Finlux
Encyclopedia
Finlux is a brand of consumer electronic related products, ranging from radio receiver
s to plasma
television
s and DVD player
s; it was also the name of two companies that owned the brand. Over the years, the brand has been owned by several international companies. As of 2009, it is owned by the Turkish
electronics manufacturer Vestel
.
sets with that brand name after being acquired by the Finnish
Lohja conglomerate. Iskumetalli was founded in 1949 and had been manufacturing TV
sets since 1958. In 1971, it was renamed Finlux; this was the first time that Finlux had been used as a company name.
In 1977, Lohja started manufacturing Electroluminescence
(EL) displays after purchasing the development project, headed by Dr. Tuomo Suntola. The EL displays were manufactured using the atomic layer deposition
(ALD) process developed in the project, and were marketed using Finlux brand.
In 1979, Lohja acquired another Finnish TV manufacturer, Asa Radio, which had been manufacturing radio receivers since 1927.
In 1991, the EL manufacturing was sold to Planar. A new company, Planar International was formed to continue manufacturing EL displays in Espoo
, Finland. Planar later consolidated all of its EL manufacturing in Espoo and closed its Oregon
EL facility.
In 1992, Finlux TV manufacturing was sold to Nokia
, which already was manufacturing TV sets with brands Salora, Schaub-Lorenz and Oceanic.
In 1996, Nokia sold all its TV factories and brand names to Hong Kong
company Semi-Tech, which continued manufacturing TV sets in one factory in Finland until the year 2000, when the Finnish subsidiary of Semi-Tech filed for bankruptcy.
A new company under the old Finlux name, owned by Norwegian
company Otrum Electronics, was formed to continue TV manufacturing. However, they had serious troubles with their product line, which was based on CRT TVs. The market had swung to flat panel TVs and Finlux failed to switch in time. With 50 million euros in debt, the company filed for bankruptcy in September 2005.
In 2006, the Turkish electronics company Vestel
, owned by the Zorlu Holding
corporate group, bought the Finlux brand; it now focuses on flat panel TV sets and other consumer electronic products like DVD players/recorders and DVB sets. All production and other related operations in Finland have been discontinued.
since 2008.
Finlux sponsored Sheffield Wednesday Football Club from 1986 to 1988.
Receiver (radio)
A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...
s to plasma
Plasma display
A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays or larger. They are called "plasma" displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s and DVD player
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
s; it was also the name of two companies that owned the brand. Over the years, the brand has been owned by several international companies. As of 2009, it is owned by the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
electronics manufacturer Vestel
Vestel Elektronik
Vestel is one of Turkey’s largest home and professional appliances manufacturing companies consisting of 18 companies specialised in electronics, major appliances and information technology, which was formed by Turkish Cypriot Asil Nadir in 1975....
.
History
The name Finlux first appeared in 1964, when Iskumetalli began marketing TVTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sets with that brand name after being acquired by the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Lohja conglomerate. Iskumetalli was founded in 1949 and had been manufacturing TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sets since 1958. In 1971, it was renamed Finlux; this was the first time that Finlux had been used as a company name.
In 1977, Lohja started manufacturing Electroluminescence
Electroluminescence
Electroluminescence is an optical phenomenon and electrical phenomenon in which a material emits light in response to the passage of an electric current or to a strong electric field...
(EL) displays after purchasing the development project, headed by Dr. Tuomo Suntola. The EL displays were manufactured using the atomic layer deposition
Atomic layer deposition
Atomic layer deposition is a thin film deposition technique that is based on the sequential use of a gas phase chemical process. The majority of ALD reactions use two chemicals, typically called precursors. These precursors react with a surface one-at-a-time in a sequential manner...
(ALD) process developed in the project, and were marketed using Finlux brand.
In 1979, Lohja acquired another Finnish TV manufacturer, Asa Radio, which had been manufacturing radio receivers since 1927.
In 1991, the EL manufacturing was sold to Planar. A new company, Planar International was formed to continue manufacturing EL displays in Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
, Finland. Planar later consolidated all of its EL manufacturing in Espoo and closed its Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
EL facility.
In 1992, Finlux TV manufacturing was sold to Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, which already was manufacturing TV sets with brands Salora, Schaub-Lorenz and Oceanic.
In 1996, Nokia sold all its TV factories and brand names to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
company Semi-Tech, which continued manufacturing TV sets in one factory in Finland until the year 2000, when the Finnish subsidiary of Semi-Tech filed for bankruptcy.
A new company under the old Finlux name, owned by Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
company Otrum Electronics, was formed to continue TV manufacturing. However, they had serious troubles with their product line, which was based on CRT TVs. The market had swung to flat panel TVs and Finlux failed to switch in time. With 50 million euros in debt, the company filed for bankruptcy in September 2005.
In 2006, the Turkish electronics company Vestel
Vestel Elektronik
Vestel is one of Turkey’s largest home and professional appliances manufacturing companies consisting of 18 companies specialised in electronics, major appliances and information technology, which was formed by Turkish Cypriot Asil Nadir in 1975....
, owned by the Zorlu Holding
Zorlu Holding
Zorlu Holding is one of the biggest corporate groups in Turkey. The group was founded by the late Hacı Mehmet Zorlu and is currently headed by two co-chairmen, Ahmet Nazif Zorlu and Zeki Zorlu....
corporate group, bought the Finlux brand; it now focuses on flat panel TV sets and other consumer electronic products like DVD players/recorders and DVB sets. All production and other related operations in Finland have been discontinued.
Sponsorship
As of 2009, Finlux have been the major sponsor of the Swedish team Hammarby IFHammarby IF
Hammarby Fotboll is a Swedish football club based in Johanneshov - just south of Södermalm, the southernmost district of Stockholm city centre...
since 2008.
Finlux sponsored Sheffield Wednesday Football Club from 1986 to 1988.