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For
almost 150 years, from its founding in 1874 or perhaps rather 1867, until its
closure in the autumn of 2018, the mill, under various names, has dominated the
port area with its operations. This was once Uppsala's largest industry.
How it
started
In 1874,
HW Söderman together with Wilh. Ulander, Joh. Johansson and Pehr Lundberg
aktiebolaget Upsala Ångqvarn. The company took over the mill, the
so-called Eldkvarn, which was down by the harbor that Söderman had recently
bought. It was an old watermill that CW Ulander and the bakers Åberg and
Feith bought in the early 1860s and turned into steam. The mill was a
customs mill, ie the farmers paid in kind by leaving grain as
compensation. But the mill went badly and the business had occasionally
been down.
Who was
HW Söderman?
At the
time of the start of Ångkvarnsbolaget, Söderman had reached the age of 44 and
had already built up an extensive business in Uppsala.HW
Söderman. Photographer unknown. UUB.
Henrik
Wilhelm Söderman was born on March 29, 1829 at Österby mill. He was the
third of six siblings. His father was a blast furnace setter at the
mill. As a 13-year-old, he leaves home and gets a job with various traders
in Uppsala as a farmhand, running boy and journeyman. Around 1850, he gets
a job as an all-rounder with the spice merchant Wilhelm Ulander, who obviously
realizes and is able to take advantage of Söderman's talents and gives him
great responsibility for running the business. In 1855, Söderman won a
bursary in the city and he was able to take over a shop on the corner of
Kungsängsgatan and Stora Torget. But Söderman is not allowed to sell
spirits to individual consumers. After a few years, however, he somehow
manages to come across such a very lucrative benefit.
In 1860,
Svartbäcken's distillery was offered for sale. It is by far the largest of
the city's two distilleries and no new ones may be started. Söderman
seizes the opportunity together with his friend Törnlund and the distillery
master Adolf Olofsson. This business is proving to be profitable.Around
the same time, Söderman buys the property at Vaksalagatan 5, where he already
has his home. Here he moves his business. In 1884, he had this house
rebuilt and extended it by one floor, and the result was a handsome New Renaissance
house that remained until 1961. The architect for the renovation and extension
was the one who designed the new university building, namely HT Holmgren.In
1862 it is time for a new adventure. Söderman then starts together with
Törnlund a new steamboat connection to Stockholm and competes successfully with
the established monopoly shipping company Upsala Ångfartygsbolag. The new
shipping company and the new ship are named Garibaldi.
Von
Düben's brewery had difficulties and von Düben himself had left the
management. The remaining owners turn to Söderman. The result is that
a new company, Upsala Bayerska Bryggeri AB, is formed with 39
shareholders. Söderman subscribes for 30% of the capital and becomes
CEO. Törnlund also enters. The new owners are investing heavily and
switching to the modern German way of brewing beer and the brewery is becoming
another profitable industrial business.
In 1866,
a new opportunity opens up. Lejstabro mill and distillery in Rasbo have
gone bankrupt. The distillery is poorly managed, but Söderman sees
opportunities and buys the factory through a boulevard. The deal leads to
various legal disputes, but Söderman manages to get through it completely and
has radical rebuilds and machine investments carried out.
After 15
years in Uppsala, Söderman had now gone from being a penniless youth to
becoming one of the city's richest men. More about this and not least
about the bitter battle over the right to serve and sell spirits can be read in
Claes Melin's book.
Who was
Ulander
Wilhelm Ulander
(1820-1911) also came from simple circumstances and started working early in
his brother's shop in Uppsala. After a few years, he inherits it and hires
the 10 year younger Söderman. Ulander can build up a fortune with the help
of brandy sales in its trade and enters various stores without much
success. But other information attracted. He became chairman of the
drätsel chamber and became head of Uplandsbanken when it was founded.
Who was
Törnlund?
Frans
Otto Törnlund (1829-1898) had a similar background as Söderman and came to
follow a similar path. The two youngsters became close friends early on
and came to have a long-term and profitable collaboration. Eventually,
however, a break occurred. Törnlund also became a wealthy man.
The new
mill
During the
middle of the 19th century, it was obvious that time began to pass from the
small old windmills and watermills. New steam-powered industrial mills
were established in various places. The oldest in this context was
Stockholm's Eldkvarn from 1805.
