Gustav Vasa was already aware of the valuable forests of Tunalän. In 1553, in a letter to his bailiff in Kalmar, Germund Somme, he writes 'that there are many good forests in Tuna' and he now urges his bailiff to speak to the people of Tuna in a much friendlier tone than when he had previously expressed his indignation at the traitorous mob living in Tuna.
When Karl Svensson (1882-1970) started a sawmill business in Tuna parish, his uncle Nils Petter Danielsson played an important role. His uncle lent him the necessary start-up capital, which enabled Karl Svensson to establish his first sawmill business in 1912. The picture is from Karl Svensson's first sawmill at Lake Möckeln.
Around the world, World War I had been raging since the summer of 1914, but now the war was coming to an end. In November 1918, peace was achieved and in the same year Karl Svensson founded his first stationary sawmill in Hällerum, which over the years has developed into today's modern pine sawmill.
Innkeeper August Karlsson's eldest son Erik Karlsson (1904-1977) in Frödinge showed an early interest in the forest and what it could provide. He therefore attended a course at the forestry and agricultural school in Osby. Once at home in Frödinge, Erik began, in addition to farming, to saw timber with a small portable sawmill that was powered by a crude oil-powered ignition ball engine.
Erik's son, Sven-Erik Karlsson (1928-2013) was born and grew up on the family farm but, like his father, developed an early interest in the forest. But the fact that Sven-Erik later in life would devote himself entirely to the sawmill business was more of a coincidence. He knew one thing early on, however: farming was not for him.
Sven-Erik is the man in the middle of the picture.
Erik Karlsson founds Frödinge Sågverks AB in the middle of a burning world war. A winter storm on March 2, 1943 was the decisive factor. The winter had been mild and wet and there was no frost on the slopes, which meant that the storm gusts felled large quantities of trees. It was now a matter of trying to take care of all the wind-felled timber in the area in the best possible way, and someone had to saw it up.
At this point, Erik Karlsson made the decision to start a stationary sawmill. A key issue was to quickly obtain the necessary sawmill equipment. His son Sven-Erik saw an advertisement in Vimmerby Tidning for a large steam engine. Together they went to look at the steam engine, and the deal was struck. Just before midsummer 1943, the first log was sawn at Frödinge Sawmill.
Steam power was used to run the sawmills until 1949 in Hällerum and 1950 in Frödinge, when electric power replaced the old steam engines. Electrification gave the sawmills completely different opportunities. New logistics equipment such as forklifts and loaders simplified work at the sawmills at the time.
An important milestone in the development of Frödinge Sawmill was the investment in a bandsaw line. The first bandsaw was purchased in 1961, and seven years later another four were added. The bandsaw group meant that log benches were removed. The sawmill's first drying plant was built in 1966 and four years later a newly built planing mill was put into operation. At this time there were 59 employees at Frödinge Sawmill. The volume of sawn timber amounted to around 10,000 cubic meters pinewood and fir per year.
In the picture: Erik Karlsson
Sven-Erik's son Christer started working right after primary school. By then he had already worked at the sawmill during several summer vacations. He went to the sawmill as often as he could. There was a gap year to do his military service before Christer began his career as a timber buyer in 1977.
When Christer Karlsson himself took over leadership from his father, he describes it as a smooth transition. He can't pinpoint a specific time for this, but he gradually took over the responsibility as his father stepped down.
In an interview when Frödinge Sågverk celebrated its 60th anniversary, Christer said: "Predicting the future is difficult. However, what we do know for sure is that competition is increasing, that customers' demands and needs are changing and that new technology is constantly on the horizon. I believe that we can best meet the future through increased refinement and deeper cooperation with both customers and suppliers. Together we can give the concept of quality additional dimensions. All new technology investments must contribute to more rational production and increased customer benefit, but also benefit the working environment. When choosing technology and processes, we will as far as possible choose the most environmentally friendly alternative."
When Hällerum celebrated its 80th anniversary, it was a highly efficient sawmill with an annual capacity of 30,000 m3 of round timber per year. The saw line had a band saw, an automatic edger, raw sorting and adjustment in a combi mill. The planing mill had two planing lines and a splitting saw and almost the entire timber production was dried in a state-of-the-art drying plant.
Generation change at Hällerums Trävaru. Karl Svensson's eldest son Carl-Bertil hands over to his three sons Urban, Börje and Lars and his grandson Per who takes over the company. Thus the third and fourth generation Svensson became the new owners of the sawmill.
Frödinge Sågverks AB acquires Hällerums Trävaru AB in 2007. The group's annual production amounts to almost 65,000 m3 and the number of employees is around 45. The merger meant that two well-known and long-established sawmill companies had a common owner.
A first decision was to invest in two pure wood sawmills where Hällerum will be a pure pine sawmill and Frödinge a pure spruce sawmill. This creates flexibility and the opportunity to meet market demand and to quickly adapt to new customer requirements. We are located in northeastern Småland, which provides good access to good raw material of both fir and pine from the local area.
The purchasing company Frödinge Skog, now Frödinge Hällerum Skog, is created. The purchasing company is responsible for supplying the two sawmills with local raw material. The main operating area extends roughly from Oskarshamn/Hultsfred in the south to Valdemarsvik/Rimforsa in the north. In simple terms, the area covers northern Kalmar County and southern Östergötland.
The two sawmills are merged under the common name Frödinge Hällerum Timber AB. Frödingegruppen AB is the parent company of the group.
Another production unit is added to the Frödinge Hällerum family when Inge Karlssons Trävaru AB is acquired. The business of the addition consists almost exclusively of subcontracted planing but also increases Frödinge Hällerum's planing capacity via two planing lines.
Inge Karlssons Trävaru AB is merged into Frödinge Hällerum Timber AB, which now consists of three production units via the spruce sawmill in Frödinge, the pine sawmill in Hällerum and the planing mill in Frödinge. The joint production amounts to approximately 85,000m3 of sawn timber with further processing through planing and raw chipboard production.
The purchasing company Frödinge Skog AB is changing its name to Frödinge Hällerum Skog AB, with the intention that the production units and the purchasing company will in future use the same name: Frödinge Hällerum AB. This is to better communicate the group's control of the entire chain from forest to further processed wood products, where the raw material comes from the region.
The group currently has about 75 employees who, with knowledge and commitment, ensure that we are leaders in quality and sustainability. Among the employees there are 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations. Protecting the experience and knowledge that exists, and never shying away from new technology is strategically important for Frödinge Hällerum.
Want to read more about our history? Here is the book about us that was written in connection with Hällerum's 100th anniversary in 2012.
