FOR MORE THAN SEVEN DECADES WE HAVE DELIVERED VALVES AND INSTRUMENTS TO THE SWEDISH INDUSTRY. We are a third generation independent family company founded by Axel Larsson in 1949. The story began when Axel became the Swedish reseller for the English company Audco's pressure-lubricated check valves, which at the time was something of a revolution in the valve industry.
AXEL grew up in DALARNA and graduated in Falun, followed by an engineering degree in Örebro in 1927. Cars were his great hobby and he participated with great success in the ice racing competitions that were arranged on Lake Rämen outside Borlänge. His great interest in technology a talent for business and a curiosity about the world outside Sweden led him in the 1930s to establish contacts with various international manufacturers. He worked for instance as a representative of the Russian oil syndicate Nafta and in 1935 he was employed by Specialmaskiner AB, which sold machines and vehicles to the Czech Skodaverken. But within him there was a dream of one day starting his own business.
As early as the 1930s, he had far-reaching plans to import Japanese car spare parts, but the Russo-Japanese War made it impossible. A few years later, in the early 1940s, he got the agency for some small American cameras, but then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. But finally, at the end of the 1940s, the wars as well as the bad luck were over, and by obtaining the Swedish agency for the revolutionary valves from Audco Limited, Axel founded his first company, Axel Larsson Maskinaffär AB.
AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THERE WAS A GREAT DEMAND FOR MODERNIZATION IN THE SWEDISH INDUSTRY. Axel traveled around the country by train with its compact, innovative valves, which could replace the much larger multi-turn valves that dominated the market at the time.
To acquire up start-up capital for the company, Axel had sold his car, so he had to take the bike on the train, and once he arrived at the train station, he cycled to the various mills he visited. It was not only a cheap solution, on top of that Axel also got a really excellent physique.
Business is going great and Axel Larsson is opening his first office at Odengatan 49 in central Stockholm. After a few years, the sales program is supplemented with condensate traps as well as instrument pipes and fittings in the plastic, the material of the future.
In addition, in the late 1950s, Axel got the agency for a then unknown solenoid valve called Lucifer. A product series that quickly became much appreciated in Swedish industry, thanks to its high reliability and quality. Even today Lucifer solenoid valves are one of the company's most important products.
THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IS INCREASING AND IN THE EARLY 60S, the head office is moved to Bromma, and at the same time local sales offices are established around the country. Over time, the product range begins to concentrate more and more on valves and instruments.
In 1961, Axel founded the company Remote Control in Falun, which manufactures actuators for maneuvering valves. Under the Larsson family's ownership, the company is developing into one of the leading players in its field. In 2008, they chose to sell the company to the Rotork Group, to focus entirely on valves and instruments.
DURING the 1970s and 80s, there is a gradual generational change, as Axel's two sons Karl and Per takes over the responsible for the company. Continuous development is taking place, both in terms of new agencies and increased sales. Industrial automation and quality development are playing an increasing role in Swedish industry, which contributes to the introduction of products such as control valves, safety valves and flow meters.
2006 THE HEAD OFFICE WAS MOVED TO UPPLANDS VÄSBY. The business is still conducted in the same spirit as when Axel Larsson once founded it, as an independent family business with short decision paths and a strong focus on quality and good customer relations. Today Axel's son Karl is the owner with his son Johan as vice president, with a very active role in the company.
IN 2018, Rolf Schytt was appointed as CEO and a new strategy for the future was developed, together with Johan Larsson. The first measure was to rebuild the warehouse to increase the warehouse capacity by 80 %. Other areas that this work includes are, in addition to refining the daily operations, implementing valve services on site and starting up an extensive digitization work.
