Within methods for processing and preparing concrete and other building materials, Sweden has shown been at the forefoot many times, with the list of methods and products for concrete processing being very long. During all the years that this magazine has existed, we have featured most of the Swedish people and companies who developed, and are developing, innovations and manufacture the products. 

Åkerströms in Björbo dating back to 1918

There is however a product sector that we have not covered in-depth which today forms an important part of different products used in demolition, concrete cutting, hydrodemolition, floor prep, grinding and polishing of concrete floors. Since the beginning, a clear aspiration and orientation within all these business sectors has been to strive for increased safety, less manual work, increased efficiency and accuracy and improved quality of work. These goals can be achieved in many different ways, with one way being to use radio control machinery and tools. As a manufacturer of, for example, floor grinders, demolition robots, hydrodemolition robots or wall and wire saws, it is difficult to have internal competence to also develop radio control systems. Due to the difficulties, it is far better to buy this service and products from those who know how to develop them. One such company is Åkerströms in the village of Björbo, a short distance from Gagnef in the province of Dalarna. This is a very exotic part of Sweden and kind of sums up the whole country. If you want to celebrate Midsummer the Swedish way, you should go to Dalarna around mid-June. 

Åkerströms’ Hans Åkerblom and Erika Ryttare received the PDi team. Hans is CEO and sales manager and Erika is marketing manager for the business. Hans presented the company’s history and operations, stating that the company was founded back in 1918 by Anders Åkerström. “Anders worked during the day as a power station manager at the Fänforsen mill. But on the side he ran his own company where he developed the first electric tile stove inserts, among other things. He was only 21 years old when he started this business,” says Hans. 

In the following years, Anders’ children, Gulli, Åke and Knut, began working in the company, which grew rapidly. Among other things, the business also sold radios and a lot of other electronical items. During the 1950s, the business expanded, moving to larger premises. It was also when Anders’ son Åke started developing simpler electrical control systems for forestry applications. In the early 1960s, experiments with radio control began, and quite soon the first remote controlled winch was developed. Once the wireless control took hold, it was impossible to stop. The technology began to be used in a number of different operations such as for traverses, boats and locomotives. 

Åkerströms expanded strongly during the 60s and 70s, and in the early 1980s Åke’s son, Jan Åkerström, took over the CEO role in the company. Strong expansion continued and the areas of use for radio control continued to increase. In 2001 the business was sold to the venture capital company BrainHeart Capital, and in 2016 it was taken over by Allgon AB. Two years later, in 2018, Åkerströms celebrated 100 years. “Today, over 100 years later, we are one of the world’s most qualified developers and manufacturers of radio control solutions with over 70 employees at our facility in Björbo. The business is still based in basically the same location in Björbo, next to Fänforsen,” says Hans Åkerblom.

Åkerströms’s turnover today is around €13.5M, with about half of this being derived from export, mainly to customers in Europe. Today, the company exports to around 60 countries with exports constantly increasing. The development work takes place in Sweden, while all preparation and assembly of customised systems being carried out at the production unit in Björbo. Åkerströms is also a leading player in the industrial door industry and has since the early 1960s been a major supplier of radio controls to large industries and workshops mainly in the Nordics. Today, these types of radio controls are manufactured at the company’s production unit in China.

Many users in many different industries

Åkerströms’s radio control system is used today in a variety of industries and businesses. You could say that it is really only the imagination that sets limits. For Åkerströms, it is important to work closely with its customers, listen to their needs, and based on that develop smart solutions that save resources, increase efficiency and safety for the customer and, not least, offer a sustainable solution. The actual hub for Åkerströms is Björbo, but it also has several other facilities located outside the country as well as service technicians stationed in Björbo. To this can be added the two service vans that visit and serve customers on site. There are also plans to establish local service technicians around Sweden. As mentioned, customers are found in many business sectors, which can be summarised as the transport industry, all types of process, mining, and workshops, construction and heavy machinery, vehicle, maintenance, quality and safety operations and so forth.

For several decades, Åkerströms has launched a range of ground breaking products for radio control, which have solved many problems for customers and opened up new opportunities. Some examples are, as mentioned, electric control systems for winches in the 1950s which later became radio controlled; radio control for sleepers, boats and locomotives in the 1960s; the first wireless data transmission system named Diracom which was introduced in the late 1970s, and in the mid-1990s, radio systems were developed to control and marshal locomotives at railway yards. In the early 2020s, the pioneering digital service Access_Ctrl was launched as a complement to Åkerströms’s radio controls to further increase personnel and operational safety in the industry. This year, Åkerströms has launched inhouse developed VR simulators for training crane operators.

Radio control has great potential in the demolition sector

When PDi met Hans and Erika, an unsolicited insight was provided into how Åkerströms’s products fit into machines for demolition, concrete cutting, hydrodemolition, grinding and polishing of concrete floors, as well as for traditional building and construction machinery, cranes, lifts etc, with today Åkerströms delivering to several manufacturers in these sectors.

“Radio control has many advantages, not least in the demolition sector where the user is exposed to great risks. With wireless controls, the operator gets away from the risk area and gets a greater overview of the work. We see great opportunities to be able to contribute to increased safety for both man and machine within the sectors,” says Erika Ryttare. 

“A good example of ongoing collaborations is that we developed a customised radio control for Husqvarna Construction’s articulated Trench Compactor LP 9505. Other machines that are controlled with radio control today are electric and hydraulic wall saws, wire saws, larger machines for treating concrete floors such as milling, shot blasting, grinding and polishing, larger core drilling systems and, not least, operation of demolition and hydrodemolition robots. Today, there is also radio control of large and heavy high rise demolition machines with advanced demolition tools that work in sensitive areas. Even mobile recycling crushers and screens often require radio control at the workplace. As we see it, only the imagination sets the limits. Any amount can be created and improve the everyday work of users. As developers and manufacturers of the systems, we can contribute a lot here. And the nice thing is that the competence is available in Sweden,” says Hans Åkerblom.

During the visit to Åkerströms’ facility in Björbo, a proper overview of the production premises was provided. The main part of the factory itself, where development, assembly, quality control and service and repairs are carried out, has been occupied since 1971. The premises had previously housed an old bread factory and were ideally suited for the development and manufacture of radio control systems. In the mid-1980s, the factory was extended with a new office part where the main office itself is housed. At the rear of the factory is Fänforsen (the Fän rapids), which is part of the Västerdal River. It was here that Anders Åkerström was based at the hydroelectric plant and the mill at the beginning of the 20th century. “Right now, a new and even more efficient hydroelectric plant is being built on the same site as the previous one, which will in future supply our entire facility and more with green electricity,” concludes Erika.

www.akerstroms.com