By the stage, in the first row, was sitting a nervous man. Curtain was lifted up. Lights went off and the crowd became silent. Premiere of a certain display was about to start. This man was following the first scene carefully and was hoping for a miracle.

This man was Karel Čapek, a Czech author. It was year 1920 and the world was recovering from the cruelties of the World War I. When the cannons and weapons became silent, people were reaching for a new era. 

Aspiring to that new era, was also this Čapek’s display. In that, Rossum factories manufacture human-like robots, which could work as any of us. That was a revolutionary vision, and it brought a glimpse of tomorrow’s world for an astonished crowd to see.

Čapek’s display became a success. Used the first time in the display, the word “robot” became widely used, and as we now see, the display was in an amazing way ahead of it’s time. It’s affect is visible in today’s world, also in our Lahti-based ICT company.

The technology visioned by Čapek is still manufactured at Rossum. Already for two decades, we have provided people with efficient, easy-to-use and secure solutions. Our original business idea was related to robots, but during these years, it has specified to managing the work and the subcontracting chain.

The beginning of Rossum’s name, ros, refers to robots or roses. Rossum is also a last name, especially in the Netherlands and in the USA. There are some famous actors and families, whose last name is Rossum. This results occasionally into humorous misunderstandings.

Harri Koskinen, CEO