Kit-Sell inc., Representative of the engineering industry in Kitee

There has been sawmill machinery production in Tolosenmäki Kitee since 1973. At that time Jukka Lankinen, who moved in from Turku, founded the sawmill equipment company and constructed some of the facilities still in use. At the end of the year 1975 Plan-Sell Inc. from Heinola was searching a place for an engineering shop in the development region and ended up in Tolosenmäki. The company had a great need for new engineering capacity to manufacture after treatment equipment for sawmills to the Soviet Union. In the beginning of 1976 the workshop in Tolosenmäki reached its current size and shape. The manufacture of sawmill machinery begun immediately and employed as many as 140 workers at best. Plan-Sell Inc. run into some trouble however, in the 1980's and was bankrupt in 1992. Nevertheless there were seeds of a new company to be found in the  bankruptcy. There was excellent basis for continuing sawmill machinery  production, and therefore Kit-Sell Inc. was founded in 1993. The company  began to operate in August the same year.

When Kit-Sell Inc. was founded the idea was to function as a subcontractor for the larger Finnish companies in metal industry. The idea was similar to that of Plan-Sell in its final years so in a way Kit-Sell inherited the clientele, the facilities along with all the machinery and assets and also skilled craftsmen. Skill, experience and knowledge involved especially the areas of conveyors, the manufacture of welded steel structures as well as the projects involved in custom production.
The company was founded by five private persons from Kitee who are still its owners and managers. The launch of the company happened in a perfect time because the depression was lifting and the market for subcontracting in the metal industry was picking up. Because of the rising demand Kit-Sell Inc. was also growing. Already in 1995 the company had reached the 50 employees that were in the initial plan.

The management of Kit-Sell Inc. was searching for new business opportunities. The solution came in the spring of 1997 when an engineering office named Klasu Konsult Inc. from Kerava was searching for a sawmill machinery company as a partner. The agreement on economic cooperation was signed in the beginning of August and immediately after that the partners began searching for invitations of bids. It was decided that Kit-Sell Inc. would be the name in contracts and would thus take  the financial risks and make sure all the sales and projects were carried out. Klasu Konsult Inc. would in return be incharge of designing and thus of the technical competitive power of the machines. Marketing and sales would be carried out together.
The cooperation was good and successful. Already in 1998 approx. half of the turnover of the Kit-Sell Inc. was from sawmill equipment and same has continued throughout the following years.

Original products and sound knowledge has been valued as the main goal of the business especially considering the future of Kit-Sell Inc. Building sawmill machinery has been seen as that goal and developing it has become essential to the company. Therefore in the spring of 2001 Kit-Sell Inc. decided to buy Klasu Konsult Inc. and all its business. The staff continued to work for the buyer.

Kit-Sell Inc. is now building its future on the complete deliveries  to sawmills which starts from log handling, saw-line equipments, side product handling, sorting devises to sticking and packing. Not forgetting, however, the possibilities of subcontracting and custom production, and all the close customer relations involved. The goal is to develop into a significant Finnish supplier with skill. That is how we believe we can best honor the legacy and the traditions of engineering in Kitee.

Pentti Holopainen