THE STORY

It all started with the shoe industry

Muototerä was established in 1953 by Sakari Patjas and his father Matti Patjas. The first products were forged shaped cutting blades for the shoe industry. Thus the name Muototerä (translations: muoto = shape, terä = blade). The shoe industry became familiar to the company during the 1950s and 60s and its production was expanded to include the stamping machines used in the industry. The company’s machinery manufacturing know-how was also noticed in other industries and the machine manufacturing business expanded to the needs of many other industries as well.

From forged blades to waterjet cutting

In the 1980s, Muototerä became a pioneer in mechanical engineering. The company’s objective was to make machines that others had not yet made. For example, the first machine vision modeling machine was manufactured as early as 1984.

In the summer of 1985, Sakari Patjas, along with his son Pekka Patjas, were in Milan for the shoe, leather and tanning industry fair. There, for the first time, they became acquainted with waterjet cutting. This was a completely new technology in Europe. Patjas family understood the benefits and potential of the technology and saw that the waterjet cutting machine would be a great help in the own production. Unfortunately, the prices of the machines were so high that the company was not able to buy a waterjet cutting machine. So, they decided to make a waterjet cutting machine for themselves.

Immediate success: waterjet cutting machine

The first waterjet cutting machine production started in 1987. When it was completed, it was also introduced to clients: a machine that takes Muototerä’s production to a new level. The machine attracted a lot of interest, and in 1988 Muototerä sold its first self-made waterjet cutting machine. After that began production of a new waterjet cutting machine for own use. Again, the machine was sold to a client. This time, even before it could be taken into use.

This was the beginning of Muototerä’s story as a waterjet cutting technology company. Other machines were gradually faded away and the company’s resources concentrated on the development of waterjet cutting technology. From the beginning, the philosophy of machine design has been longevity, reliability and ease of use. In 2021, Muototerä still follows these principles. Every day we work to develop waterjet cutting technology. We are still a family owned business and fully dedicated to the development of this cutting technology. We want to provide solutions that help our clients to improve their competitiveness and reach a new level of production efficiency. This is where waterjet cutting business started at Muototerä and we continue to respect this principle.