The Strengberg tobacco factory was one of the largest and most successful tobacco firms in Finland, situated in the Ostrobothnian town Jakobstad. From this position of strength, it was also (probably) the first Finnish company to open a subsidiary abroad, in the Swedish town of Härnösand in 1903. The severe competition between the Finnish tobacco producers (such as "P.C. Rettig & Co" and "Tollander & Klaerich") led to rapid technological development in the branch. By the 1840s, Strengberg had started to install machinery and industrialise artisan production. Cutting machines were acquired and installed in the 1850s, and the first steam engine to drive the cutting and pressing machines were acquired in 1863, and in 1900, the factory employed around 1000 people in Jakobstad.