Acting through his investment company, which is still a minority shareholder in Halti, Martti Uusitalo has acquired a majority stake in Vauhti Speed, a Finnish manufacturer of ski wax and related accessories. The former owners, Aki and Vuokko Karvonen, remain as minority shareholders. They will continue to be active in the company's operations along with the current chief executive, Mika Matikainen.
As we have previously reported, Uusitalo left as chief executive of Halti a few weeks ago, after five years at its helm, in connection with a change in the Finnish activewear company's ownership. Acting as chairman of Vauhti, Uusitalo wants to support the brand with testimonials and national team sponsorships, internationalize its market presence and expand its product range from the cross-country ski sector to the alpine ski sector. He is looking for distributors in Central and Eastern Europe, where Vauhti has no presence, holding preliminary discussions with his numerous contacts abroad.
The company, which has a small production facility in Joensuu, Finland, is said to be financially sound, with a strong potential for development. It has an annual turnover of around €2.5 million, half of which comes from Finland and the rest mainly from Sweden and Russia. Vauhti also sells a small range of roller skis and ski poles, which are partly made in its own premises.
