We are stronger together.

The story

In 1940, Gnosjö resident David Petersson decided to move his family back to the place he was born, in the forests of Småland. In the true Gnosjö spirit, there was already a business making metal products in the building they moved into. Under the company name of David Peterssons Metallfabrik, David started to manufacture metal products for customers including Garo and SJ.

Of David’s children, it was the youngest, Jonny, who showed the keenest interest in sales and building customer relationships, and he enjoyed being out in the marketplaces right from the start. After the siblings had run the company following David’s death, Jens’ uncle, Erik, decided to buy out the other five siblings in 1974. When Erik died suddenly in 1982, Jonny took over as owner and continued to run the business in the same direction.

When Jonny took over the business, his son Jens Petersson was 11 years old, and even though Jens lent a hand in the factory now end then during his teenage years, there was no definite plan for him to take over after his father. Jens qualified as a toolmaker and found a job in a nearby business, where he worked in the early 1990s. There was no clear plan for the future at David Peterssons Metallfabrik, and the recession was making it difficult for the business to thrive. When Jens’ father died suddenly from a heart attack, Jens was only 22 years old.

He then started working full time at David Peterssons Metallfabrik. But the tough conditions at the time made it difficult to see a clear future for the company, which was being run on a very small scale. The focus was therefore on keeping production running and finishing the orders that were in the book, before closing down the business. But as Jens and the one single employee at the time gradually became more and more involved in production, the customers and the business in general, his attitude changed, and Jens started to recognise the potential of this small metal factory.

This caused Jens to decide to step up a gear, and he started to look more actively for new customers and assignments. They invested in their very first Amada edge press, followed soon afterwards by a punching machine. At the end of the 90s, Jens decided to change the name of the company. At the time, they were broadening their laser cutting range, so the company was named Gnosjö Laserstans. For the very first time, the company was now also going to exhibit at the Elmia trade fair in Jönköping. Despite the new name and the fact that the laser machine had not yet been purchased, Jens was firmly resolved to invest in the future and started to seriously market laser cutting solutions. This proved a smart move, with high levels of demand, and by the early 2000s they had net sales of more than SEK 8 million. The decade continued at the same expansive tempo, they built totally new, suitable premises, invested in another edge press, a folding machine and another punching machine.