History

The following interesting story is an example of how business has always been business. It comes from a cultural geographical dissertation from Göteborg University, written by Thomas Jordan.

The year was 1956. AB Pumpindustri had great sales success with Perfecta pumps which were manufactured under license from a Swiss designer. However, the license agreement gave rights to sell the pumps only in the Scandinavian market. Since a large plumbing group, CTC, had signaled an interest in the pump, there were good opportunities to export outside of Scandinavia through CTC, had the license not stood in the way. Olaf Jahn and Sven-Arne Sandberg, respectively owner and president of AB Pump Industry made the decision to found the Silenta Maskinfabrik after the Perfecta pump began production. The pump had a new casing and sold successfully through the CTC. Yet another variation on the pump was manufactured for AGA. Production for the Scandinavian market continued through AB Pumpindustri in accordance with the agreement, and was distributed through Gustavsberg, which was a direct competitor to the CTC.

When Olaf Jahn sold AB Pumpindustri to Sonessons in Malmo in 1966, the circulation pumps were broken away and sold to CTC, which simultaneously acquired Silenta Maskinfabrik. Production of Perfecta pumps was moved to Växjö. Silenta Maskinfabrik was renamed Perfecta Silenta and eventually Perfecta Pump AB. This situation became untenable for Gustavsberg who could not accept being dependent on their competitor CTC for circulation pumps. Gustavsberg and CTC shared ownership of the plant in Växjö until 1976, when Gustavsberg took over completely. The program was expanded to include dry pumps. In the 1990s, the Gustavsberg Group restructured. The focus on bathroom fittings led to Perfecta being sold to and for a short time being owned by a German pump group. Perfecta broke loose, however, and is now under all-Swedish ownership with both production and sales.

The circle is closed. History shows how dynamic and changing the business world is and always has been, and now and then, a good product and a good company survive against all odds. Perfecta is a testament to this and is entering the future stronger for it.

The above image is a Perfecta advertisement from 1958, describing a heating pump with a so called wet motor.