page_title: Vanajan Autotehdas
section_title: From Yhteissisu to Vanajan Autotehdas
hierarchical_section_title: Vanajan Autotehdas / From Yhteissisu to Vanajan Autotehdas
caption_attribution_description: English: Second last Sisu S-22 under construction in Yhteissisu factory (later VAT).
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 Subsequently, the production consisted of outdated lorry models, partly built from military surplus materials.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: Tor Nessling resigned from Yhteissisu in February 1947. There was talk of closing the company. Yhteissisu sold only 103 S-22s in 1947, some of which had been produced the previous year. 55 lorries were built by the company in 1947. The company's share capital was reduced from 75 million marks to 7.5 million, then increased to 50 million; the state became the main owner, having a 44% share of the company. The other owners were Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat, A. Ahlström, Strömberg and Tampereen Pellava- ja Rauta-Teollisuus. From September, the new general manager of the company was Eero Kytölä. The company lost two million marks in 1947.
  Yhteissisu had the rights to use the Sisu brand until summer 1948. In a general meeting held in 1948, the board decided to rename the company Vanajan Autotehdas and the brand of the vehicles became Vanaja. The factory area was moved from the municipality of Vanaja to that of Hämeenlinna at the beginning of the same year.
caption: The penultimate Sisu S-22 being built in the Yhteissisu plant
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