Emil Aaltonen

Business career

Footwear

During the 1890s Aaltonen's workshop gradually grew and, after his marriage in 1896 to Olga ( Malinen), the product range was upon her initiative expanded from shoes to other leather products.

Aaltonen was also a shareholder in a textile business, set up in 1921 in Nokia under the name Nokian Kutomo ja Värjäys. Today it is known as Nanso Group and owned by Aaltonen's descendants.

Agriculture Despite his success in business, Aaltonen did not feel that manufacturing was his true calling; instead, he dreamed of being a farmer, and spent his spare time planning how to acquire a farm and grow and develop it to prosperity. and is regarded as a major player in the Finnish science funding landscape. eventually accumulating 250 pieces, and his purchase of Pyynikinlinna was also intended to house his collection, some of which is now on public display there. Situated within the park is the Emil Aaltonen Memorial (Emil Aaltosen muistomerkki), a tall fountain sculpture designed by Raimo Utriainen and manufactured at the Lokomo factory, revealed in August 1969 to mark the 100th anniversary of Aaltonen's birth.

Personal life In addition to his artistic and agricultural interests, Aaltonen was a keen amateur astronomer.