EMBA Machinery 50 years old
The year was 1954. The year when EMBA Machinery AB, or AB Emballagemaskiner as it was called then, was founded in Örebro, Sweden. A lot can happen in 50 years. Machines develop and evolve. But some things stay the same. For example, EMBA continues to focus on knowledge and development – all to maintain its position as a world leader in its industry.

How it all began
EMBA’s history in fact hails back to the 1940s, when Emballagemaskiner Larsson & Co began its specialised production of corrugated boxes and machines that made corrugated packaging. And so it went on for just over a decade, until 1954 when the company was divided into two parts. One part was AB Transportemballage, which focused on corrugated box manufacture. The other part, AB Emballagemaskiner, decided to refine its business to focus on development and production of machinery for semi and fully automatic folding and stitching of corrugated packaging. As business was becoming increasingly international, the EMBA brand was instituted and is still used today.

Always among the leaders
1962 saw the launch of the EMBA Folder-Gluer (model UVZ-RTZ), which could glue the sides of around 18,000 boxes an hour, putting the EMBA name firmly on the world map. Although these machines were discontinued many years ago, there are still several hundred machines up and running all over the world, a fine testimony to their quality.

Until the late 1960s the company only manufactured machines for side-sealing, i.e. folding and sealing of a pre-printed and slotted sheet of corrugated board into a finished corrugated box.

But then, in 1968, the company launched its first Flexo-Folder-Gluer, the FFG 240. With the innovation of vacuum transport, once again EMBA had revolutionised the corrugated board industry. Since then the company has successfully introduced a whole series of new Flexo-Folder-Gluers.

Berg Group
Berg Group bought the company in 1988 and brought new areas of know-how to the company.
“It feels very exciting to be a link in the tremendous development the company has experienced,” says Anders E. Berg, Chief Executive of Berg Group which now owns EMBA.
The current President, Niclas Berg, adds, “It’s interesting to look back and see how quickly the company has developed over the past 10 years. Computerisation has brought with it even faster and more efficient machines. Our goal is always to be at the forefront and play an active part in the development of corrugated boxes.”

Worldwide
Over the years, development has been a continuous process at EMBA Machinery and even more machines have taken the international market by storm.
The machines are characterised by a design that enables very fast set up times which leads to very high productivity.
The EMBA 245 QS™ is an evolution of the 240 and 244, and was launched on the market in 1998. Thanks to a unique vacuum transport system, the quality of the end product has been further improved. EMBA’s machines are renowned for their high printing quality, which in the 245 QS™ has been developed almost to perfection.
Even in the small box segment EMBA has taken the market by storm, thanks to the high-performance EMBA 170 introduced in 1997.

Today, around 99 per cent of production goes to export, and the company has built up an effective sales and service organisation with its own units and agents all over the world.

In-house production and new concepts
The headquarters in Sweden has departments for research and development, production and marketing. Research and development is a continuous process, and EMBA’s design engineers not only work to improve existing products, but also to develop the machines of the future.
The various machine types are manufactured in the production department. Virtually no two machines are the same as there are so many optional variables on each product. When the machine is ready it is tested and given a trial run in the factory, before being packaged and transported to the customer.
In recent years a range of product concepts have been developed under the EMBA Comfort name. EMBA Comfort encompasses areas such as condition testing, upgrades, training, spare parts and service – all areas which aim to maintain and enhance the efficiency of machines, whatever their age.

In 1954, AB Emballagemaskiner had around 20 employees at its factory in Örebro. Fifty years later, EMBA has about 250 co-workers in several different countries, all with the same goal – to deliver conversion machines and services that increase our customers’ profitability. A fit and healthy 50-year-old, looking forward to at least another 50 years of development, knowledge and confidence in the future.

Legally responsible for the publication of this newsletter:
Esa Koski, EMBA Machinery AB - P.O. Box 2067, S-700 02 Örebro, Sweden
Tel +46 19300500, Fax +46 19311374