Like many success stories, the manufacture of Finnish Wall goalie masks stemmed from a personal need in the early 1990s. The entrepreneur behind Wall Masks, Petri Karvinen, saw a Canadian ice hockey mask on his teammate, which inspired the thought that he wanted something similar. Being on a student budget, he had to make the mask himself and of course, creating one practically from scratch was not quite that simple. After many stages, the first, still unnamed mask was eventually planted on its maker’s head, sparking interest in others.
The first few masks were made for teammates, and the idea of expanding operations was born. The mask was first advertised under the brand name Rookie to retailers and directly to goalies. It was well-received and demand grew. In 2000, ten years after the first crazy idea, Karvinen began to manufacture masks full-time. Today, professionals in all of the top series in the world rely on Wall masks, but the range of products includes masks for goalies of all skill levels and ages.
The factory in Kihniö churns out thousands of masks every year, mainly for ice hockey and floorball goalies. The latest novelty of the company is field hockey masks, which are shipped to Europe. About 30 percent of the production is exported.
Spare parts, accessories and maintenance as well as custom-painted masks and other individual services are essential factors behind the high popularity of Wall Masks.
