Maintaining the defence industry and investing in it are extremely important right now, with the world’s political situation more unstable than it has been in a long time. International tensions, regional conflicts and security threats have increased in many regions, highlighting the need to strengthen defence and security. Investing in the maintenance and development of the defence industry ensures readiness and the ability to respond to rapidly changing security challenges in the world’s unstable atmosphere.

The defence industry is needed to secure Western free democracy, state independence and the well-being of society in the world’s unstable atmosphere. The value of the defence industry has risen in recent years in various parts of the world, with the European Commission, for example, allocating 500 million euros to investments to support the production of missiles and ammunition. The world has changed: in all Western countries, defence is an increasingly permanent fixture on the table of decision makers.

“Ten years ago things were quiet, and everyone believed in a peaceful world. However, a couple of years ago, the situation changed quickly. Now everyone understands that we have to have sufficient defence capacity,” says Anders Karlén, CEO of Elcoline Sweden.

Elcoline operates from Sweden in the Karlskoga region, 240 kilometres west of Stockholm, securing the defence industry’s operational capability and conditions for growth

“We have four large defence industry customers, three of which say they are quadrupling their production volumes. As the companies significantly increase their production volumes, we are supporting the achievement of their production goals with our industrial technical services, such as demanding installation projects and maintenance services,” says Karlén.

Karlén says that he is particularly proud that Elcoline is increasing one customer’s production of artillery grenades. Elcoline is building a production line for its customer and plans to add another one next year. In increasing production capacity, Elcoline is responsible for the planning and implementation of electrical, automation, welding and mechanical work.

Elcoline also manufactures, for example, logistics products for anti-tank weapons. Production has had to be accelerated, so the production lines are now automated.

“The trend in the defence industry these days is more and faster. When a couple of years ago we produced 8,000 pieces of a certain product per year, now the quantities have increased sixfold.” This reflects a very changed world situation in which you must be able to serve customers with their growing needs. We have the ability and know-how, as well as the resources, to handle the growing needs of our customers with the help of our high-quality and safe services.

Elcoline also helps its customers with, for example, fire safety services, monitoring of HVAC equipment, renovation of safety valves and warehouse management. Our logistics team also handles special transports of regulated defence industry products, and emergency services provide monitoring around the clock, every day of the year.

The roots of the partnership lie in the 19th century

One of Elcoline’s strengths is its location in the same industrial area as defence companies. The roots of the business go all the way back to the 19th century, when the operations were part of Bofors AB and then, before Elcoline’s ownership, part of Fortum Oyj, followed by Maintpartner AB. Elcoline bought the Karlskoga operations in 2022.

“We have a long history and good relations with our customers in the defence industry. We want to be a long-term partner and serve our customers exactly in accordance with their needs. We are a local partner of our customer in a specific production location and at the same time we can serve the customer at company level geographically in multiple locations. The customer receives from us customised and multidisciplinary services tailored to their needs, safely and reliably,” says Karlén.

Elcoline maintains constant contact with its customers and takes care of their needs proactively: “They tell us their needs – and we make them happen. We have our own quality control process, which monitors operations to ensure that everything goes right,” Karlén continues.

This reflects the company’s operating principles well: Elcoline is a growth company whose purpose is to ensure the reliability, efficiency and responsibility of its customers’ production and operations with the help of the services it offers. As it grows, the company is able to respond even more to the different needs of its customers and serve them more comprehensively and more widely, both locally and on a Nordic scale.

Elcoline needs dozens of new experts

Many industries are suffering from a recession, but Elcoline and its partners in Karlskoga are growing strongly. For example, Saab has increased its number of employees from 300 to 500 in a couple of years. Elcoline is also growing: in December 2022, Elcoline had 138 experts working for the company, now it already has 160 and our growth continues. We are a growing service company, whose most important asset is skilled and committed employees. We are constantly looking for new talent to join our team.

Elcoline employs, among others, electricians, welders and automation engineers. The new 25–30 people required could be hired quickly, but it is difficult to find people with the right skills. There is currently a strong need for installers, welders and plumbers in the area.

Elcoline looks to the future with confidence. During the Covid-19 years, costs were cut, so the organisation is light and agile. Now, in addition to recruitment, new machines and equipment are being invested in. “Our profitability is good, as are the prospects for at least the next three to four years,” says Karlén.