EN
FIPLSV

History Page

Darekon is a family business established in 1985. These four decades almost cover the whole history of the Finnish electronics industry. Many other companies in the field have risen and fallen but Darekon has adapted, struggled, skilfully chosen the right alternatives and has continuously grown and developed to become one of the best Finnish companies in its field.

Darekon on sopeutunut, taistellut, valinnut taitavasti oikeita vaihtoehtoja ja jatkuvasti kasvaen ja kehittyen tullut yhdeksi alansa parhaista suomalaisista yrityksistä.
Darekon perustettiin ja toiminta käynnistettiin vuonna 1985 Haapavedellä.

Darekon started as a family business in 1985 and today is again a family business. In between there have been different stages. The early 1990s was a time of learning for the company. The Soviet Union was Darekon’s main market and when it collapsed, the strategy was changed and Darekon concentrated on developing contract manufacturing. At the same time the founder of the company, Heikki Orpo, became seriously ill and a recession struck the home market. The shareholder base was also widened in the late 1980s. The situation was, however, changed and ownership was concentrated again within the family and the strong development and growth of an electronics contract manufacturing business was started. The revenue of the contract manufacturing business of the company increased from almost zero in the early 1990s to about 20 million euros in 2007.

In 2008 a venture capital fund of Sentica Partners became the major shareholder of the company. The family continued as a minor shareholder. The arrangement was made to access greater resources for growth and allow for possible branch consolidations. The world economy got weaker around the same time and development of the industry did not meet expectations in the following years. The growth of the company, nevertheless, continued steadily and sufficient profitability was maintained. In April 2015 the venture capital fund exited the company and Darekon became a family business again.

In the beginning of year 2020 pandemic called COVID-19 appeared and it had strong effect to business environment, Darekon however manage this time well due to strong presence in medical device manufacturing whose demand grew strongly. In September 2021 Darekon entered into Sweden EMS market by acquiring local EMS companies (IHAAB Component Systems AB, KELAB Systems AB and SMD Production AB) in Stockholm. End of same year Darekon acquired sheet metal contract manufacturer Premec Oy in Ylivieska.

1985

Oy Darekon Ltd was established

1986

Opening of the manufacturing facility in Haapavesi and electronics manufacturing started

1990

A joint venture company was established with a Polish partner for manufacturing electronics in Gdansk

1995

The Polish partner’s share of Darekon Sp. z o.o was acquired

1996

The first extension of the Haapavesi facility was completed

1999

The second extension of the Haapavesi facility was completed

2003

Darekon Sp. z o.o moves to its own 1,500m2 manufacturing facility

2006

Darekon acquired ET-Electro Oy at Savonranta. The operation was continued under the name Darekon-Electro

2008

The Savonranta company moved to new 2,500m2 premises

2009

Darekon acquired from Mecanova the sheet metal operation at its Klaukkala facility. The operation is continued in 4,500m2 premises in Klaukkala

2013

Darekon acquired all shares of contract manufacturer Apelec Oy and the company was merged with Darekon. The operation was mainly concentrated at the Klaukkala facility

2013

Darekon Sp. z o.o opened a second 2,400m2 manufacturing facility in Gdansk. Local electronics manufacturing is concentrated in the new facility while cable harness manufacturing and final assembly remains in the first facility

2015

Darekon Electro was merged with Darekon. The operation continues in Savonranta

2016

The modernisation and extension of Darekon’s Haapavesi facility was completed. The size of the facility is now 4,600m2

2019

Savonranta plant operation moved to new 2,600m2 facilities in Savonlinna.

2020

Darekon acquired a paint shop in Klaukkala and integrated it in its Klaukkala plant.

2021

Darekon acquired all shares of contract manufacturer IHAAB Component Systems AB including its subsidiaries SMD Production AB and KELAB Systems AB in Stockholm, Sweden.

Darekon acquired all shares of sheet metal contract manufacturer Premec Oy in Ylivieska.

2022

KELAB Systems AB and IHAAB Systems AB has been merged into SMD Production AB.

Personnel

Turnover