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The 1980s

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At the start of the 1980s, Nefab set out on a journey to more effectively serve Swedish customers abroad, as well as reaching new international companies. This expansion began in some key European markets such as Spain and France. Nefab also built a footprint in North America 1983, by establishing a site in Peterborough, Canada. In 1982, there would be a full generational shift within Nefab, when Ing-Marie became the main owner and Jochum Pihl took over as CEO.

Spain

Setting up production in Spain

Nefab had set its sights on expanding the business to Spain, and during the process of scouting the Spanish market to find a local manufacturing partner, a contact was established with the family-owned wood packaging company Maderas del Norte in Madrid. Together with this company Nefab built a factory for Vikex production outside of Madrid. Setting up the first factory outside of Sweden was not all smooth sailing. Daniel Gomez, Managing Director at that time for the Spanish Production Unit, worked very hard together with the local organization and the Swedish organization to set up machinery and processes to produce the Vikex product. Getting the machinery up and running took quite some time. Some days there were orders to produce, but no machinery working, and some days it was the other way around. But the organization in Spain persevered through these challenging times, and through strong teamwork, customer focus and a firm belief in a great product, Nefab's first manufacturing site outside of Sweden would soon be established and running!

France
France

Nefab Establishes Presence in France

Since the late ‘70s, Noël Parrot had been a reseller of Nefab products in France, and in the early ‘80s he was the driver behind Nefab’s establishment in France. Around this time, Nefab began to build a factory in Salbris, a city in central France with skilled manpower and many logistics connections, as well as several defense industries located nearby. As a tribute to Nefab’s Swedish roots, the factory exterior was given a Swedish expression, built in wood and painted red and white. Noël was very keen on establishing a non-hierarchal, Swedish leadership style at the Salbris factory. At that time, it was a bit exotic to give that kind of freedom and empowerment to employees – but it proved to be very successful.

Canada
Canada

Expansion into North America

During the early ‘80s, Nefab also made its first establishment on the North American soil. Our first footprint was in Peterborough, Canada in 1983, where Nefab was established under the name Vikex Industrial Packaging. The operations in Peterborough started as a small set up with a staff of only five, but it would soon grow dramatically, driven largely by the expansion of the telecom industry in North America.

Nefab Teknik
Nefab Teknik

The Forming of Nefab Teknik AB

Machines used within Nefab’s production facilities had been developed in-house since the start of the ‘50s, but now, in the phase of international expansion, it was decided to create a more formal central organization that would design and build the production machines for all of Nefab’s manufacturing units around the world. Therefore, the entity Nefab Teknik was founded in 1989, with approximately 25 employees. Nefab Teknik was divided into three main areas – machine construction, maintenance, and control systems. The overall objective for Nefab Teknik was to simplify and shorten the setup time for manufacturing units, while also supporting harmonization of production and product development.