Oy ARNE STARA Ab — OFFICIAL PARTNER OF SAF-HOLLAND FOR FINLAND
Sometimes the idea for a business will come to you at the right time but in an unexpected place. While on a visit in the US in the early 1960s, Arne Stara (1915-2007) became amazed by the comfort he experienced while riding on the Greyhound bus. At the time in his native Finland, a bus ride would test one's endurance. Having experience in various transportation-oriented areas, tyre sales in particular, Arne Stara was familiar with the present situation in availability and demand for spare parts in Finland. Recognising an improvement in comfort on board the Greyhound, his curiousness got the better of him, and during a bus stop he proceeded to investigate the structure of the coach by going under the chassis. It was then that he first encountered the air suspension system.
Some time later at a fair held in Hannover in Germany, Arne Stara discovered a European manufacturer for air suspension systems that resembled those in the US. The manufacturer was Sauer Achsen Fabrik (SAF), a German company manufacturing a licensed air suspension system. Recognising a field in demand, Arne Stara began importing both air suspensions and axles to Finland. Along the years he and his sons made new encounters in the field of spare parts, and the business expanded. Arne Stara continued to be an avid traveller, and a curious bus rider. From the mid-1970s onwards, Oy Arne Stara Ab rapidly expanded in the axle sector. The company is still located in Jakobstad, Arne Stara's hometown, and houses its business and products in a complex measuring roughly 3000 square meters.