Robert Mattson (businessman)
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Robert Emanuel Mattson (16 May 1851 – 10 May 1935) was a Finnish
shipowner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, us ...
and businessman. Mattson was born in
Ã…land Ã…land ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...
to a shipowner family. He went to sea at young age and studied shipmaster degree. After ten years at sea he settled in
Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Ã…land, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Ã…land, and 40% of the population of Ã…land live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...
and started trading; soon he went into shipping business. Mattson operated solely old
sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...
s, which were often lost due to their poor condition. However, the business was profitable. In the 1920s Mattson changed to
steam ship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The fir ...
s but could not operate them successfully. Mattson became a major owner of
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
-based
Kone- ja Siltarakennus Kone- ja Siltarakennus Oy ("Kone ja Silta"; ; "Maskin o. Bro") is a Finland, Finnish former engineering company based in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. The 1892 founded company grew heavily in the 1920s and 1930s by acquiring Finnish engineering companie ...
engineering company. The company grew rapidly but by the 1930s it had fallen into financial problems. Also Mattson's personal financial situation weakened, and following to his death, the company's main creditor sold his shares.


Early years

Mattson was born in
Vårdö Vårdö is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (di ...
,
Ã…land Ã…land ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...
. His father Mats Mattson was a shipowner and locally influential business person. At the age of 16 Mattson, against his father's will, became sailor. He studied in Mariehamn Sailing School graduating shipmaster in 1872, at age of 21. In the same year he made an excursion to UK. Subsequently, Mattson mastered two sailing ships. In 1878, after spending about ten years at sea, Mattson became trader in Mariehamn and he opened another shop in
Sund Sund may refer to: Places In northern Europe, there are more than a hundred straits named ''Sund'', see: Sound (geography). *Sund, Ã…land, a municipality in Finland * Sund, Norway, a former municipality in Vestland county, Norway * Sund, Flakstad, ...
. However, trading was not very profitable because it was not possible to reach large volumes in Mariehamn where were just 500 inhabitants.


Shipping

At the early 1880s Mattson started shipping business first as minor shareholder of various ships, later as sole owner. He bought old, at least quarter of century old sailing ships. By the 1890s steamers started to replace sailing ships and Mattson could obtain good sailing ships for relatively cheap. Until the end of the 19th century Mattson only owned wooden ships; in 1900 he bought majority ownership of two steel-hulled
windjammer A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts, however rigged. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam during the 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary records t ...
s and one
barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...
. Mattson became one of the most successful Åland shipowners along with August Troberg and Mathias Lundqvist. While Mattson played with high risk by operating with old craft, his business was so profitable that for a short period at the early 20th century he was the biggest shipowner of Finland – although 15 out of the 30 ships he owned between 1880 and 1920 were lost due to serious sea accidents or they were
scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...
. Despite this Mattson still had the largest tonnage amongst Ã…land shipowners after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Soon after Mattson gave up shipping with sailing ships; the last one was sold in 1924. Mattson bought his first steam ship, 4,600-GRT ''Naxos'' in 1925. The ship was operated via Helsinki-based company called ''Ab Naxos Prince'' which was owned by Mattson family. During the following couple of years the tonnage was grown by three more vessels, and at the end of the 1920s the company became with its 20,000-GRT craft the second biggest line shipping company of Helsinki after
FÃ…A Finland Steamship Company (, abbreviated ''FÃ…A'', , abbreviated ''SHO'') was a Finland, Finnish shipping company founded in 1883 by Captain Lars Krogius. In Finnish and Swedish, the company was usually referred to simply as FÃ…A. In 1976, the ...
. All of Mattson's ships were over 20 years old and they were used in tramp shipping which was sensitive to economic fluctuations. During the whole time of its operation the company created heavy losses.


Estate business

Mattson started estate investment in Helsinki in the early 20th century. He owned Königstedt Manor during 1902–1907. Following to the death of his wife Amanda in 1915, Mattson moved permanently to Helsinki. He obtained several real properties and empty lots in Helsinki, most significant being Nordsjö Manor which he bought in 1916.


Kone- ja Siltarakennus

After moving to Helsinki Mattson acquired 50.4% share of engineering company
Kone- ja Siltarakennus Kone- ja Siltarakennus Oy ("Kone ja Silta"; ; "Maskin o. Bro") is a Finland, Finnish former engineering company based in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. The 1892 founded company grew heavily in the 1920s and 1930s by acquiring Finnish engineering companie ...
(Kone ja Silta) which was amongst 30 biggest companies of Finland in number of headcount. The company benefitted from machinery orders by the Finnish forest industry, and its managers Julius Stjernvall and later Robert Lavonius grew the company substantially through acquisitions. By the 1930s Kone ja Silta had become the largest engineering company of Finland, producing locks, separators, ships, bridges and other engineering products. The rapid growth together with the 1930s recession led to financial problems; Kone ja Silta could not deliver profit, which frustrated Mattson. Mattson was also indebted due to his other businesses, and the company main creditor Pohjoismaiden Yhdyspankki (PYP) closed Mattson's shares into its vault as deposit. Mattson further worsened the situation by
nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...
. His son Curt Mattson was a deputy member of the board and his two sons-in-law held manager positions. This led into collision with the operating management. Mattson died in 1935 after which PYP sold the Kone ja Silta shares to
Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...
company which was led by
Wilhelm Wahlforss Emil Wilhelm Wahlforss (25 June 1891 – 20 June 1969) was a Finnish engineer, industrialist and vuorineuvos. Early life Wahlforss was born in Helsinki, the capital of Grand Duchy of Finland. His father Henrik Alfred Wahlforss was an apprecia ...
. The acquisition was remarkable because Wärtsilä was much smaller than Kone ja Silta.


Other businesses

Mattson was co-founder of ''Ålands Sjöfartstidning'' newspaper which was issued in 1904–1905. He worked as inspector of Åbo Aktiebank Mariehamn office since 1897. Mattson was member of Mariehamn
town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...
for over ten years, also as a member of board of poor people's caretaking.


Philanthropy

Mattson donated significant sum of 1.2 million
marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
for founding musicology and folk poetry professorship in
Ã…bo Akademi Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the metropolitan area ...
. It came out just decades later that the professor appointed into the position, Otto Andersson, was Mattson's cousin, and he had formulated his job description himself. Mattson did not forget his roots; he supported financially renovation of Vårdö church, Åland seamens' mission and schools.


Personal life and family

Mattson is characterised as religious, hardworking and businessman by nature. He was modest and often excessively thrifty. Mattson was married twice; first to Amanda Gustava née Savander until her death in 1915. In the following year he married Sonja née Bergroth, formerly Tschaplin.


Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattson, Robert 19th-century Finnish businesspeople 20th-century Finnish businesspeople People from Vårdö Businesspeople from Helsinki Businesspeople from the Grand Duchy of Finland 1851 births 1935 deaths