The industrial area of Havi was established in 1849 when a candle factory founded in 1829 moved there from Johannes parish.
At the beginning, Havin Oy only manufactured stearin candles but the number of products was constantly increased. In 1937 the factory also produced soap, glycerine, and glue. In 1935, the incoming and outgoing articles took 625 railway carriages. The factory had 175 employees, and most of them lived in one-family houses built by the company. The products received several awards at international fairs, for example in London in 1866, Paris in 1867, St. Petersburg in 1870, and at Finnish Fairs in 1925, 1930 and 1935.
In 1926, a street plan was made for Havi. After this, the whole quarter was built over by the end of 1939. Oil companies, such as Oy Shell Ab, established their warehouses and oil tanks around the harbour in the western part of the area. Rails were built to the warehouse area.
The summer theatre of Vyborg, which was the largest in Finland, was located in Havi. In addition, the warehouses of Nobel Standart Oy, Suomalainen Gulf Oil Company Oy, and Suomen Petrooli Oy, fabrics of Oy Puuteollisuus Ltd, Laatikkoteollisuus, and Puutavara Oy, office of Keskusliike Hankkija, as well as T.A. Hyvärisen Rakennus- ja uunimuuraus, and Viipurin valaisintehdas were located in Havi.
