ILMARINE has a long history. The company has its origin in a small mechanical workshop founded in Rakvere, Estonia in 1859. Over 150 years, the product range of Ilmarine and its predecessors has included all sorts of metal products, from assembled Caterpillar bulldozers to equipment for oil shale processing plants.

In 1859, Friedrich Wiegand established a coppersmith's workshop in Rakvere specialized in producing equipment for Estonian distilleries. Prior to that, Wiegand had operated in trade, importing and fitting similar equipment.

In 1861, the workshop was reestablished in Tallinn. Enterprise started to manufacture equipment for water mills, steam engines, equipment and furnishing for factories, threshing machines and other agricultural equipment.

In 1889, Wiegand opened a sales office in Moscow and started to deliver production of his factory to Russian distilleries. At the dawn of the new century, the factory began to manufacture Russ oil engines, which soon became well-known in Russia. Before World War I, the main products were steam engines, equipment for sugar factories, pumps, bridge details and structures. The company also dealed with ship repair. The factory did not operate during the war.

In 1920, initiated by the leaders of the Republic of Estonia, the Ilmarine joint company was established on the basis of the factory. The company started to manufacture stone crushing and road building machines to meet the requirements of the young republic, as well as road graders and equipment for oil shale and phosphorite factories and other machine engineering products. The production of the Russ oil engines was continued.

By 1933, the factory had been manufacturing steel central heating radiators, details for engines and locomotives, carriage wheels, petrol stations, load-bearing structures for bridges, bullet shells ordered by the Defence Forces and other items.

During World War II, the factory mostly repaired equipment and machinery. Production of equipment required by the oil shale industry and agricultural machinery was continued in 1945. In co-operation with the scientists of Tallinn Polytechnic Institute, the factory designed and manufactured new peat collection machines and equipment required for the peat briquette industry. Tram carriages were also manufactured.

In 1952, the factory was reorganised and specialised in manufacturing auxiliary devices for power station boilers. Semi-mechanic furnaces and electro-mechanic automated devices for the furnaces were manufactured. Ilmarine was the only factory in the Soviet Union that specialized in the production of auxiliary devices for boiler aggregates. The factory manufactured soot blowers, shot blast cleaners, oil/gas combination burners, burners with rotary sprayers, liquid fuel sprayers, ignition and protective devices, and automated equipment required to operate the aforementioned devices.

Consumption goods and household appliances also played an important role in the production range and included metal kitchen stoves, cast iron enamelled kitchenware, children's sledges with steering devices, lawn cutting scissors, and water heating boilers.

After collapse of the Union, the production portfolio was diversified following the company's privatisation. The production of marine constructions has been added. In 2008 Ilmarine launched an extensive engineering program, supported by the Estonian Development Fund and strategic investors.