History specials

Episode 1. Göransson and Bessemer

Göran Fredrik Göransson, born in Gävle in 1819, joins Elfstrand’s, the trading firm his father manages and eventually becomes manager himself. As Elfstrand’s is about to go broke, Göransson buys a decisive patent from the English inventor Sir Henry Bessemer.

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Episode 2. A new factory and a new town

Intensive experimentation in Edsken with the Bessemer method for steel production takes place during the first half of 1858. By July that year he has succeeded and decides to build a new factory and accommodation for workers in Sandviken by lake Storsjön.

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Episode 3. Bankruptcy and beyond

Huge loans and too little income forced both Fredrik personally and his company into bankruptcy in 1866. But after a few lean years, the company was bought back and steadily grew. By the 1870s the company was the largest producer of pig-iron in Sweden.

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