HULTS BRUK

The Hults Bruk factory is located just north of the Swedish city of Norrkoping. The location was selected in the late 1600s because of its advantageous spot at the end of a valley and at the edge of a forest while being next to an active stream... It all started in 1697 with forging by hand using water driven hammers. Products being fabricated in the beginning included nails and iron bars which were then followed by hand tools such as axes and spades. From its founding until the 1820s the facility was owned by absentee wealthy nobles. Around 1820 the family Ekelund took over the complex. Three generations of Ekelunds ran the Hults Bruk works for over 100 years. The family lived on-site for the entire time of their ownership. In the late 1870s the owner and ironmonger Gunnar Ekelund took the initiative to make axes according state-of-the-art American production methods. In 1887 he traveled to America to study those industrial methods and to buy modern machinery. An additional purpose..