The Brand Story
Harvia: From a Finnish Forge to the World's Saunas
In 1950, in the Central Finland town of Jyväskylä, a metalworker named Tapani Harvia opened a small workshop that made decorative ironwork, things like hearth doors and ornamental pieces. In a country where the sauna is part of daily life, it was only natural that friends and family started asking him for something more practical: a wood-burning stove to heat their own. He built a few. Then a few more. Seventy-five years later, the name stamped on those first heaters is found in saunas in nearly 100 countries.
Chapter 1 · 1950
A workshop and a few heaters for friends
Harvia's own account of its beginnings is modest. Tapani Harvia's first wood-burning heaters were made for the people around him, not for a market. By the middle of the 1950s he was building heaters to sell, and by the end of the decade sauna heaters had become the workshop's main product. Output in those years averaged about a hundred heaters a year, each one welded and finished by hand.
The business changed names as it grew, becoming Harvia Ky in 1961. Through the 1960s production climbed steadily, and by the end of that decade the company was making roughly a thousand heaters a year.
Chapter 2 · 1972
A factory in Muurame
In 1972 Harvia moved from Jyväskylä to its own industrial hall in nearby Muurame. It is still home today: the company's headquarters sits next to its largest sauna and sauna component factory. The move came at the right moment. When the oil crisis of the 1970s sent heating costs soaring, Finns turned back to wood, and demand for wood-burning sauna heaters surged. Harvia grew at around 30 percent a year through the decade.
In 1977 the founder's son, Risto Harvia, became chief executive, and in 1980 the company became Harvia Oy. By the 1980s Harvia had become the largest maker of wood-burning sauna heaters in the world.
Chapter 3 · Late 1980s to 2000
Electric heat and a wider world
As more Finns moved into cities and apartments, the wood stove gave way to the electric heater, and Harvia began building electric models at the end of the 1980s. Exports followed in the 1990s, first to Central Europe, then to Russia, Eastern Europe, the United States and the Far East. Tapani Harvia was named Central Finland's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992, and in 2000 the company received a national entrepreneurship prize from the Federation of Finnish Enterprises. It employed about 180 people at the time.
Early in the new century Harvia became the world's leading sauna heater manufacturer and began offering complete sauna solutions, from heaters and controls to rooms and accessories.
Chapter 4 · 2014 to 2023
A family company goes global
In 2014 the Harvia siblings sold a majority stake to the investment firm CapMan, and in March 2018 Harvia listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange. A series of acquisitions followed. In December 2018 Harvia bought Almost Heaven Saunas, an American sauna maker that had been one of its own customers. EOS Group of Germany came next in 2020, then Kirami, a Finnish hot tub heater maker, and Sauna-Eurox, a sauna stone company, in 2021. In 2023 Harvia added Phoenix El-Mec, an Italian maker of electromechanical timers, and Matias Järnefelt became chief executive.
The company also sharpened what it stands for. Its message today is short enough to fit on a sauna bucket.
"Sauna heals with heat"
Chapter 5 · 2025
Seventy-five years of heat
Harvia marked its 75th anniversary in 2025. The group now employs about 675 people across Finland, Germany, the United States, Romania, China, Austria, Italy, Estonia and Sweden, and sells traditional, infrared and steam saunas, hot tubs and cold plunges alongside the heaters that started it all. For the anniversary it introduced a new Cilindro wood-burning heater, designed and built in Finland, with a large stone capacity and a glass hatch, a quiet nod to the wood stoves Tapani Harvia welded seventy-five years earlier.
The Lineup
What Harvia builds today
Harvia builds electric and wood-burning sauna heaters, sauna controls, traditional, infrared and steam saunas and the accessories that go with them. Its brand family includes EOS, Almost Heaven Saunas, Kirami and ThermaSol. At HVAC365 the Harvia line covers nearly every part of a home or club sauna:
- Electric sauna heaters: the compact KIP series, the cylindrical Cilindro Half, the heavier-duty Club series, the black Spirit and Virta series, the wall-hugging The Wall series, and the Vega Compact, a 1.9 kW model that runs on 120 volts for very small rooms.
- Wood-burning sauna stoves: the line where Harvia began, for cabins and rooms without electric service.
- Sauna controls: digital controllers such as the Xenio CX170, which adds Wi-Fi so the sauna can be started and monitored from a phone.
- Heater packages: heaters matched with their controls and stones.
- Sauna stones: split-face stones sized for Harvia heaters, which store heat and turn ladled water into steam.
- Buckets, ladles and thermometers: including the Harvia bucket and ladle set, plus other sauna accessories.
Many of the Harvia electric heaters we carry run on 240-volt single-phase power, either with built-in controls on the heater body or with a separate wall-mounted controller. Sizing comes down to the volume of the room, how well it is insulated and how much glass or masonry it contains, so the room should always be measured before a heater is chosen.
At a Glance
Harvia by the numbers
- Founded
- 1950, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Founder
- Tapani Harvia
- Headquarters
- Muurame, Finland
- Listed
- Nasdaq Helsinki, since 2018
- Employees
- About 675
- Reach
- Nearly 100 countries
- Group brands
- EOS, Almost Heaven Saunas, Kirami, ThermaSol
- Product focus
- Sauna heaters, controls, saunas and spa products
Questions
Frequently asked questions about Harvia
Where is Harvia from?
Harvia is a Finnish company. It was founded in Jyväskylä in 1950 and has been based in Muurame, Central Finland, since 1972, where its headquarters sits next to its largest factory.
Who founded Harvia?
Harvia was founded by Tapani Harvia, who began by building wood-burning sauna heaters for family and friends. His son Risto Harvia later led the company.
Who owns Harvia?
Harvia is a publicly traded company, listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since March 2018. The founding family sold a majority stake to the investment firm CapMan in 2014.
Does Harvia make electric or wood-burning sauna heaters?
Both. Harvia started with wood-burning heaters in the 1950s and began making electric heaters at the end of the 1980s. Today it builds electric heaters, wood-burning stoves, controls and complete saunas.
Is Almost Heaven Saunas part of Harvia?
Yes. Harvia acquired the American sauna maker Almost Heaven Saunas in December 2018, and it is one of the brands in the Harvia group.
