Safemaster Oy Ltd. 11/08

Safemaster Oy Ltd. 11/08

Safemaster Oy is a company founded in 1994 that manufactures welding helmets. The base of the product variety is the innovation made by the CEO, Mr. Reijo Lehtonen, in the 1980’s. This product is lighter and more versatile than the previous welding helmets.

The welding helmet has a darker welding mask and, in addition, a brighter mask. This way the welder doesn’t need to change the mask in different phases of working and he can just lift the outer mask up. Safemaster has a wide variety of products that also include an automatically darkening mask.

There is also a new, ventilating welding helmet as a result of the Lehtonen´s product development.

A long career in welding business has given him the “know-how” of welding secrets. He’s also quite of an inventor and visualizes often his prototypes in the night time when other people are still sleeping.
Often these prototypes are re-developed in order to make the product as perfect as possible.

For Lehtonen the welder’s career started in the year 1955 in a welding course he finished in Lokomo. Mr. Lehtonen has been working ever since.

Good products have great demand

According to Mr. Reijo Lehtonen one of the most important features of a welding helmet is the lightness. A mask too heavy increases the neck and shoulder area stress injuries. A welding helmet should also always be protective. A good mask protects the worker from UV rays and too much heat, extra light and sparks. A mask should also protect the worker from welding gases and heavy metals.

In a ventilating welding helmet it is important that the incoming air doesn’t entre directly to the forehead and cheeks to cause eye infections and sinusitis. Lehtonen has invented a helmet in which the air enters from both sides and doesn’t cause nasty drafting in the face area.

Developing a new helmet is an on-going product development work. Even in a fairly good product can be invented new, even better qualities. I ask Lehtonen the secret of his creativity: “The ideas just come and go… A new idea is born all of a sudden.”

Sometimes a normal conversation can be the spark the lights this inventor’s fire and he develops the ideas further. Obviously Mr. Lehtonen and his company has been doing an excellent work: the company´s welding helmets have been proofed excellent in the tests of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Mr. Reijo Lehtonen, CEO of Safemaster Oy

Tight competition, good products

Mr. Lehtonen defines the competition rather tight but believes that when there´s a good product –there´s business. They are the only company in Finland that produces fibreglass helmets. The competition with the foreign companies is, however, tighter. Safemaster still has the advantage to produce light and high-quality helmets which makes the company really competitive also abroad.

As a producer the company is really flexible. Lehtonen says laughing, that many times he has promised a customer something that has never been done before! He is not good in saying no.

But everything has always been done in time and the promises have been filled even though a new product requires certification.

Lempäälä as business environment

Lehtonen says that Lempäälä is a good place to run a business and have a family. The localization in the heart of Southern Finland is an advantage. The municipality has also good, entrepreneur-friendly atmosphere and the cooperation between the municipality and the companies is excellent.

The municipality considers also entrepreneurs opinions and aims in creating good working environment for the enterprises. Mr. Lehtonen knows what his talking about as he has been the chairman on Lempäälä entrepreneurs for six years and an active member for twenty years. Also the economic work group makes a difference: the work group includes entrepreneurs and people from the municipality. So it offers a good ambient to exchange ideas and opinions.

Lehtonen is grateful also for Lempäälä entrepreneurs. It is extremely important to converse with other business owners, get new ideas, network and have new clients.

Safemaster is now part of Jackson Safety

Reijo Lehtonen has sold his business to a foreign owner, Jackson Safety. They were interested in Safemaster´s clientele and good products. Safemaster has now the franchise of Jackson Safety in every Nordic country. The foreign ownership has made the function of Safemaster more systematic. Now the reports go daily both ways.

Both companies products are a nice addition and don’t compete with each other. A big “back-ground-company” brings new alternatives and more credibility. The foreign language is English, which Mr. Lehtonen doesn’t dominate, but it doesn’t matter because there are people in the company with good English skills that handle the translations and verbal contacts.

Energy from the stage

After the business fusion Lehtonen has promised to continue as a CEO for two more years. Jackson didn’t want to let this man go because of his know-how and experience. And while his healthy and energetic - - why not to continue a bit more?

Lehtonen charges his batteries in the stage of an amateur theatre. Lempäälä Youth Association’s theatre has viewers who have been joining Lehtonen´s role performances many times. Last winter he spent entirely on the theatre stage of Messukylä, Tampere, and couple of years ago he was seen in Nokia Worker´s Theatre.

Concentrating to rehearsals and shows he forgets the stress and the man who arrives from theatre to home is another person, who again can handle another innovative night planning new prototypes of welding helmets.

Contact information:

Vikkiniityntie 5 E
33880 Lempäälä
Tel. +358 (0)3 3122 7500
Fax +358 (0)3 3122 7550
www.safemaster.fi

The interview was made by Mrs. Päivi Nahkola, Tourism officer of Lempäälä municipality