Look for a series of red-brick industrial buildings and a very tall, round smokestack standing proudly alongside the river-just follow the water’s edge and you can’t miss it!
Welcome to Metsä Board Tako, a real heavyweight in Tampere’s industrial history! Imagine this place back in the late 1800s-steam rising, machines humming, and the echo of logs tumbling into a great metal chute. Back in 1865, this was the brainchild of Fredrik Idestam, who saw Tammerkoski’s west bank as the perfect place for a wood grinding mill. The factory quickly grew, sounding like a beehive on full throttle, and soon the Takon site was cranking out not only cardboard, but even roofing felt and corrugated boxes. Yes, this spot wasn’t just about paper, it was about making life a little bit more...well, packaged!
Through the decades, Tako’s machines got bigger, faster, and noisier-at its peak, one of their paper machines was literally the largest in Finland. But the heart of the action was always the wood. Logs would roll in, and if you listened closely, you could almost hear Tampere’s residents sighing at the booming racket! Even after the 1923 fire, which tragically claimed four workers and gutted the old wooden mill, Tako’s people rolled up their sleeves and got right back to work.
By the 1960s, over 1,000 folks worked here, producing mountain after mountain of cardboard. And though the log grinding faded out and Tako’s last board rolled off in June 2025 (not so long ago!), the giant red-brick halls and that sky-poking chimney still stand, holding stories of invention, noisy nights, and a spirit that helped shape Tampere. Don’t worry-the factory might be quiet now, but these walls still have plenty to say if you listen close!
