page_title: Vanajan Autotehdas
section_title: Factory and production
hierarchical_section_title: Vanajan Autotehdas / Factory and production
caption_attribution_description: English: Vanajan Autotehdas main assembly hall in 1952. Due to busy time, there are three lines instead of normal two. Line for bus chassises were built generally at the left side, lorries on the right side.
context_page_description: Vanajan Autotehdas Oy was a producer of heavy vehicles based in Hämeenlinna, Finland. The company was founded as Yhteissisu Oy in 1943 by the Finnish government and a number of major Finnish companies with the aim of producing lorries and buses for the Finnish Defence Forces. World War II was over before the company could start series production; it was renamed Vanajan Autotehdas and the marque became Vanaja. Subsequently, the production consisted of outdated lorry models, partly built from military surplus materials. After overcoming initial difficulties, the company modernised its products, became profitable and grew until the mid-1950s. Many major components, including engines, were imported. Diesel engines became widely available in 1955, and in 1959 VAT introduced its most significant innovation, the full load lifting tandem axle mechanism, which improved off-road capability significantly; the system is now used in Sisu vehicles.
  The company started producing bus chassis in 1950, and the superstructures were built by a number of Finnish coach builders. The last models were appreciated by a number of bus operators, and missed after production was stopped.
context_section_description: The original factory building, officially a warehouse and assembly hall, had a volume of 25,000 m³ (33,000 cu yd). The facilities were developed over time and by the end of 1953, the floor area was 35,000 m² (42,000 sq yd). The warehouse and assembly hall were renamed the main hall; it was now 120 m (130 yd) long and 30 m (33 yd) wide. Bus chassis production was located at the southern side of the hall and lorries were built at the northern side. This set-up was often changed depending on the product mix and production volume.
  At the end of the building was a crane for ironware handling. When the frames were taken in, they were fitted with suspension and axles, and then turned the right way up. The next parts were the engine and transmission components. The final part for lorries was a pre-assembled cabin. Conventional bus chassis were delivered with bonnet and wings, but the forward control types left the factory without any body parts. After being painted, the vehicles left the assembly hall. Finally, every vehicle was tested on a 100-to-200 km (62-to-124 mi)-long test run on different roads and with various loads. The bus chassis were tested in a similar way; because there was no body, the drivers only had warm clothes and driving goggles to protect them against the weather conditions. The vehicles were handed over to the customers after final adjustments.
  Construction work on a new subassembly shop began in 1955 and the building was ready in 1957. The new facilities were for machining, heat treatment and sheet metal works. Another end of the building was for a service workshop. A new service workshop with 17 vehicle places was built in 1966.
caption: The Vanaja production line in 1952; due to busy times, there are exceptionally three assembly lines instead of the normal two. The left line is for bus chassis production.
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