At the beginning of 1951, the Valtion Metallitehtaat group was renamed Valmet Oy. The various factories, which had previously manufactured warships, aircraft and artillery pieces, spent years finding their new purposes. The conversion of an artillery works into a paper machine manufacturer was a success, but import restrictions created serious obstacles in its route to Western markets. The company's shipyard operations were often –and unfavorably – compared to those of Wärtsilä. The airplane industry was maintained to strengthen national security, but it was not profitable. The branch did, however, make a solid contribution to Valmet's product development and designed, among other things, the straddle carrier used in harbors and manufactured as part of Finland’s war reparations. For decades, the entire conglomerate searched for new fields, such as the manufacture of cars or instrumentation. Modern quality control of production operations entered the Finnish manufacturing industry via Valmet's operations, for example in its car factories. National politics strongly influenced the management and decision-making in the company.