Salvos as a company

Salvos The story began in the 1980s, when a young Eino Koskelo from the village of Lamu in Siikalatva began an apprenticeship with a local carpenter to learn how to build backyard saunas and cottages using old, traditional methods.

The first sauna Eino built for a friend was completed in the shelter of a farm machinery shed. However, the sauna wouldn’t fit through the shed’s door, but Eino kept his word and the sauna was delivered intact—even though a large dent remained in the shed door as a memento.

Later, Eino founded a construction company, and as the business grew, he brought on his two oldest sons and about ten other skilled workers. When the recession hit in 2008, there wasn’t enough work for the employees, but Eino didn’t want to betray their trust or that of his customers.

“Good workers deserve their pay!” Eino thought, and drove his tractor to the lakeshore to fetch old logs for the workshop. Now it was his turn to teach how to build backyard saunas the traditional way, without compromising on quality—just as he himself had once learned from a local master. Every finished sauna sold out immediately.

This sense of social responsibility, expertise, and care for his employees gave rise to Salvos —a true success story. Through Eino, an appreciation for craftsmanship and the art of building was passed on to future generations and into Finnish backyards. Soon, the first sauna designs were created, and Salvos the business was born.