Sustainability has characterized the company’s actions for more than forty years and the reason is simple – it has been the most profitable way to run a business. Therefore, the EU’s requirement for corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) is a natural part of our daily operations and something that permeates the company’s actions.
We have chosen to divide the CSRD into the following four sections:
Product strategy
Business strategy
Environmental strategy
Production strategy
We strive to manufacture products of such high quality and of such good design that they will function for several generations. This means that we use the best steel that can currently be produced, with properties that benefit the customer for a very long time. The consequence is that our products may seem expensive at the time of purchase, but also that in the long run they are the best financial option.
Our business concept is: To sell quality products at a reasonable cost. Combining quality with reasonable cost is difficult, but after forty years in the industry, we can state that this concept holds up. We distribute and sell our products through well-established, nationwide international distributors. These in turn sell to their retailers. This leads to a promotion corridor where as little energy as possible is put on a single article. This reduces the carbon footprint to a minimum while distributing high-quality, valuable products with a long lifespan worldwide.
We are looking for cooperation with companies that hold the flag of sustainability high. Their products are usually expensive, but in the long run they represent a better ecological and economic alternative. We therefore do not seek cooperation with the cheapest manufacturers, but with the best. Together with these, we are constantly working to find the best production methods and, although this development work is costly, it is both sustainable and profitable in the long run. For several years we have been using the knowledge and experience available at Luleå University of Technology, where we test our (and others) knives. We also collaborate with Uddeholm, one of the world’s leading steel companies. Our cooperation with other manufacturers requires that they apply good ethics in their workplace, that they offer reasonable wages to their workers and that they do not practice child labor. A prerequisite for future cooperation is that they have the same strict view of environmental work as we do.
Over the years it has become more and more obvious that it is profitable to act with the environment, not against it. There are always alternatives that are better from an environmental point of view and not infrequently they are both cheaper and better. The new company building, which will be completed in the summer of 2024, is based on the vision that it is perfectly possible to build environmentally friendly and with a low impact factor on the environment. We get the electricity from the Lule River waterpower stations and it runs a heat pump where we use the heat from seven 200 m deep rock thermal holes. We deposit one kilowatt, get back between four and five! On the 2,000 m² roof, solar cells produce electricity that is not only sufficient for the company’s needs, but where the excess is released into the local grid. Via the installed batteries, we function as level regulators on the electricity grid and in this way contribute to both increased and safer electrification of society. Finally, we have a heat recovery facility that recovers roughly 80% of the ventilation air’s energy. The building is a substantial wooden building that stands on a heavily reinforced, well-insulated concrete slab. Underneath this slab are countless concrete piles which ensure that the slab is never moved more than 0.5 cm in ten years. The insulation in the walls and ceiling is extra well sized compared to standard and consists of wood wool from pine and spruce. This insulation is a bit more expensive than traditional glass wool/rockwool but insulates better at really low temperatures. The facade is covered with concrete slabs from Steni, covered with natural stone and with a guaranteed lifespan of sixty years. The construction of trusses and stability-ensuring construction solutions have led to a house that can stand for more than a hundred years.