It all started with road work with Gradall machines

The story of Tieluiska goes back to the beginning of the 1960s and to the railway site in Northern Finland, Kolari. Tikkanen and Yliniemi brothers were from track builder families and had known each other since they were young. Later, on the recommendation of their fathers, the boys also got to work on the track. In 1961, the first two American Gradall excavators were purchased for VR’s railway construction department in Finland. Gradall was one of the first fully hydraulic excavators. The machine had two cabins, a lower and an upper cabin, each of which needed its own drivers. Another of the new machines was placed at the Kolari railway site, where the Tikkanen brothers Vilho and Matti and Osmo Yliniemi were already working. The new construction machine had other drivers at the time, but Vilho was able to admire and try out the machine during the coffee hours.

In the 60s Vilho was already a machine operator with Gradall shaping the steep walls of the Saimaa canal. Matti and Osmo were working there too, and Saimaa’s gig taught the men to be top-class machine operators. At the same time the experience of working with roadside slopes and, above all, the superior characteristics of Gradall machines was strengthened. At the turn of the decade youngest Tikkanen brother Valto ended up working for same employee as his older brothers before graduating as a teacher.

The company, Tieluiska Tikkanen & Yliniemi first saw the light in 1974 as a result of the sauna talks of the Tikkanen and Yliniemi brothers. There had been an advertisement in Helsingin Sanomat for the sale of a Gradall machine and friends decided to check it out – and that visit eventually ended up in the purchase. Their own company was then founded, and later it got the shorter name: Tieluiska.

Ota yhteyttä

Gradall representation in Finland, the Nordic countries, the Baltics and the territory of the former Soviet Union

During the years Tieluiska has accumulated solid knowledge and maintenance know-how about Gradall machines and equipments. Gradalls has been used widely in company´s own environmental construction projects. Maintenance and repair has always been done in-house. Over the years both new and used Gradalls have been bought from all over the world as well as again sold further. A natural addition to the business in the mid-2000s was the representation of the Gradall brand in Russia and the Nordic countries. Machinery Oy had previously hosted Gradall’s impositiong and distribution until the end of the 1980s. Machinery gave up the Gradalls at the time as cabin at the time did not meet the new European safety regulations. Tieluiska started as new distributor in the 2000s. The sale of machines and spare parts has grown strongly in recent years. The company is the only Gradall distributor in Europe, and special machines are imported from the United States. Current customers are located in various parts of Europe and Russia.

Expanding the operations

A bit more exotic delivery started by an e-mail inquiry from the United States. It was about a used Gradall. As the machines are originated in the United States the inquiry was not expected to lead any further even the offer was sent also by email. No one seemed to react to it until after more than half a year of silence, Riku Yliniemi contacted the customer and asked about the offer. He got bunch of questions of detailed info concerning the machine and the additional devices. Tieluiska’s Toni Möttönen started out the customization of the additional devices as a 3D design and the customer was ready to order the machine! Only then it turned out that the delivery address of the machine and the spare parts package was not in the United States, but the port of Lima in Peru. An invoice was sent pre-delivery and the customer paid for the machine without seeing it. The Gradall was loaded onto the ship, and later a note came that it had arrived well in Lima. Project led to the loyal customer relationship as the machine has worked well, and the customer regularly faxes his spare part order!

Modifications and spare parts sales

Machinery sales is based in special expertise. Tieluiska is customizing used or new machines to customer needs. On behalf of the customer we also search for the machines meeting the agreed needs. Tieluiska takes care of the shipping and our engineers designs, builds or repairs the device to the desired condition. Often, the modification work is such that even the device manufacturer can’t help with those. An extreme example is when Tieluiska was asked to convert the new Gradall to run entirely on electricity to fulfil the needs in location.

Years of work experience with Gradalls have also given Tieluiska a special position as a supplier. We know through practice what the machines can withstand and how to keep them in good condition. Spare parts sales is part of a set and the customer can trust that the help is available throughout the machine’s lifetime. Satisfied users have brought new customers to have Gradalls. Especially in Russia and Central Asia, it is most valuable for customers to have good recommendations from other local users. We have been fortunate with new market areas outside of traditional landscaping and very successful with delivering machines also to mines and steel mills.

The young Yliniemi brothers become partners

Riku and Timo Yliniemi had become partners and board members of Tieluiska, when their father Osmo Yliniemi retired in 2000. Both had been involved in company since they were little boys, watching their father’s work. The older brother Timo started to work full time at Tieluiska after vocational school in 1987. Before that, he already had several summers of experience as an undercarriage driver and in seeding work. Timo also had time to work at Finn Stroi’s Kostamus and Sovetsk work sites. Riku also came to Tieluiska for summer work for the first time when he was already 15 years old. After that, his summers were also spent at the company in different jobs. After graduating as a technician, Riku stayed at full time work.

The full generational change to young Yliniemi brothers took place in 2007.

International Growth and the BIRTH of TIEKA

Now the business related to Tieluiska machines and technical sales uses the marketing name TIEKA. Tieluiska shop.

Tieluiska´s way of working and the history of the company lives on and lies and on the same shoulders as before. Tieluiska Oy’s board chairman and shareholder Riku Yliniemi has been responsible for machine sales and maintenance operations as sales director and continues in the same position now under a new name. Mikko Takaniemi joined the company as sales manager at the beginning of August 2021. He brings a lot of experience and insight to TIEKA’s new operations as we expand the product repertoire in the domestic market. Our expert in international machine trade, Aleksander Shishinin, will continue to be responsible for foreign customers.

Gradall and FINN Corporation products continue to be represented by TIEKA. There is also something new when Metso Outotec and Tieluiska Oy signed a distributor agreement for Jonsson crushers on the Finnish market. Agreement came into effect on September 1, 2021.
– When it comes to crushers, Mikko is one of the toughest professionals in the country, and it’s great that Mikko continues working with these products now at TIEKA, says Riku.

TIEKA, was born out of the need to serve machine business customers more clearly under one name, while the business strategy and representations were updated.

Jonsson – Made to order and built to last

Jonsson designs and manufactures the world’s most durable crushing and screening plants suitable for demanding conditions. They have Metso’s high-quality crushers, whose crushing performance is top-class. Every Jonsson solution is made to order and built to last. The mobile crushing plant is ideal for open pits where high capacity and sufficient performance for heavy use are required. Jonsson’s machines are electrically operated and therefore are an interesting ecological alternative on the market.

The design of Jonsson’s crushing and screening plants always starts from the customer’s needs. We customize track-based mobile plants using only the best parts from the original manufacturer, such as efficient Metso jaw and cone crushers and reliable Caterpillar® and Volvo engines. Jonsson plant is designed to handle demanding and large-scale operations effortlessly. User-friendly control panels and efficient machine diagnostics make it easier to use the facilities.

Customized solutions for the mining and steel industry with Gradall machines

The steel and mining industry is challenging for machines for many different reasons. We continue to meet these challenges by designing parts and special systems together with customers. We create unique solutions for the practical needs that our customers perceive. Our designers always present different versions of the solutions as 3D models and pictures so that the operation according to the original need can be ensured.

Tieluiska Oy’s team of mechanical engineers will continue to serve in industrial machines, and our own maintenance operations are an important addition to TIEKA’s value production chain. Riku Yliniemi will continue to be responsible for the domestic sales and customer relations of TIEKA’s customized machines, and Aleksander Shishin will be responsible for the international needs of TIEKA.