The beginning
Ats-Ammattityökalut Oy was founded in 1992 with tools and protective equipment as its main product groups.
Sales were started by marketing special tools and protective equipment for the construction industry from shop trucks, as well as from our own stores in Tampere and Turku.
Foreign trade was started, which was very much oriented towards the Soviet Union.
The tools in our selection were bought in Finland and some were also imported from West Germany.
Work clothes and protective equipment were bought from domestic manufacturers, but new model work clothes made in Sweden were also sold. Selling and marketing the products purchased from Sweden was initially very difficult due to their differences (laptop pockets).
Atex in numbers
Our company was founded.
Our turnover in 2023.
We employ 18 people in Finland.
Our total carbon footprint in 2023.
Ats – Ammattityökalut Oy was founded with the main product groups being tools and protective equipment. The company was founded by Tiina ja Jari Toivonen.
The first office was opened in Helsinki, where mail order was also started to cover the entire Finnish market.
The first own factory was opened in Estonia. Planning and work management was carried out from the head office, as it still is today.
With the help of a widespread dealer network, our Atex brand established its position in the Finnish workwear market as a high-quality, reliable and fast supplier.
We moved from Helsinki to Porvoo.
Our new premises with warehouses were completed in the Ölsten industrial area in Porvoo. All our activities in Finland were concentrated there.
We received Asiakastieto's strongest in Finland recognition, and we haven't given up on it since.The demand for eye-catching and fire-resistant clothes, as well as their combinations, exceeded the so-called normal demand for work clothes.
We reached the 20-year milestone.
Atex was the only AAA class clothing manufacturer in Finland.
The financial crisis in the economy also affected the clothing industry. Nevertheless, we achieved the best sales result in our history. Thanks for this goes only to our loyal customers, with whom we have been able to cooperate all these years.
Our new own factory was established in Lithuania. Today, the factory in Lithuania employs 15 people. The Lithuanian team includes, among other things, skilled seamstresses as well as a professional cutter and technician. The factory is managed by Vaiva Grigaite.
Our new 1500 m² logistics center was opened in February in Ölstens, a stone's throw away from our old premises.We celebrated the opening of our new logistics center together with our customers.
We were awarded the Suomen Vahvimmat Platinum label. This is a sign of the company's positive financial indicators, creditworthiness, background information and good payment behavior.
With a business transaction made at the end of the year, we bought the business of Pepe-Tricks Oy. With this sale, Petri Jokinen moved to the Atex team, responsible for the sale of Sioe and Dike products to companies and communities, as well as to retailers.
Responsibility issues are more and more on the back burner. We did a carbon footprint calculation for the first time. You can find its results and more about our responsibility here.
What will we come up with next...?
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