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In 1762, John Jennings, at
the time one of the most
powerful men in Sweden,
arrived in Västerbotten
County, Sweden. At the
Ledu River’s outlet, about
three miles west of today’s
Nordmaling, he built a
blast furnace and a forge.
He named the place Olofsfors.
The production of
iron required an enormous
amount of charcoal, and
there was forest as well as
three rivers that created hydropower
for hammers and
blowers. It was also close to
the sea for easy transportation.
This was how Olofsfors
AB — one of the oldest
companies in Sweden
— began.
For five generations,
the local community in
Nordmaling has associated
the Wikström name
with industrial activity and
job opportunities. Olofsfors’
current owners, Anders
and Carl Wikström,
are great-great-grandsons
of Pehr Wikström, who in
1874 became part-owner
of Olofsfors Works. The
company has been very
important for the development
of the municipality.
“The Works” has been the
place of work for several
generations. A school was
built in Olofsfors eleven
years before public elementary
school was introduced
in Sweden.
The genuine craftsmanship
in Olofsfors products
has been passed down
from one generation to the
next. When industrialization
gained momentum in
Sweden in the 19th century,
Olofsfors was able to go
from small-scale ironworks
to manufactory forging
where wagon wheels were
the major product. In the
early 1900s, chains became
the company’s success
product. The conditions in
the outside world changed
in the mid-1900s when forestry
was mechanized and
trucks took over timber
transportation. Olofsfors
adapted to these developments
and switched from
chains to tracks for forest
machines — the now
widely known ECO-Tracks.
During the 1970s, Olofsfors
also began to develop cutting
edges and wear bars —
which are still strong products
under the SharqEdges
and Bruxite brands.
Forging bright ideas
since 1762.
For 250 years the company
has evolved with the
outside world. With steel
knowledge and craftsmanship
as their foundation,
the company has
produced everything from
stoves and wagon wheels
to chains. It has always
worked according to its
core values of knowledge,
quality and sustainability
of social, environmental
and economic aspects. In
this way, Olofsfors has always
been able to renew
the business and adapt
its products to market requirements.
Today, Olofsfors is an
internationally successful
company that develops
and manufactures products
in boron steel for the
forestry and construction
industries. Olofsfors’ product
portfolio contains the
well-known brands: ECOTracks
for forestry machines;
SharqEdges, cutting
edges for snow plows and
motor graders; and Bruxite
wear edges for buckets and
excavators.
The company’s success
is the result of long-term
ownership, constantly renewed
business and its
ability to adapt its products
to changing market needs.
With deep knowledge and
broad expertise they make
strategic investments based
on social, environmental
and economic aspects of
sustainability. As it celebrates
its 250th anniversary,
Olofsfors still has both
product development and
production in the place
where it all began. Today,
Olofsfors continues to forge
bright ideas, yet is still close
to its historical heritage.
Now it is ready for at least
another 250 years.
Olofsfors’ success and
growth strategy is to constantly
renew business
through strategic investments.
With environmentally
friendly manufacturing
processes and
materials, they offer innovative
products that meet
increasing market demands
and industrial changes. It is
also what makes Olofsfors,
despite fierce competition,
a global leader in all product
segments. Today, Olofsfors
consists of the sales
companies Metsätyö OY in
Finland and Olofsfors Inc.
in Canada.
Olofsfors Inc. is moving
into a new larger facility
this year in Brantford,
Ontario. All marketing
personnel and production
will be under one roof to
meet greater market demands
and future growth.
Olofsfors Inc. produces the
ECO-Track and ECO-Wheel
Track product lines for the
North American forestry
market.
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