Fiskars Group (also known as Fiskars Oyj Abp or Fiskars Corporation, and until 1998 as Fiskars Oy Ab) is a Finnish group company. The company has its roots in the village of Fiskars (in the town of Raseborg, about west of Helsinki), where it was founded in 1649. The oldest business still operating in Finland, its global headquarters are in the Arabianranta district of Helsinki. It is one of the oldest companies in the world. The company has operated in various sectors over the decades. Fiskars was formerly best known for its orange-handled scissors, which were created in 1967. More than one billion were sold by 2010. In 2019, its products related to the home, outdoor activities, interior decoration and table setting. Its key brands today include Fiskars, Iittala, Royal Copenhagen, Wedgwood and Waterford. The Finnish marketing magazine Markkinointi & Mainonta found that Fiskars' brands are regularly among Finland's most valued brands. History The early stages (1649–1915) Fiskars Corporation was formed in 1649, when a merchant named Peter Thorwöste was given a charter by Christina, Queen of Sweden, to establish a blast furnace and forging operation in the small village of Fiskars; however, he was not permitted to produce cannons. This makes it the oldest privately owned company in Finland. From the outset, the company manufactured products for consumers, industry and agriculture. The furnace produced pig iron that was shingled to wrought iron in the finery forges powered by water wheels. In the early years, Fiskars made nails, wire, hoes, and metal-reinforced wheels from wrought iron. In the late eighteenth century, copper was discovered in nearby Orijärvi, and thus the focus of production shifted to processing copper from the Orijärvi mine. For almost 80 years, Fiskars' main source of business came from copper, but by the nineteenth century there was little copper left in Orijärvi. In 1822, the apothecary Johan Jacob Julin (later, von Julin) from Turku acquired the Fiskars ironworks and village. During this time, the ironworks were actively developed and production focused on processing iron. In 1832, the first cutlery mill in Finland was founded in Fiskars, with the production range increasing from knives to include forks and scissors. After Julin's death, the company became a limited liability company called Fiskars Aktiebolag in 1883. Von Julin’s youngest son, Albert von Julin, took over the management of the company. In 1915, Fiskars was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.