Continued expansion of LK Armatur into additional facilities

LK Armatur recently inaugurated its new facilities, which are located next to their current property. The company retains its current industrial site and has now an additional 3,300 square metres at its disposal. The theme was "take off" and the flight, now aiming for the next goal! With the captain's cap on his head, Magnus Eriksson cut the ribbon for the next step in LK Armatur's development. Magnus Eriksson, CEO at LK Armatur, talks about the expansion, the decisions about the new facilities and how he sees the future.

“A few years ago, we set a plan to achieve a turnover of 400 million SEK by 2024. But last year we had already reached a turnover of 520 million SEK. To continue expanding at that rate, we quickly realised that we needed new facilities. We started by looking for an industrial site in Helsingborg, as our goal was and still is to build a completely new site. But after a long search, we realised that there were a very limited number of suitable industrial sites in Helsingborg. In other words, it was completely impossible for us to find an industrial site that was big enough. But we were lucky that our neighbours recently shut down their business. They were not willing to sell the property to us, but we were offered a long-term lease, an offer we gladly accepted instead.”

What does the new facility look like, and does it differ at all from the production site you have today?

“In the new property, we have 13 new office spaces, two conference rooms, staff areas and a large meeting room on the upper floor. The remaining area houses production and a warehouse. We have invested in more modern production with automated lines, industrial robots and more efficient material handling. This type of production also requires more space.”

Have you hired more people in production now?

“No, we didn’t need to. We already hired more people for production during the expansion last year and the year before that. Because of the overcrowding which we struggled with, we were forced to introduce night and evening shifts. Otherwise, we would not have been able to produce the amount of products we needed. Now we can work more day shifts, which is much more productive. All our skilled resources are gathered together during these shifts, which is a new advantage.”

What are your plans for the future?

“We will continue to look for a new industrial site. We can manage in these facilities for three to five years, but then we must expand more. That will be the next challenge. My vision is that in five years we will have a turnover of one billion SEK. I also see a clearer establishment in Europe, and that we will automate and digitise the business even more.”

Last question, LK Armatur has expanded enormously the past years. What are you most proud of?

“That question is easy! I am extremely proud of how the staff handled the tough challenges we had in recent years. After the pandemic, sales increased. It is fantastic that we managed to deliver those volumes under the conditions we had at the time! The staff shortened or came in on their holidays so that we could cope with the huge delivery demands. In addition to this, we had to add more shifts and overtime many evenings and weekends. Without that commitment and willingness, we would never have been able to increase turnover to this extent and deliver those volumes.”