Inside Sauna360’s Supply Chain: What the Records Show

US regulatory filings and customs records show that at least some of Sauna360’s pre-built sauna rooms are made in China. Traditional electric heaters ship from Finland and Sweden. Infrared panels are a murkier picture: customs records show Chinese thermal equipment suppliers in the mix there too. The broad strokes have been the model for years.

What is less clear is how well it travels downstream to consumers, particularly the many buyers who purchase Finnleo, Tylö, or Helo saunas through hot tub retailers or pool-and-spa showrooms, where sauna is often a secondary product line and staff may not know the sourcing details themselves.

A federal safety recall issued last October put the supply chain arrangement on the public record in unusually plain language. CPSC Recall #26-040, issued October 23, 2025, covers bench seating in Tylö-branded Halmstad and Kiruna Hybrid sauna rooms. Sauna360 received seven reports of the benches breaking, including one consumer with head and neck injuries, according to the notice. The units sold for $6,000 to $12,000 apiece through various US distributors. The recall notice states: “Manufactured In: China.”

On September 17, 2026, CPSC expanded that recall to about 6,000 rooms and went a step further on sourcing. The expansion notice carries a “Manufacturer(s)” field the original did not, and the name in it is SFactor, of China, the same supplier group that dominates the customs records below. The agency also recalled about 41,580 infrared and hybrid sauna rooms the same day, again listing China as the country of manufacture. Both notices are covered in our report on the September 2026 recalls.

Sauna360 is the Cokato, Minnesota-based subsidiary of Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) that markets saunas under five brands: Finnleo, Tylö, Helo, Kastor, and Amerec. Masco agreed to acquire the company, Sauna360 Group Oy (formerly TyloHelo), in July 2023 and completed the deal in the third quarter of 2023. This report draws on US customs records, a 2022 on-the-record interview with company executives, and SEC filings to document how the supply chain works.

The recall: federal documentation of Chinese manufacturing

CPSC Recall #26-040 is the single most authoritative piece of evidence in this story. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is a federal agency; its recall notices are legal documents. There is no ambiguity in the language.

The recall covers bench seating in the Tylö Halmstad 2, 3, and 4 sauna rooms and the Kiruna Hybrid 2 and 3 sauna rooms. Units sold between July and December 2024. Seven reports of bench breakage were filed before the recall was issued. One consumer sustained head and neck injuries. About 1,000 units were recalled in the United States; Sauna360’s own copy of the notice adds nine units sold in Canada.

The defect is structural, not electrical: per CPSC, the bench “can collapse, posing a fall hazard.” The heater is not implicated. But the recall notice identifies the importer as “Sauna360, Inc., of Cokato, Minnesota” and states the manufacturing origin as China.

The Tylö brand is built around its Swedish origin. Its About page says Tylö is “nestled in Halmstad, Sweden,” and a Tylö steam brochure posted on tylo.com in November 2025, which does not list the Halmstad or Kiruna Hybrid rooms, says “All our heaters and sauna rooms are crafted with care right here in Sweden.” For the Halmstad and Kiruna Hybrid rooms, the CPSC recall lists China as the country of manufacture.

The paper trail: 865 containers from China

US customs bill-of-lading records, accessed via commercial databases including ImportGenius and ImportKey, document Sauna360’s import history across nearly 20 years. The pattern holds across the company’s name changes, from Saunatec to TyloHelo to Sauna360.

The importing entity at 575 East Cokato Street, Cokato, MN 55321 has logged 1,009 documented shipments from November 2006 through April 2026. The vast majority originate from a cluster of Chinese suppliers operating under the “Sfactor” brand in Jiangsu Province.

Wuxi Sfactor Co., Ltd. (Xishan Industrial Zone, Wuxi, Jiangsu) accounts for approximately 460 containers totaling 8.2 million pounds. Its most recent recorded shipment arrived April 8, 2026. Customs description on bills of lading: “WOOD PREFABRICATED BUILDINGS.” At least one bill of lading references “ATM GROUP NA BASKET NAC MASCO” in the product line, a direct trace to the Masco parent. Changzhou Sfactor Co., Ltd. accounts for approximately 370 containers (6.8 million pounds), primarily transshipped via Pusan, South Korea. A third Sfactor entity in Suzhou accounts for 58 additional shipments filed under the former TyloHelo importer name.

