The Stena Sphere consists of the three parent companies, Stena AB, Stena Sessan AB and Stena Metall AB, wholly owned by the Olsson family. Together they make up one of Sweden’s largest family-owned corporate groups. The group’s revenue is 66 billion SEK and profit before tax for FY2021 is 2.3 billion SEK.

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the group is Dan Sten Olsson.

History

The foundations to today’s Stena Sphere were laid on 18 November 1939 when the Sten A. Olsson Metallprodukter trading company was founded. In the following years the company expanded both inside and outside the country’s borders. Sten Allan Olsson (1916-2013) was the son of the skipper and

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

Gustav Olsson (1876–1956) from

Donsö Donsö () is a small island in the Southern Göteborg Archipelago and a locality situated in Göteborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,407 inhabitants in 2010. The local covenant church on Donsö has approximately 500 memb ...

. In 1946, Sten Allan Olsson bought his first vessel with a

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

of SEK 25,000 from

Handelsbanken Svenska Handelsbanken AB is a Swedish bank providing banking services including traditional corporate transactions, investment banking and trading as well as consumer banking including insurance. Handelsbanken is one of the major banks in Sweden ...

, and the shipping business started on a small scale. At the beginning of the 1960s a ferry service started between

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

in northern Denmark. Over the years

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...

services using the company’s vessels became a significant part of the business. In 1972 the business was divided into two branches: Stena Line AB and Stena Metall AB. In the same year the Masthugg terminal in

was completed. The business continued to expand and at the end of the 1970s major investments were made in offshore and RoRo vessels. Stena Fastigheter (Property) was founded in 1980. The tanker shipping company Stena Bulk was founded in 1982. Northern Marine Group, a management company for vessels that are not Swedish-flagged, was founded in 1983 and Sten Allan Olsson's son, Dan Sten Olsson took over as

. Concordia Maritime was founded and listed on the stock market in 1984. During the 1990s the company expanded, including in offshore drilling. By founding Stena Adactum at the beginning of the 2000s (decade) the Sphere was expanded to also include long-term

investments Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

in outlying business areas. Long Term Equity was founded in 2006 for long-term investments without ownership responsibility. A considerable number of the investments have focused on companies in the

energy sector The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy indust ...

, including oil and offshore but also in alternative energy sources. At the beginning of the 2000s (decade) expansion also continued in offshore/drilling. The Stena sphere has made a profit every year since 1939 and has grown to include the largest

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

company in the world.

The Stena Sphere

In the mid-1990s, Sten Allan Olsson transferred his ownership of the Stena Sphere to his children. His daughter Madeleine's children own 6% each. * Dan Sten Olsson (1947-) - 51% * Stefan Sten Olsson (1949-) - 24.5% * Madeleine Olsson Eriksson (1945-) - 12.5% *Marie Eriksson - 6% *Gustav Eriksson - 6%

Stena AB

Amongst its subsidiaries: * Stena Line AB Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators. The company has three business areas: Scandinavia, North Sea and Irish Sea. The route network consists of 18 strategically located ferry routes around Scandinavia and the UK. Headquartered in Gothenburg. The Managing Director of Stena Line is Carl-Johan Hagman. *Stena Drilling Ltd is a maritime drilling contractor based in Aberdeen. The Managing Director is Erik Ronsberg. *Stena Rederi AB supports and coordinates the shipping activities in Stena AB. *Stena RoRo AB builds, purchases, sells and charters RoRo vessels. Many of Stena Line's vessels are owned by Stena RoRo. The Managing Director is Per Westling. *Stena Bulk AB operates a fleet of tankers worldwide, Erik Hanell is the Managing Director. *Stena Teknik is a central resource for expertise in ship building and ship conversions within the Stena Sphere. Technical Director is Harry Robertsson. *Northern Marine Group Ltd is a ship management company and ship manning agency. Philip Fullerton is the Managing Director. *Stena Fastigheter AB owns 2.1 million m² and manages 300,000m ² of real estate in Sweden, the Netherlands, France, China, and the United States. The CEO is Christel Armstrong Darvik. *Stena International B.V. is a, Dutch, property owning, subsidiary. *AB Stena Finans is the treasury and asset management entity for the whole Stena organisation. Peter Claesson is the Finance Director. *Stena Adactum AB acquires and develops other companies. The Managing Director is Martin Svalstedt.

Stena Sessan AB

Sessanlinjen (Sessan Line) or G.F.L. (Gothenburg-Frederikshavns line) was purchased by Stena in 1980. It ended the severe competition that existed in the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...

between Sessan Line and Stena Line up to that time. The Managing Director is Martin Svalstedt. One of its subsidiaries is; *Concordia Maritime AB which operates a fleet of 14 modern tankers. The Managing Director is Kim Ullman.

Stena Metall AB

Stena Metall recycles and processes metals, paper, electronics, batteries hazardous waste and chemicals. Its operations also include international trading in steel, metals and oil. It is the oldest part of the Stena Sphere having been founded on November 18, 1939. The CEO is Kristofer Sundsgård. It has operations in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and the United States of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

The Stena Sphere

Stena AB

Stena Sessan AB

Stena Metall AB

References

External links