HIGHLIGHTS
What if we used bolts
instead? It was just a
thought. There was no
way on knowing what it
would grow into. This is the story of bolts
and of how bolted column connections
became the industry standard.
HPKM® – THE ICONIC PRODUCT
THAT IGNITED THE FLAME
The idea of bolted column connections
was fi rst initiated in the mid 1980’s.
Because of the conservative nature of the
construction business, many thought it
was going to be diffi cult to get an entirely
novel method accepted to the market. But
little did anyone know – it was a success.
By 1991, the idea was brought to life with
a revolutionizing product line: HPKM®
Column Shoes.
The design of HPKM® was gamechanging.
It off ered a smaller, lighter
solution that was strong and easy to use.
Introducing column shoes dramatically
changed the speed of construction
process down to 10 minutes for each
column. Plus, the need for continuous
column support was eliminated.
The idea of bolted column connections was fi rst initiated in the mid 1980’s. By 1991, the idea was brought
to life with a revolutionizing product line: HPKM® Column Shoes.
The innovation of HPKM® was only the
beginning for Peikko. Four years after the
initial launch, the larger PEC® Column Shoe
was launched along with PPM® Anchor
Bolts. This combination used even higher
strength steel and enabled a higher load
bearing.
TO THE EUROPEAN MARKETS,
AND BEYOND
After some success in the domestic market
of Finland during the early 1990’s, Peikko
decided to take a step towards international
markets. As in any industry, exporting and
international operations in a new market
is always a high-risk action that takes
time to produce profi t. However, Peikko
had an excellent possibility of success at
hand as the business competition was still
non-existent.
Column shoes
dramatically changed the
speed of construction
process down to 10
minutes for each column.
In researching the markets, Peikko
found out their brand and concepts were
unknown in Central Europe. Peikko saw
this as the perfect opportunity, and so
in 1993, the bolted column connections
were introduced to the German market.
Soon after, Peikko’s resellers launched the
bolted column connection also in Sweden
and Norway. A few years later in 2000,
Peikko also entered the Spanish market,
quickly gaining a credible market position.
Peikko’s internationalization was proving to
be successful.
RELENTLESS CREATION OF THE
INDUSTRY STANDARD
During internationalization, Peikko focused
on learning from the new markets and
developing their products. Special attention
was given to obtaining ETA assessments
6 PEIKKO CONNECTIONS 1/2021