Additional Chinese suppliers include Guangdong Hongyuan Home Furnishing Co., Ltd. of Guangzhou (which operates as “Royal Saunas,” an OEM exporter of infrared and traditional sauna products) with approximately 35 containers, and Hangzhou Fulton Thermal Equipment Co. with roughly 150 shipments.

European shipments tell a different story for traditional electric heaters. Sauna360 AB Tylö in Sweden accounts for approximately 62 containers described as “SAUNA HEATERS WITH CONTROLS AND SPARE PARTS” with customs documentation noting “COO SE” (Country of Origin: Sweden). Sauna360 Oy in Finland accounts for approximately 34 containers of “ELECTRIC HEATERS / ROCK FOR HEATERS / CARTON BOXES.” Finnish timber suppliers including Pieksawood Oy, Koskisen Oy, and Mäntsälän Saha Oy contribute smaller volumes of heat-treated alder and other sauna materials.

The Chinese side of the ledger, however, also includes thermal equipment suppliers. Hangzhou Fulton Thermal Equipment Co. accounts for approximately 150 shipments to Sauna360, and Far Infrared Sauna Technology Co. is listed in records under the former TyloHelo importer name. The specific contents of those shipments are not detailed in customs descriptions, but the supplier names suggest infrared heating components rather than wood cabinets.

The broad pattern: pre-built room cabinets come from China. Traditional electric heaters come from Scandinavia. Infrared components appear to have Chinese suppliers as well, though the exact product breakdown is not fully documented in public customs data.

On the record: ‘Most of Sauna360’s revenue’

The customs data tells the story in container counts. In Summer 2022, Sauna360 executives spoke directly about it.

Enterprise Minnesota, a regional business publication, ran a feature on the company during the height of the global shipping crisis. Journalist Robb Murray got unusually candid on-the-record comments.

“What used to cost $5,000 to bring a container in is now $25,000 to $30,000. It’s crazy. We’ve seen a surge in (custom-built) sauna sales because of that. People are asking, ‘Why buy a portable one from China when I can get one that’s made in Minnesota for almost the same price?’” (Mark Raisanen, Director of Sales and Marketing, Sauna360)

Murray wrote: “The saunas manufactured in China make up most of Sauna360’s revenue” and “the free-standing, pre-sized units manufactured in China comprise the bulk of the company’s sales.” Those are the reporter’s statements in a feature built on interviews with company managers, published fourteen months before Masco completed its acquisition.

A 2013 About page on Saunatec’s US website, preserved by the Internet Archive, was even more explicit: “We also produce high quality entry level and mid-range saunas and infrared rooms in our China facility. Our sauna heaters and controls are made in our Hanko, Finland plant, and our steam generators and boilers are made in our Woodinville, Washington Plant.”

Brand by brand: what the websites say vs. what the records show

Each Sauna360 brand emphasizes its Nordic heritage differently. None of the consumer-facing pages we reviewed mention China.

Tylö places the most weight on Swedish manufacturing. The brand’s About page states: “Nestled in Halmstad, Sweden, Tylö boasts 75 years of unwavering dedication to the art of sauna craftsmanship.” A 2017 Tylö US/Canada catalog read: “MADE IN SWEDEN: The Tylö factory is located in Halmstad ... manufactured from scratch solely by us.” That catalog predates the Halmstad and Kiruna Hybrid rooms. Electric heaters made in Halmstad likely justify that language. The Halmstad and Kiruna Hybrid rooms, which the CPSC recall lists as manufactured in China, are sold on the same site; the product pages we reviewed do not state where the rooms are made.

Finnleo markets itself as “The Genuine Finnish Sauna” across its entire web presence. Its About page references “our US-based manufacturing” for custom saunas and notes its 1984 founding in Cokato, Minnesota. Its NorthStar product line explicitly says “Made in the USA.” Its heaters are described as “genuine Finnish heaters, designed and built in Finland.” The tagline describes the style of sauna, not its origin, and the site we reviewed does not say where the pre-built room kits are manufactured. One authorized Finnleo dealer independently states on its website that “Finnleo Pure Infra Saunas are also made in China,” though it adds that Finnleo “owns and operates their own factories” there. That factory ownership claim has not been independently verified.

Helo is specific about where its custom saunas are made. Its custom saunas page states: “Custom sauna interiors are handcrafted in the USA and heaters in Finland.” The overall brand still uses “The genuine Finnish sauna, handcrafted for life,” but the USA manufacturing disclosure for custom interiors is accessible and specific.

