On February 13, 1913, a businessman named Alfred Onninen established a plumbing business that operated under the name A. Onninen in Turku. In 1927, the focus of operations shifted to Helsinki, where the plumbing company Vesijohtoliike Onninen was established. From 1930 onwards, the wholesale business that started up in the 1920s was larger than contracting. After the war, the company began to build a nation-wide network of locations. Municipal engineering became part of the business in the 1950s, and air conditioning in the following decade. In the 1970s, operations in the electrical business, deliveries to industry, project exporting and internationalisation began.
Behind the Are name are strong roots and lengthy experience. In 1924, the Keski-Suomen Sähköliike electrical supplies business started up in Jyväskylä. It was given a new name in 1938: Are Oy. From its origins in the electrical business and contracting, Are Oy grew into a successful diversified company in Finland. Electrical contracting abroad began in 1969. The company’s business expanded and exports to the Soviet Union and the Middle East grew vigorously until the 1980s.
In the mid-1990s, a notable structural reorganisation was implemented. At that time, Onninen Oy focused on HEPACE wholesale and Are Oy on contracting. Onninen-Termo Oy, Are Oy and Sähköliike K. Maisonen Oy were merged into a newly-established company named Are Oy, which started up on January 1, 1995.