Arne Larsson, the founder of Arla Plast, started what would become one of the leading extruders of plastic material in Europe.
Arne was working as work shop manager for a Scania dealer in the North of Sweden. He left this safe position to start his own company. The biggest challenge for the automotive industry was corrosion and Arne was quick to realize the potential in replacing thin steel sheet by glass-filled plastics.
To get around the sales monopoly of the car manufacturers, Arne started selling to the emerging market for accessories and spare parts for cars.
The question was where should the new company be located? In autumn 1968, Arne visited a number of possible locations – among them Borensberg in Östergötland. Borensberg community was interested in attracting new businesses and the beautiful scenery made the decision inevitable. Arne and his family moved from Norrbotten in the North of Sweden to Borensberg in the south.
Further product development introduced ABS to replace Glass Filled Plastics. Arne started purchasing ABS from Formaterm in Virserum.
In 1973 Arne purchased the first ABS extruder to produce ABS himself, this was the beginning of Arla Plast as an extruder. Andrénplast in Gothenburg was one of the first customers. They are still today one of the most important customers for Arla Plast, which shows the importance of good, long-term relationships.
Saab was one of the first customers buying part for the Saab 99 Turbo car. However, the first cold winter caused problems for the front spoilers as the ABS cracked frequently.
During the search for a new and stronger material Arne found Polycarbonate (PC) – a plastic material that is virtually unbreakable.
Arne started extruding black PC on the only extruder he had – a Mapo machine. The product quality from this line would not be accepted in today’s market, but this early production gave valuable experience to extrude PC and allied products. The Mapo machine was later sold and replaced by better machinery.
In 1993 Arne’s son Kenneth joined the company. During the 90’s the company grew rapidly. Many markets were developed parallel with strong production investments in Borensberg. The first plant outside Sweden was built year 2005 in Kadan, Czech Republic.
References: http://www.arlaplast.com/about/
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