He lived in Helsinki and, during 1910-1920, he acquired the companies of Paul Iljinoff, Ab William Wiik Oy and Ab Westerlund & Co which were incorporated as part of Lindfors sweets factory.
The new companies increased the selection of products of Lindfors. New sweets of their own were also produced.
The creamy Alku caramel candies came from the line of William Wiik. Russian candy masters Sladkoff and Kulakoff had given William Wiik the recipe. (Read more about the history of the Alku candies).
The Alku-caramel candy is one of Finland’s oldest sweets still in manufacture.
The building of the three-storey stone building is started
New sweets, acquisitions and the delicious fragrances increased sales, and the premises were once more too small. In 1914 it was decided that a three-storey stone building would be built.
It was not so easy to build as it seemed. The ground had to be piled as the soil was so soft that the buildings on the adjacent plot were close to gliding into the hole which was dug for the new building.
1914 was an eventful year also for Lennart Brunberg; he had mastered the art of making sweets and was soon appointed boss at the sweets factory.
23-year old Lennart had learnt that for the Christmas sales – the most important season for the sweets factory – preparations had to start in early spring. Stocks had to be filled. This knowledge was to prove useful some years later.
Sugar rationing
The year 1914 brought a third, very unpleasant, episode: World War I broke out on July 28. The war affected the day-to-day lives of the inhabitants in many ways, among other things as a shortage of food.
In order to meet the needs of food for everybody, rationing was introduced. The prices of food increased rapidly and sugar cards were implemented.
In the spring of 1916 sugar cards were handed out. Lindfors factory had 33 employees and the production amounted to 126 tons of candies per year. At the beginning each person was allotted half a kilo of sugar, but by 1917 the amount had fallen to 200 grams.
Associations, cafés and bakers – also sweets factories – were allowed sugar according to the town council’s consideration, provided there was sugar left from the citizens’ quota. The production at Lindfors naturally fell and next time the production reached the amounts of the year 1916 would not be until seven years later, in 1923.
Rationing was a problem for the sweets factory; furthermore, there was a shortage of other kinds of raw materials as well. 1917-1918 were difficult years for the factory, but one positive thing happened; the building of the three-storey stone building was completed in 1917.
The building still stands, empty for the moment.
Board members of the company in 1917 were Ivar Lindfors, chairman, Axel Lindfors and Ivar’s son, Ragnar Lindfors. They managed to hang on under difficult circumstances.
In 1920 Lindfors sweets factory was the second biggest company in Porvoo.
Read these too
1. Bakery founded
(1870-1890) About 150 years ago... A.W. Lindfors sets up his bakery in 1871 By the river of Porvoo, in the town with the red wooden houses along the waterway and the curvy cobblestone roads, the population enjoyed a period of economic recovery in the 1870’s. Around 3 500 residents lived in Porvoo, the majority still in [...]
2. Family enterprise
An enterprise for the whole family The family of A.W. Lindfors consisted of his wife, Wilhelmina (born Saarinko) and seven children: Ivar, Karl, Adolf, Axel, Viktor, Aina and Sigrid. They were all engaged in the bakery business and later on in the sweets factory, in one way or another. It really was a family business [...]
3. Sweets factory founded
A.W. Lindfors sets up a sweets factory In the spring of 1897 the baker A.W. Lindfors informed that he was going to produce sweets, chocolate and marmalade and other products included in the bakery range. The factory was named A.W. Lindfors sweets and marmalade factory. He wanted the factory to satisfy the craving for sweets [...]
4. Ivar Lindfors
August Ivar Lindfors, head of Division to the National Board of Trade Ivar Lindfors (21.6.1872-26.4.1950) was a true all-rounder in the business world. In addition to the A.W. Lindfors sweets and marmalade factory, he was head of Ab Ivar Lindfors Oy (since 1918), a metal and construction company with office in Helsinki. Image: porssitieto.fi As [...]
6. Brunberg sweets factory founded
Lennart Brunberg sets up his own sweets factory in 1922 The 1920’s was a decade of grand festivities and belief in the future, a period of reconstruction of Finland. During prohibition illegally imported alcohol from Estonia could be bought in the restaurants. The improvement of alimentation and health services and new inventions made life easier. [...]
7. Lennart Brunberg
Lennart Brunberg – sweets manufacturer and music lover Lennart Brunberg (1891-1945) was not only a manufacturer of sweets; he was also a cultural personality, aware of his social responsibility. Closest to his heart was music. He played the violin and the cello and sang in the choir of the sports association Akilles, led by the [...]
8. The 1930’s
The 1930’s – Brunberg survives the recession The 1930’s was a decade of social upheaval. The Finnish people were twice put to the test: first after the stock market crush and the second time when World War II broke out in September of 1939. However, the decade also held hope and belief in the future. [...]
9. The 1940’s
1940’s: the decade of World War II and a tragic fire During the Second World War, Porvoo was bombed on several occasions. When the sirens went off, the residents ran to bomb shelters, one of which was located in the basement of the Brunberg-Lindfors factory. The war kept people in constant fear and the shortage [...]
10. Börje Brunberg
Börje Brunberg, an innovative nautical enthusiast Börje Lennart Brunberg (born 1924) was a popular and determined managing director who tirelessly and purposefully managed to get the Brunberg sweets factory back on its feet after the war and the death of his father, Lennart Brunberg. Börje Brunberg was an enterprising and innovative person with a dream: [...]
11. The 1950’s
The 1950’s: Kisses, television sets and second-hand bags In the post-war era the cities grew and living conditions improved. Many moved into the new houses called “rintamamiestalo” - modern detached houses built after the war for the families of soldiers who fought in the battlefront - and started a family. New trends came from around [...]
12. The 1960’s
1960’s, the mechanization of the Brunberg factory In the 1960’s, major changes took place in the Finnish society. People migrated from countryside to cities, standard of living improved and consumption grew, even though non-essential products were avoided – the hard years were still vivid in people’s memory. Factories were mechanized and production was made more [...]
13. The 1970’s
The 1970’s, the decade of sweets A well-known Finnish singer, the avant-garde A.M. Numminen, sang in the 1970’s something like: “Eat sweets only on Saturday Sweet Day, never on any other day”. The Finnish people were crazy about sweets and consumption increased to almost seven kilos per year and per person. The 1970’s was the [...]
14. The 1980’s
The 1980’s: inauguration of new premises for Brunberg In the 80’s the Brunberg production grew to previously unknown heights. In the 50’s a production of barely 150 tons was reached, in the 60’s almost 250 tons and in the 70’s 600 tons – now the factory reached a production of 1 200 tons. The volume had [...]
15. The 1990’s
The 1990’s: Recession and new sweets The 45-year long career of Börje Brunberg had come to an end. He had modernized the factory and multiplied production. In 1991 Börje Brunberg retired. A new managing director was appointed, Ph.D. Raimo Keskinen, who was manager of the company until 1997. Börje Brunberg had devoted his time and [...]
16. 2000’s
The 2000’s: Brunberg today Nobody could have foreseen where a simple application would lead, when the bakery apprentice A.W. Lindfors applied for permission in 1971 to start a bakery. A lot has happened during these 150 years: Finland became an independent state, survived several wars, was urbanized and became a member state of the European [...]
