August Alexander Levón (1820-1875) started Finland's first steam-powered mill which first focused on milling rye for bread producers, in 1849. This mill was the beginning of , the biggest bakery business in Finland and the Baltic region, one of the largest crisp bread producers in the world and a significant Nordic producer of bake-off products. Levón went on to found a cotton factory and a shipping company. His contribution to the industrial progress of Vaasa and Finland is very significant.