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1939 - Once upon a time
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Sten Allan Olsson was only 23 years old when he began trading metals, other scrap and raw rubber from a little office in Göteborg. The trading company Sten A Olsson Metallprodukter dates back to November 1939. Where others saw junk, he saw a business opportunity. That strong sense of entrepreneurship is still evident today in our operations, still owned by the Olsson family.
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1941 – Operations expand
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Sten Allan Olsson acquired a machinery business, Generator AB, and further expanded by adding a local yard to store scrap.
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1945 – Post-war period
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After World War II there was a huge iron shortage in Sweden. But Sten Allan was innovative and imported metals in ingots. At the same time he bought pontoon tanks, which had been used as temporary bridges during the war, that he repainted, repaired and sold as oil barrels.
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1946 – First ship purchase
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Over the years freight has become an increasingly important part of our operations, but it wasn't until 1972 that the business was divided into Stena Metall and Stena Line. Learn more about the Olsson family's history in shipping and ferry lines at Stena Line
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1952 – First scrap yard
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After working mostly with trading and storage, the company opened its first branch office in 1952, and scrap collection and processing took off. The location was Hisingen, in Göteborg, where our Tingstad branch can still be found. Today our recycling operations are spread across Europe and divided among several companies. Learn more about their operations at Stena Recycling.
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1962 – A real steel mill supplier
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After previously shipping our scrap through expensive intermediaries, we became a certified supplier to Swedish steel mills and ironworks. The company also became a major importer of scrap from North and South America, and an important part of the value chain by supplying critical raw materials.
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1990-talet – Operations grow
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By the 1990s our Swedish recycling operations had grown to around 25 locations. In the 90s this expansion accelerated. In addition to recycling and commodity trading, we also currently trade in oil, steel and aluminium.
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1994 – Export restrictions lifted
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When Sweden joined the EU, export restrictions on scrap sales were abolished. Suddenly we were able to supply the whole world with recycled material. Our recycling operations expanded to new geographical markets such as Denmark, Poland, Finland, Russia and Norway.
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1995 – We begin recycling electronic scrap
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Stena acquired a small company in the growing electronics recycling business. Today Stena Technoworld is the European leader and operates in ten countries.
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1999 – The Group doubles in size
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We acquired the Gotthard Nilsson group and basically doubled the size of our operations in the Swedish scrap market.
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2000-talet – Growing awareness of recycling
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Our operations have always been affected by waste management directives and laws. In recent decades, producers responsibility, sorting, incineration, hazardous waste management and landfills have all become more regulated, which has created a general consensus in favor of recycling. Our innovative solutions are always designed to increase safety, maximize recycling and minimize landfill waste. We also serve as an industry expert and help to drive recycling in the right direction.
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Today - still a future industry
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A lot has happened since 1939, but some things remain the same. We are still owned by the Olsson family, and even as a big international company our roots are firmly planted in entrepreneurship and decentralized business acumen. Dedication and innovation are still our drivers as we develop economically and environmentally sustainable resource management solutions. And we continue to work in a future industry, since our operations are constantly developing as society changes.
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