Suunto Oy is a Finnish company that manufactures and markets sports watches, dive computers, compasses and precision instruments. Headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, Suunto employs more than 300 people worldwide, and its products are sold in over 100 countries. Although globally active, the headquarters is placed next to the factory, in which most of the work stages are still handcrafted. Suunto is a subsidiary of Amer Sports, owned since 2019 by the Chinese group Anta Sports, with sister brands Wilson, Atomic, Sports Tracker, Salomon, Precor, Arc'teryx. The company's name comes from the Finnish word , meaning "direction" or "path", or in navigation, "bearing" or "heading". History In 1932 the company's founder, Tuomas Vohlonen, a surveyor by profession, applied for a patent for a unique method of filling and sealing a lightweight compass housing made entirely of celluloid and filled with liquid to dampen the needle and to protect it from shock and wear due to excessive motion. In 1935, Vohlonen was granted a patent on his design, and it went into mass production a year later as the wrist-mount Suunto M-311. Although it was not the first portable liquid-filled compass, Vohlonen's design was compact and lightweight, enabling it to be easily worn on the wrist. With minor changes, the M-311 was later adopted by the Finnish Army as the M-34. The company was entered in the trade register on February 4, 1936. During World War II, Suunto introduced a compact liquid sighting compass, the M/40, for artillery officers and other users needing a precision instrument for measuring an azimuth. The company grew rapidly after the war, supplying compasses and other navigational instruments to both civilian and military markets. After Tuomas Vohlonen died in 1939, his widow Elli Vohlonen ran the company until 1952, when she sold it to Paavo Kajanne, Aarne Mahnala and Veli-Jussi Hölsö, who also owned Redox Oy. At the very end of 1970s they sold the company to Niemistö family, and in the beginning of 1990s Sponsor Oy bought the company and listed it in a stock exchange in 1995. In 1999 Amer Sports bought the company. In 1996 Suunto Oy acquired Recta SA, a Swiss compass manufacturer. In the late 1930s Suunto Oy was located in the backyard building of Laivanvarustajankatu 8, Ullanlinna, Helsinki. In 1959 Suunto moved to Itämerenkatu 52, Ruoholahti, Helsinki. In 1969 the company moved to Juvan teollisuuskatu 8, Juvanmalmi, Espoo. Suunto Oy's headquarters