The history of Reka Cables 

The history of the Reka Group stretches back to 1898, when Edvard Rentto began his career at Korkeakosken Kenkätehdas (Korkeakoski Shoe Factory). After achieving a high level of professional skill, he moved on to Tampere Kenkätehdas Oy Attila (Tampere Shoe Factory Attila Ltd) as Technical Director, and later as owner and managing director.

Edvard Rentto died in 1927. He left behind seven children, and, of those, Kalle Edvard served as a director and sales manager of Attila while Onni Kullervo was still studying at the Helsinki University of Technology. In 1932, they sold their shares in Attila to Emil Aaltonen. The Rentto brothers, however, remained in the employment of Attila Oy. 

Once he graduated from university as an engineer and the economy began to recover, Onni K. Rentto started to look for a shoe manufacturing company to buy. This he found in Hyvinkää. Onni K. Rentto took up his duties as head of the factory on 16th May 1938, which is considered the official start of the operations of Rentto Oy. 

On 1st March 1961, the company leased one floor of a factory from the company Villayhtymä for its cable factory. Cable production initially took place in a separate department of Rentto Oy under the trademark Re-ka. 

The trademark was RE-KA, or alternatively a green-wire logo. The commissioning of new building at the cable factory in Sahanmäki on 15th January 1965, meant that the company would be able to move to its own new premises. The spin-off from Rentto Oy on 1st December 1965 and the formation of the separate limited company RE-KA Oy represented a far-reaching step, which had a decisive impact on the later favourable development of the company. In 1970, the company’s name was changed to Kaapelitehdas REKA Oy (Cable Factory REKA Ltd). 

Operations and the product range expanded between 1972 and 1998. In the early 1970s, cable harnesses were made for Saab Scania. The plastics plant at Hyvinkää was burned down in 1972, and a new one was built in 1973. Production of installation cable and smaller cables was transferred from Hyvinkää to Keuruu, where a suitable ready hall was found for cable production. The first ever export delivery went to Iceland in 1972. 

The production of medium- and high-voltage cables entered a new era in 1999. The first CDCC line at Riihimäki was installed at Paloheimo Oy’s former fibre-glass factory. In 2006, large-scale investments were launched at Riihimäki. This project reached a conclusion in 2008. In 2006, factory premises were bought at Podolsk in Russia, and the production of medium-voltage cables was started there in autumn 2007.