4. Oy Surdus Ab

At the annual meeting of the Finnish Association of the Deaf-Mute held in 1928, Oskar Wetzell pointed out that the bookbinding and printing industries were very suitable for the deaf. Wetzell found it necessary to set up a printing house to educate young people in the professions of printing. Wetzell had got the idea after talking to Väinö Sihvola, the editor of the “Kuurojen Ystävä” journal for the deaf. The proposal received support, and Eino Karilas and Lauri Vainola, among others, became involved in planning the establishment of the printing house.

As the necessary financial resources were not available to set up a printing house, they decided to set up a limited liability company instead. They started collecting capital in the autumn of 1928. The inaugural meeting of Oy Surdus Ab was held on March 24, 1929, in the premises of the Helsinki Association of the Deaf-Mute. A. Nummelin's printing house in Unionikatu, together with its machinery, had already been purchased for Surdus, so the company was able to start operations immediately. The printing house was small and had one high-speed printing machine, three platen presses and a wide type stock. Initially, Surdus had eight workers. The operations were relocated to the premises vacated by the Helsinki Association of the Deaf-Mute at Rikhardinkatu 2. Thus, Surdus initially operated on the same premises as Wetzell’s bindery. Later, the company moved to Aleksanterinkatu 12, and to Meritullinkatu 11 after that.

The board of Surdus consisted of deaf printing industry professionals, including Karilas, Vainola and Sihvola, as well as carpenter Urho Lehtimäki and typographer Valter Lindberg. Erland Diehl, a hard-of-hearing printing professional with previous experience in the printing industry, served as the initial CEO of Surdus. As for Oskar Wetzell, the initiator of the entire project, he didn’t live to see the founding of the company due to his early passing. However, his brother, Artur Wezell, was on the board of Surdus.

A school for a few students was also established in connection with Surdus. Three students were enrolled in the year of its foundation. The school offered a four-year programme in typesetting and printing. During its first 25 years of operation, Surdus provided an education to 34 deaf printing industry workers. Valter Lindberg and Antti Jokelainen were in charge of guiding the students.

In the beginning, the operations of Surdus were affected by the global recession. Initially, the company could not distribute any dividends to its owners. For this reason, the Association of the Deaf-Mute lent funds to Surdus and bought shares in the company. The Association of the Deaf-Mute was therefore Surdus’ most important shareholder. In 1930, the Association of the Deaf-Mute moved the printing of its journals, Kuuromykkäin Lehti and Tidskrift för Dövstumma, to Surdus, which was of great financial importance. Other deaf organisations were also encouraged to order their prints from the deaf-operated printing company.

By the end of the 1930s, there was plenty of work and Surdus' financial situation improved significantly. In the wartime, however, the situation took a turn for the worse. Surdus had a narrow ownership base, so the lack of capital was a continuing problem. As a result, the company could not expand its operations or offer an education to every interested applicant.

The company’s machinery gradually became outdated and the company simply could not afford modern printing machines. The company was able to purchase new machinery in the 1960s, when its share capital was increased. That is when the company purchased a typesetting machine, among other things. However, the problems did not end there. Surdus mainly produced small print products and operated mainly as a form press. For these reasons, the Kuurojen Lehti journal was sent off to be printed elsewhere.

Over the years, the challenges of a small printing house became overwhelming. The company could not be expanded, and the technology became obsolete even after the new purchases. Despite development efforts, the company’s operations could not be made profitable and were therefore terminated in 1979. The premises, staff and equipment of the company were transferred to a new entrepreneur.

Nevertheless, Surdus is a good example of joint effort and the early development of deaf entrepreneurship in Finland. Its establishment also sparked a debate on vocational education for the deaf and undoubtedly inspired many people planning their careers to apply to the printing industry.