Elektrotekniska industrins ledande tråd. AB Dahréntråd och svensk lindningstrådsindustri 1945-1980

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of Swedish manufacturers of insulated winding wire and the market forces surrounding the industry between 1945 and 1980. As part of the chain of subcontractors, the winding wire industry was linked to all three major electro-technical manufacturers of the time, ASEA, Electrolux and LM Ericsson. The Wallenberg Group’s initiatives to create boundaries for what the manufacturers were to produce also came to influence manufacturers of winding wire and their subsequent focus on high- and low voltage current products and systems respectively. Increasing sales of electro-technical products that became the norm in industry as well as in private homes after 1945 to a great extent created the demand for winding wire. In response to an increasing demand for winding wire Ernst Dahrén developed the family company in Jonslund, a predominantly rural area that lacked job opportunities. The specialisation of winding wire manufacturing enabled the company to carefully select loyal employees who accepted lower wages and were willing to work in three shifts, thereby creating a competitive advantage for the company. Product pricing was governed by the prices of copper and aluminium as well as costs and discounts for the rod wire used in the production of winding wire. Together with Ernst Dahrén’s entrepreneurial and patriarchal leadership style which highly influenced the company culture, the family’s tendency to re-invest profits became an important foundation for the company’s autonomy and expansion until its acquisition by the ASEA in 1973.