Ovako Imatra

The first ironworks on the very border of Finland and Russia was established in 1915 under the management of Berndt Grönblom´s Elektrometallurgiska Aktiebolaget, which used the water power of the Vuoksa River to produce pig iron and ferroalloys. The original mills used to be located at nearby Vuoksenniska and was operating a single blast furnace with an electric smelter.

The foundations for the present steelworks in Imatra were laid later. It was built in 1935 with two 25 t electric arc furnaces that could produce approximately 30 000 tonnes of steel per year.

During the Second World War, Imatra primarily supplied Finland’s defense sector and, despite bomb damage, continued production; postwar growth was driven by war reparations and industrial modernization. Over the decades, Imatra evolved into a producer of high‑quality special steels. In 1969 it merged with Finnish manufacturers to form Ovako, and in 1972 Wärtsilä became a shareholder. By 1991, the mill faced closure, but a reprieve came through management initiative, Wärtsilä backing, and government support—leading to the construction of a new 75‑tonne electric arc furnace under Imatra Steel Oy Ab.

In 2005 the site became part of the newly formed Ovako Group; since 2019 it has been owned by Sanyo Special Steel (Nippon Steel). Today the plant employs around 500 people and produces about 200,000 tpa of specialty steel.

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