Rolled-aluminium manufacturer Gränges AB marked the expansion of its Research and Innovation center yesterday in southeastern Sweden.
According to the company, the center now features new office and laboratory areas, and new laboratory equipment. Additionally, Gränges used the opportunity of renovating the facility to revamp the organizational hierarchy, moving research and development into a more central role within the firm.
The center, located 92 miles southwest of Stockholm in Finspång, has conducted research and innovation in the field of aluminium heat exchangers for over four decades, playing an indispensable role in propelling the firm to global leadership and recognition in the aluminium industry.
According to Gränges, the thirty scientists and researchers at the center are responsible for developing over fifty patent families for a total of 168 patents. Among the patents is a technology named TRILLIUM that makes the process of brazing aluminium simpler and more environmentally responsible.
“Research and Innovation are fundamental parts of Gränges’ business strategy. To be able to meet the future market demands of aluminium products, in-depth research work in combination with an innovative spirit are the critical key factors for our company,” said Gränges’s CEO Johan Menckel. “I am proud of the Gränges legacy in innovation and I am confident that these efforts will help continue develop the company for future success.”
“We are making a thorough efforts to improve our research and innovation capabilities in Finspång. The centre will be the main hub in our global research and innovation network,” explained the SVP of Research & Innovation Kent Schölin. “The purpose is to strengthen our leading global position within the development of brazed heat exchanger material, as well as developing new innovative aluminium products based upon our present research and innovation competence.”
Begun in 1873 in Stockholm, Sweden as Trafik AB Grängesberg-Oxelösund, Gränges AB was resurrected in 2013 as a private company specializing in rolled aluminium heat exchangers. It employs almost 1,000 employees at the present time at two plants – one in Finspång, Sweden, that opened in its present configuration in 1972, and a second in Shanghai, China, opened in 1996. The firm boasts an annual sales total of SEK10 billion (US$1.09 billion).