Founding Valio
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Valio was established on 4 July 1905 as a butter export cooperative for Finnish dairies. Producing first-class butter was a condition for joining and there were 17 cooperative dairies as founding members. The cooperative was named Voinvienti-osuusliike Valio r.l.
Business operations started later that year in Hanko. The port has the longest ice-free period in Finland and so was the center of much export activity at that time. The most important target country for the new organization was England and other dairy products were shipped from 1909, as well as butter. The number of member dairies increased rapidly to 172 by 1912, up to 232 only two years later, and nearly 300 by 1917.
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| Voinvienti-osuusliike Valio r.l. 1) |
The cooperative was established to export top-quality butter and "Valio" in Finnish signifies reliability as well as high quality. The name was coined by Philip Suuronen, Master of Laws and Secretary of the Pellervo Confederation of Finnish Cooperatives, who went on to become a member of the first Valio Supervisory Board.
1) The abbreviation r.l. stood for "rajoitettu lisämaksuvelvollisuus" (limited obligation to contribute), which limited the liability of owners.
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| Valio Meijerien Keskusosuusliike |
As the company product range expanded and operations developed, the name no longer matched the business. So to honour its 50th anniversary in 1955, the name was changed to Valio Meijerien Keskusosuusliike, which translates as "Valio central cooperative for dairies".
The stylized cover of a dairy separator was introduced as the first visual Valio mark. It was the invention of the separator in the 1880's that helped turn butter making into a large-scale industry. So the symbol was perfect for a company focused at that time on production.
The separator-shaped logo resulted from a competition arranged for artists in 1944. The winning logo was designed by former Valio advertising manager Atte Artimo.
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