Loimaa Becomes an Industrial Town

The first industrial facility in Loimaa was a brewery, operating at the Aittamäki Manor from 1858 to 1909. The first mechanized factory in the region was the Alastaro match factory, established in the late 1860s.

The Turku–Toijala railway was completed in 1876. The Loimaa railway station was established at the junction of the new railway and the road running from Loimaa church village to Ypäjä, near the Loimijoki River. An economically feasible location spurred rapid development of sawmills and metal industries in the area. By the early 20th century, the settlement had grown around the station had surpassed the church village in size. It was officially designated as an independent market town (“kauppala”) in 1921.

Caption: The Ferraria ironworks operated in Loimaa from 1903 to 1979. The photo shows the factory’s forging department in the 1940s.
Photo: Foto Roos, Helsinki.