Sandvik AB is a Swedish multinational

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

company specializing in metal cutting, digital and

additive manufacturing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

and construction, stainless and special steel

alloys An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

, and industrial heating. The company was founded in Sweden in 1862. In 2020, the Sandvik Group had approximately 37,000 employees and revenues of about 86 billion SEK in more than 160 countries. Göran Fredrik Göransson Svenska industriens män

Göran Fredrik Göransson Svenska industriens män

History

The beginning

The company was founded by Göran Fredrik Göransson in 1862. He was an early user of the

Bessemer process The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation ...

on an industrial scale. The company started as Högbo Stål & Jernverks AB in Sandviken, Sweden and was later reorganized as Sandvikens Jernverk (Ironworks) AB in 1868. The Sandvik brand name was first used officially in 1876 when Sandvik began selling products in the USA. Sandvikens Jernverk was introduced on the

Stockholm Stock Exchange Nasdaq Stockholm, formerly known as the Stockholm Stock Exchange ( sv, Stockholmsbörsen), is a stock exchange located in Frihamnen, Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863, it has become the primary securities exchange of the Nordic countries. ...

in 1901. In the 1860s, sales were conducted through trading houses in Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

, the UK,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. In 1914 the company opened its first sales subsidiary in the UK. This was the start of a long period of expansion as subsidiaries were opened around the world.

Early years

Sandvikens Jernverk introduced the first seamless tubes made of stainless steels on the market in 1924 and by 1934 was the first in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

to perform pilgering of tubes on an industrial scale. The Second World War forced the company to reorganize production. In 1942, the Sandvik Coromant brand was established and the first cemented-carbide tools for metalworking were manufactured a year later. Bessemer steel production was discontinued in 1947. By 1967 Sandvikens Jernverk had 40 subsidiaries and sales in 100 countries. The company changed its name to Sandvik AB in 1972 and many new factories and acquisitions followed, including Osprey. Cemented carbide production took off and the first Rotoform equipment was developed.

1980–2000

Sandvik experienced a substantial decline in 1982-1983 and in 1983 the company recorded its first loss in 62 years. Restructuring measures, a new, decentralized organization and focus on strong areas brought earnings and profitability back on track in only a couple of years. Sandvik began investing in Eastern Europe in 1989 and subsidiaries and plants were opened in Eastern Europe and Asia. In 1994, Sandvik started producing diamond-coated carbide cutting inserts on an industrial scale. Safurex®, a high-alloy duplex stainless steel, was developed in 1996. In 1999, Sandvik divested its Saws and Tools business areas.

2000 to present

Automation and remote control of mining equipment, Automine®, was introduced in mines in Canada and Sweden in 2001. In 2004, Sandvik's Kanthal division developed the production of high-temperature alloys via powder metallurgy. In 2002, Sandvik acquired a majority shareholding in German tool manufacturer Walter and Austrian tungsten producer Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten was acquired in 2009. In 2014, Sandvik companies Dormer, Safety, Impero and Pramet came together to create Dormet Pramet. In 2017, the divestments of Process Systems and Mining Systems were completed. In March 2022, it was announced that Sandvik had acquired the mine planning software provider, Deswik with the latter becoming part of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ business division, Digital Mining Technologies.

History

The beginning

Early years

1980–2000

2000 to present

See also

References

Further reading