Vammas and Lännen - Finnish engineering with deep roots
Image: Vammas Major backhoe loader. Photo by Zindox, licence CC BY-SA 3.0.
Vammas and Lännen - Finnish engineering with deep roots
Behind the Vammas and Lännen brands lies a history stretching back to 1950s Finland - and a connection between the two that is not immediately obvious. It is a story of state-owned industry, practical engineering, and machines that are still seen in operation decades later.
Vammas - from state factory to well-known machine brand
Vammas has its origins in a state-owned factory under the Finnish Ministry of Defence. It was in that factory, located at Santahamina outside Helsinki, that Finland's first hydraulic backhoe loader was developed in the 1950s. The early model was called the Hydro and was among the first hydraulic excavators in Europe.
After a fire in 1957, production was moved to Vammala (now Sastamala), and the machine was given the name Vammas - after the Vammakoski rapids in the town. From there, a dedicated product line of backhoe loaders developed and was sold to farmers and municipal contractors across the Nordic countries.
The product line expanded over the following decades, and the model names tell their own story:
The original model, mounted on a tractor undercarriage. Used primarily for forest ditching. Over 1,000 units were manufactured.
Replaced the Riuku-Vammas in 1967. A considerably more robust design - the machine was capable of digging even in frozen ground. Mounted on tractor undercarriages from Ford, Nuffield and Leyland.
Introduced in the late 1970s with a new boom design and updated cab. Produced in versions with Ford and Kubota engines. From the mid-1980s, the Major was also sold through Kesko.
Vammas's first combination machine with mechanical four-wheel drive.
The last and most advanced model in the Vammas excavator line. Articulated frame steering combined with front-wheel steering, a Kubota 6-cylinder engine and hydrostatic transmission. The Magnum was launched in the early 1990s but arrived just as the recession hit - sales remained limited. The machine received positive reviews for ergonomics and manoeuvrability.
The Vammas excavator business was acquired by Lännen Tehtaat in 1992, after which Vammas focused its operations on other machine types.
Sources: Wikipedia (Vammas, Finnish); industry historical documentation.
Lännen - the combination machine from Finland
Lännen is known for a specific type of machine: a combination machine with front loader and backhoe, built around an oscillating frame system that gives the machine exceptional manoeuvrability on uneven terrain. What sets Lännen apart from a conventional backhoe loader is that the frame articulates in the middle - the operator sits still while the machine adapts to the ground.
The machine is manufactured in Loimaa, Finland, and has been sold in around thirty countries. Lännen Tractors Oy is today part of the Finnish industrial group Summa Defence Plc. Current models are sold under the M-series (8600M, 8700M, 8800M).
The connection to Vammas is direct: when Lännen Tehtaat acquired the Vammas excavator business in 1992, that production expertise was integrated into the Lännen operations. The company now known as Lännen Tractors Oy was formed in 2004 and is not connected to the original Lännen Tehtaat as owner.
Source: Lännen Tractors official information (lannen.com); Wikipedia (Vammas, Finnish).
Vammas and Lännen at Agrocon
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