Kastor operates as a heater-only brand, marketed as “Finland’s oldest sauna brand, founded in 1916,” with manufacturing at Hanko, Finland. As a heater brand with no room kits in its product catalog, its Finnish manufacturing claims are accurate.

Amerec manufactures steam generators in Woodinville, Washington, and has transferred its sauna product line to Helo. Amerec’s website does not make explicit country-of-origin claims.

What Masco’s filings disclose

Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) is an $8 billion revenue home improvement products company. Its FY2024 10-K states that Plumbing Products companies “manufacture products primarily in North America and Europe as well as in Asia and source products from Asia and other regions.” That language technically covers Chinese manufacturing, but provides no product-level breakdown. The Exhibit 21 subsidiary list shows Sauna360 entities in Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Minnesota and Delaware. There is no Chinese entity.

The absence of a Chinese subsidiary matters. If Sauna360 owned the Sfactor factories in Wuxi, Changzhou, and Suzhou, those entities would likely appear in the Exhibit 21 list. They do not, which suggests Sfactor operates as an independent contract manufacturer. Saunatec’s 2013 About page and the 2022 Enterprise Minnesota feature, however, both referred to the company’s China facility.

On Masco’s Q4 2024 earnings call, CFO Richard Westenberg disclosed approximately $450 million in China imports across the company in 2025, with 80% (approximately $360 million) in the Plumbing Products segment. He said Masco had “successfully reduced our exposure to China by 45% since 2018.” Sauna-specific sourcing has not come up on Masco earnings calls.

How competitors handle disclosure

For context, here is how other premium sauna brands handle country-of-origin disclosure.

Harvia (Nasdaq Helsinki: HARVIA), the world’s largest sauna heater manufacturer, openly discloses its Guangzhou, China factory in investor materials. The Guangzhou facility produces heating elements and resistors assembled into complete heaters in Muurame, Finland. Harvia’s annual reports name the operation explicitly.

EOS (Germany) states: “100% made in Germany: we develop and produce our products exclusively in Germany.” Narvi (Finland) carries the Finnish Key Flag Symbol, which the Association for Finnish Work grants to products made in Finland whose domestic content is at least 50% of cost price. It is an industry association mark, not a government certification. Klafs (Germany, acquired by Kohler in 2023) consistently markets German manufacturing at its Schwäbisch Hall factory. Auroom (Estonia, part of Thermory Group) prominently states “Handcrafted in Estonia” across its product line.

Chinese OEM manufacturing is not unusual in the sauna industry. The budget and white-label segments depend heavily on Chinese production. With tariffs on Chinese imports raised sharply in 2025, the sourcing question has taken on new financial stakes for buyers and brands alike. Sauna360’s consumer sites, as we reviewed them, do not state the country of manufacture for its pre-built rooms.

What buyers should know

The sourcing split is not news to people inside the trade. Experienced sauna dealers, distributors, and industry veterans generally know that Sauna360’s pre-built room kits come from China and its heaters come from Scandinavia. This has been the model for a long time. What is less consistent is how well that gets communicated at the retail level.

A significant share of Finnleo and Helo saunas in the US are sold through hot tub and pool-and-spa retailers, where sauna is one of several product lines. Staff at those stores may not know where the room cabinet was manufactured. A salesperson who tells a customer “the heater is made in Finland” is not wrong. They may just not know to add “the room itself is built in China.”

What remains unclear is the current SKU-level breakdown. The 2022 Enterprise Minnesota article indicates custom saunas are built in Minnesota while pre-built kits come from China, but product lines may have shifted since the Masco acquisition. Whether Masco’s stated effort to reduce China sourcing has changed Sauna360’s product mix since the 2025 tariff escalation is also unknown.

This is a sourcing story, not a quality indictment. SaunaNews publisher SaunaShare, Inc. also operates SaunaMarketplace.com, which sells competing sauna brands. Chinese manufacturing is not inherently inferior. The bench recall is one data point about one structural component. The broader point is that buyers spending $8,000 or $10,000 on a sauna marketed around Swedish heritage or as “The Genuine Finnish Sauna” may want to ask specifically where the room cabinet was built. Customs records and the CPSC recall both suggest the answer, for pre-built models, is likely China.

Correction, September 25, 2026: an earlier version of this article said 145% tariffs on Chinese imports were in effect. That combined rate was cut in May 2025, when an executive order reduced the reciprocal tariff on Chinese goods to 10% from May 14, 2025, per the White House.