Published in: Helsingin Sanomat, 15th of September, 2004

 - THE TALLEST BUILDING IN TIKKURILA WILL BE DEMOLISHED

- THE AREA OF THE OLD SOAP FACTORY WILL CONTAIN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN THE FUTURE

- After an year, the huge and tall soap factory will be gone from the river bank of Kerava-river, in Tikkurila Vantaa. The colossal Havi-factory will be demolished with explosives to make a room for a new residential area. The factory which rises to over 50 meters from the ground level is still holding the title, tallest building in Tikkurila. The Vantaa city museum has tried to defend the building and deny any demolition. The city museum thinks that the factory of Havi is a very unique in Scandinavian countries, as the shape of the building has been constructed according to the manufacturing process. The building which can be seen from a long distance and the production which lasted a long time, should affect to the decision that the building will be left alone and standing where it is. This however will not happen. The city plan which includes the plan to demolish the factory, was approved in the Vantaa city planning office. The decision will be however still going through a different officials and will be available for citizens to inspect it until 21st of October. The issue will be once more discussed in the early spring, in the different city boards and other political departments.

- There was a competition held, how the area should be developed in the future and this competition was won by a architecture office, that proposes a plan to build a eight residential houses to the area, each one containing 4 to 7 floors. To the bank of Kerava-river, there would be space to build two storey buildings. However, they also made a few plans where the old soap factory would have been saved at least partly. One of the options was, that the round part of the factory which was build in 1955 would have been saved and the other plan favored to let the washing-powder factory remain which was build in 1984. The landowner however has wished that the construction could start quickly. Saving the factory isn't in the interest of the landowner or the construction firm.

- The city of Vantaa doesn't want to stop the construction. According to the architect from the city of Vantaa, they have no need to be against the plan that won the competition. According to the architect, the plans for the area has progressed rapidly and the factory will be also demolished very quickly, after the plan has been declared lawful. The city is however well aware, that many people think that soap factory as a landmark of Tikkurila, but as now private instance will not preserve the place and city has no money to buy the place, the situation is a deadlock. The soap factory is already empty and all of the machines has been sold. Some part of the factory has been rented as a storage room.

INFO:

- In the year 1938 Saponia Oy build a small soap factory the bank of Kerava-river. In the year 1940 the Tikkurilan Luu Oy arrived to the area, which was processing offal's into a soap. In 1955 the washing-powder factory was build.

- SOK bought the whole factory in 1959 and after that in the sixties, the factory was expanded many times. The Nordspray, a combined Scandinavian aerosol factory was build in 1969 and it's production ended in the early part of the 1990's. The years 1978 to 1988 were the golden time of the soap factory. The washing-powder was manufactured in three shifts employing 250 people. In 1984 a new washing-powder factory was build. The factory was fully automated, the biggest one in Scandinavia.

- The soap factory closed it's doors at the late 1980's. In 1987 Hackman Oy bought the factory and it's partner Havi Oy bought the machines and other equipment. In 1997 Henkel Finland Oy rented the factory and bought the machines and it's trademarks. The company which was now named Henkel Norden Oy, ended it's production in 2001.