Ramirent history

Hi, I am Rami. I was born in the 1960s in A-Elementti Oy Rakennusmies before it transformed into today’s Ramirent.     I have seen Finland through decades of stories that shaped the course of its history. I have witnessed its landscape transform as the country experienced industrialization, innovation, globalization and unprecedented growth. 

At the same time, I have watched Ramirent evolve into a leading name in the market through the years. I have been a part of its history through all the ups and downs and have also become a part of our countless customers’ journeys.     This is my story. This is the Ramirent story. 

1955: It began with a steel nail! 

In the beginning, three hard-working people with master's degrees in engineering —  Lauri Jämsä, Kauko Rastas and Heljo Lepäsmaa —  teamed up to form the partnership firm Rakennusmies (The Construction Man). With good construction materials and machinery in high demand in Finland, the new company started off by marketing steel nails. The company that started out as a side job in one of the partner’s bathroom soon became Insinööritoimisto Oy Rakennusmies. 

1960s: A-Elementti Oy 

With machinery fast replacing manual labor in the construction industry, the partners founded A-Elementti Oy company and started manufacturing prefabricated components. The product catalog grew to include construction site facilities, cranes, transportation equipment, and more. At the end of the decade, the companies merged into A-Elementti Oy Rakennusmies —a name that remained for nearly 20 years.  

That’s when I entered the picture as Rami Man. 

1970s: New conquests 

A-Elementti Oy Rakennusmies was riding a wave of innovation. Our business grew to include imports, manufacturing, machine and equipment sales and rentals, and installation and maintenance services. We had production facilities in Helsinki, Hyvinkää, Kajaani, and Lohja.  

1980s: Renting as the future 

We turned 25 years old! Partek, a Finnish concrete company, bought the company's stock in 1983 and we got a new name — A-Rakennusmies.  

1990s: The recession years 

With the construction boom coming to a grinding halt at the turn of the decade, A-Rakennusmies became an active participant in industry reorganisation. 

We acquired many floundering companies which strengthened our rental network. We weathered the storm through industry rationalisations and painful.  

As the millennium was coming to an end, the first signs of internationalisation proved to be a glimmer of hope. With construction picking up in the domestic markets as well, the industry welcomed the use of rented machines and equipment. In 1998 A-Rakennusmies was ready to enter the stock market as a listed company. 

• 1988 Internalisation started with first JV in Moscow, Russia    

• 1993 Business expanded to St Petersburg in Russia and Tallinn in Estonia    

• 1995 MBO by key personnel and capital investors entered as shareholders    

• 1997 Subsidiary opened in Riga Latvia    

• 1998 Entry into Lithuania  

• 1998 Listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange  

2000s: Becoming Ramirent 

At the start of the millennium, we had grown to be the biggest in our field in Finland. Our product catalog was comprehensive, and our domestic offerings were strengthened with new acquisitions and diversifications 

In 2001 the company adopted a new, short name — Ramirent Oyj — which was more fitting for the international market. A-Rakennusmies East became Ramirent Europe Oy reflecting our path of internationalization. 

• 2000 Entry into Poland    

• 2001 Company renamed Ramirent Plc    

• 2002 Ramirent acquired Bautas in Norway and Stavdal in Sweden    

• 2003 Greenfield start-up in Hungary    

• 2004 Acquisition of Altima increased operations in Sweden and Denmark  

• 2005 Operations started in Ukraine  

2005: 50 years of success 

Our company turned 50! Our Chief Executive Officer Erkki Noivio stated “During this time, we’ve turned from a seller into a renter. During this time we've grown heavily, become more internationalised, and turned what used to be a domestic renting company into what is now Europe's largest. We employ 2,300 workers in 11 countries, with 500 of them operating in Finland.”   

2006: A time of booming construction market started  In late 2005, Kari Kallio succeeded CEO Erkki Norvio who became member of the Board. Ramirent became the second largest actor in Europe with sales growing from 500 to 700 million euros. Growth was based on a booming construction market. Profitability ran high and topped at an EBIT margin of nearly 25% in 2007.  

• 2006 Greenfield start-up in Czech Republic  

• 2008 Entry into Slovakia  

2009: Decline in activity in the aftermath of the financial crisis 

The economic downturn broke the trend of consecutive quarterly sales growth and there was a rapid decline in construction activity. A comprehensive cost-saving program was launched reducing the headcount by 750 persons to preserve the company’s competitiveness. 

2015: Ramirent is more than machines 

For its 60th anniversary, Ramirent changed its slogan to “More than machines” to convey how Ramirent had extended its value proposition to address the changing needs of its customers and how Ramirent’s equipment rental solutions simplify customers’ businesses. As a leader in large projects, Ramirent’s offering now stretched to large rental solutions delivering value throughout the project life cycle by helping customers move from several suppliers to one organisation, reducing costs and lead times while improving safety and efficiency. Customers get more knowledge and industry experience delivered through safe and sustainable solutions, ranging from fall protection, access, climate and power control, and waste handling to comprehensive total solutions.  

• 2013 Fortrent, Joint Venture with Cramo was established in Russia and Ukraine 

2016: Gearing up the core equipment rental business 

Under CEO Tapio Kolunsarka the company became the undisputed market leader in the Nordics and Eastern Europe. The new strategic focus on capital-efficient profitable growth in the core business equipment rental was the recipe for the step-change improvement in performance. A new mission “Smooth service with a smile” accompanied by the slogan “Gear up” was introduced with the aim of increasing the brand’s appeal also towards small and medium-sized customers. Ramirent’s financial performance was substantially improved with comparable earnings per share rising from 0.33 in 2015 to 0.74 in 2018. All geographical segments improved their comparable financial performance based on the solid execution of key priorities and favorable market conditions.  

• 2018 Ramirent divested its Temporary Space business 

• 2019 Ramirent divested its Danish operations 

• 2019 Ramirent acquired Stavdal AB with operations in Sweden and Norway, and became the largest equipment rental company in Sweden   

• 2019 The French equipment rental Group, Loxam S.A.S., made a public tender offer of all the shares of Ramirent Plc and on December 20, 2019 Ramirent was delisted from Nasdaq Helsinki 

2020: Ramirent’s life as part of the Loxam family begins 

Erik Bengtsson was appointed as the new CEO of the Ramirent Group to steer the company on its new journey as part of the Loxam Group. The combination of Ramirent with Loxam created an equipment rental leader in Europe, with combined revenue of around EUR 2.2 billion, the largest branch network in Europe with over 1,000 branches, and the most diversified fleet with over 600,000 units. The combined entity also emerged as a leading equipment rental player globally, ranking as the world's third-largest equipment rental company. When the Covid-19 pandemic started later in 2020, the increased geographical diversification of operations helped balance the Loxam Group’s operations as the slowdown in Nordic countries’ construction markets was smaller compared to other markets in Europe and the UK where the pandemic led to temporary lockdown of operations.