Wilhelm Schauman
| (Berndt) Wilhelm Schauman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
8 November 1857 Jakobstad, Finland |
| Died | 14 November 1911 (aged 54) Berlin, Germany |
| Occupation | industrialist |
| Spouse(s) | Elin Wilhelmina (Mimmi) Roos (1858-1908) |
Berndt Wilhelm Schauman (8 November 1857 – 14 November 1911) was a Finnish industrialist, the most important in Jakobstad at the beginning of the 20th century. He was the older brother of Ossian Schauman. Wilhelm Schauman's first industrial installation was a small chicory (coffee additive/substitute) factory, which he founded in 1883. He was also involved in the local tobacco factory as part of the management. Apart from this, he continuously founded new enterprises such as a sugar refinery, a steam-powered saw mill and a plywood factory, which was the first of its kind in Finland. His enterprises soon expanded beyond the borders of Jakobstad.
A paper and pulp mill was later built in Jakobstad, and remains today as the largest factory in Jakobstad. It is owned by UPM-Kymmene, as a result of a merger in 1988.
After graduating as a mechanical engineer in 1879, Schauman gained employment at a metal factory in St. Petersburg, Russia. Four years later, his young wife (Mimmi Roos) wanted to return home, and the couple decided to return to their hometown Jakobstad when Schauman was turned down for the post of technical director at the Serlachius Mänttä Mills (despite having received some initial promises). After visiting chicory factories in Germany and Russia, he started his own chicory factory in Jakobstad in the Thodén bakery in the centre of town, employing 6 or 7 people. Chicory is a coffee substitute. The factory met with great success and proved to be very profitable, after which Schauman started to build a second production site just outside town in 1884. Within a few years, he was the largest chicory producer in Finland.
After a fire destroyed the second factory in 1892, Schauman built a third close to the harbour. This factory became operational in 1893, and is today a museum, housing the original machinery. Initially, the raw material was supplied from Germany, while later Belgium became the most important supplier of chicory root, followed by the Netherlands, Imperial Russia, Estonia and Poland.
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