The work
of transforming the mill down by the harbor into a modern industrial mill began
immediately after the purchase. During the years 1875-77, a couple of
warehouses were built and machines were improved and supplemented. The
original mill building was extended with two wings to the east. In 1877, a
railway track was pulled down to the harbor and the mill got a direct railway
connection and a couple of years later a separate telephone line was added to
the office on Vaksalagatan.
Management
crisis
At the
Annual General Meeting on September 1, 1877, some shareholders, including
Törnlund, succeeded in making a coup and completely removing Söderman from the
company's management, despite the fact that he was the incomparably largest
shareholder with a third of all shares. Three CEOs were appointed, among
them Törnlund. What was really behind the conflict is not obvious, but the
Stockholm office's position was a contentious issue. Various allegations
were made and apparently the climate of cooperation was strained.
At a
stormy general meeting on September 1, 1882, the order was restored and
Söderman re-entered as sole CEO and served as such until his death on April 13,
1901. He was succeeded by his son of the same name who retained the post until
1925 when he was in turn succeeded by the third HW Söderman (1899-1978).
The
mill's continued development
With
Söderman's return in 1882, a long series of successive changes and expansion of
the production apparatus began. New machines were procured, buildings
demolished and new ones erected.As the first Swedish mill, Ångkvarn left the
old technology and switched to grinding with roller chairs. The company
took the first step in 1883 by acquiring a rolling mill with seven
wheelchairs. In the years 1890-91, the mill's change to a rolling mill was
completed. In the autumn of 1892, electric lighting was introduced.
In
November 1900, the mill was hit by an extensive fire that destroyed large parts
of the mill building. However, it could be repaired and later rebuilt and
rebuilt.
In 1916,
another important step was taken. Now the mill was electrified with
electricity taken from Älvkarleby.
The
financial result varied. The years when Söderman was deprived were
difficult, which certainly facilitated his return. Even during the 1880s,
the company suffered difficulties, which even threatened its continued
existence. In the financial year 1886/87, the situation was so critical
that the workers offered to give up part of their salary to save the company,
which the management also accepted. The workers were eventually replaced
by a gift of money. In 1888, the rescue came in the form of a new customs
protection for the mill industry and the crisis was over for this time. A
remaining problem, however, was the general overcapacity for the Swedish mill
industry.
In 1937,
a 10-year construction program was initiated and the board decided to have a
completely new mill building erected, which could be taken into use on November
20, 1939. Other parts of the construction program were silos for flour and
grain and the macaroni factory. The remains of the old mill building were
demolished. Additional silo buildings were added during the 1970s. Of
the oldest buildings, today (ie in 2020) only the yeast factory from 1902 and a
silo building from 1908-13 remain.
Yeast and
spirits
In
addition to the mill business, the distilling of spirits in the old Svartbäcks
distilleries continued for another quarter of a century. Of the company's
sales, spirits together with the press yeast accounted for approximately one
third of sales during the company's first 50 years. The spirits trading
company in Uppsala had sole control of the minute sales and the raw spirits
were delivered there. Spirits were mined by the liquor trade company and
in a small number of dispensers distributed by the liquor trade
company. Söderman managed to get over a couple of such conditions.Around
1900, the board decided to move the old distilleries and yeast production from
Svartbäcken to a new factory on the plot next to the mill that the company
already owned. As early as 1918, Ångkvarn transferred its distilling
rights to AB Vin & Spritcentralen, and thereafter brandy was produced only
to a limited extent as a by-product of yeast production. In 1945, further
government restrictive measures led to the complete cessation of burning.
Yeast
production continued for a number of years, but was discontinued in 1955. One
of the reasons why this activity ceased was that large amounts of untreated
sewage were discharged directly into the Fyrisån river and that they were not
prepared to bear the costs of solving this problem and meeting new demands.
In the
yeast factory, cornflakes were manufactured during the years 1954-61 under
license from Kellogg's. The Americans were so afraid that Sweden would be
invaded by the Soviets and get over the machines that they did not dare to make
the most modern ones available.
Macaroni
and spaghetti
In the
early 1940s, the company decided to also start making macaroni and
spaghetti. Machines were ordered and a new building was erected which was
completed at the turn of the year 1941/42 at the same time as a new flour silo
building. The macaroni and spaghetti were sold under the name Blixt and
conquered a large share of the Swedish market. Eventually, the pasta
Turelli was also launched, whose Italian-sounding brand was based on the name
of the office manager and manager Tobias Urell. The production of pasta
ceased in 1967.