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Company founder Ivar Gustafsson |
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Logo of the firm Örnmaskiner |
In 1946, the existing product portfolio was expanded to include leisure boats after Ivar observed Estonian refugees on Fredensborgs Herrgård working on a fishing boat during a walk in 1945. These men worked in their home country both as fishermen and boat builders. Ivar Gustafsson was impressed by their skills and provided facilities to build more boats. In 1946 Ivar bought the farm Storebro Gård as an extension for the production of his original company. These premises have now been converted into a shipyard by the newly employed boat builders. For this purpose the divisions in the original cattle shed were removed and larger premises were created. The production of small fishing boats was the origin of the shipyard.
In the post-war period, the demand for machine tools was higher than the production. But Ivar Gustafsson also had to sell his boats. As a solution, he sold his lathe with a Storebro boat in a package.
This meant that many companies in Sweden also owned a boat from Storebro. The boats impress with their craftsmanship. But they were not really suitable for all Swedish waters. The boats were a bit cumbersome to handle and required a helmsman at the stern. Ivar Gustafsson soon realised that a self-propelled boat was needed for the Swedish lakes and archipelago.
It all started with the "camping boats" which were designed by the company Electrolux to support the distribution of their civilian Archimedes outboards. As one of the boat manufacturers Storebro produced the so called "Electrolux boat" in three different versions since 1947.
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Yard in Storebro 1950 |
In 1951 the young shipyard presented the "Vindö" and the "Solö Ruff". These boats became a real success. Together, the two series reached almost 1,000 boats produced by the beginning of the 1960s. In parallel, the "Örnen" boats were produced. The "Örnen" (Eagle) was built as a fishing boat in about 50 units. Overall, the shipyard now focused exclusively on boats with inboard engine.
In 1956 the shipyard presented the "Svanö" and later the sister ship "Bergö". But the market demanded larger boats.
In 1959, the shipyard presented the first Storö I. The ship was developed by Otto Scheen jr. and was the starting point for a number of boats named Storö.
On 01.01.1963, AB Örnmaskiner took over the entire shares of Storebro Bruks AB after the highest bid had been made. With the takeover of Storebro Bruks AB, AB Örnmaskiner also became the sole owner of AB Storebro Gjuteri (foundry). The new company developed quite positively and grew especially in export. It was therefore decided to take over the well-known name "Storebro Bruks AB". On 05.05.1964 the AB Örnmaskiner took over the name Storebro Bruks Aktiebolag.
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Yard in Storebro |
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Herrgården in Storebro |
The construction of the Storö V (47) demonstrated the existence of the spatial limits of the buildings in Storebro and let appear a waterside location makes sense.
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Yard in Västervik 1976/77 |
Yard in Västervik |
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Turnover 1945-1969 |
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Production in Storebro |
While the construction was established in Storebro the development of new prototypes was carried out in Västervik, since there was also the making of the molds.
Furnitures for the larger series were prepared in Storebro. Smaller units could also be produced in Västervik. All upholstery work was carried out in Storebro.
With the introduction of "Storö 43" (the last full wooden boat), resp. the prototype "Storö 42", the nomenclature of Roman numerals was converted in 1972 to the length in feet because the previous nomenclature let no space between the "Storö IV (34)" and the big "Storö V (47)".
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Yard in Västervik 1991/92 |
Until 1995, the shipyard was owned by the brothers Roy and Lennart Ivarsson and their cousin Elsebeth. She then sold her shares in 1995 to the long-standing customer Hans Mellström, founder of WM-data (see Wikipedia (

In February 1995, the upholstery was spinned off and acquired by the previous manager Martin Risén and his wife. It was continued as an independent company "Storebro Tapetseri & Inredning AB". This company produced until its bankruptcy in mid-2012 all upholstery and tarpaulins for the current Storebro boats.
In 1997 Roy and Lennart also sold their shares to Hans Mellström, after Roy wanted to spend more time with his family.
1999 Hans Mellström bought (now the sole owner of Storebro Bruks) the brands Nimbus and Ryds from Harald Wiklund and his sons, Lars and Hans and founded "Via Mare Boats".
The new shipyard group now had several sites for each part of the production. Under these circumstances the site Västervik was sold to the Norwegian company Windy Boats AS in 2002 that was looking for a location in the EC and the Baltic Sea.
2004 Hans Mellström then sold 51% of Via Mare Boats to a consortium including Lars and Hans Wiklund. As part of the model development, it was decided that Nimbus boats builds the boats up to 40 feet and the Storebro should produce boats above 40 feet.
After 2003, when the production of most Storebro boats was set, the SRC 410 Commander was the only Storebro model. The boat shares the hull with the Nimbus Nova 42. After the extension of the deck shell, which exclusively benefited the cockpit and the bathing platform, the boat was produced as SRC 435 Commander until 2014. In addition the Paragon 31 and 25 were built in Storebro. 2011 the SRC 435 SunTop was presented, instead of a flybridge she was equipped with a large sun deck and because of the lower height she is has channel abilities.
In 2006 the venture capital firm Altor Equity Partners invested in Nimbus Boats and thus also in Storebro, Ryds and Paragon as a major shareholder with a capital increase of 150%. Mid-2012, Nimbus Boats declared bankruptcy although they had a positive order situation.
In September 2012 Nimbus was taken over by the Swedish Investment Holding R12. Storebro (which means rights and properties) was then sold to the present owner Roger von Haugwitz. The new company name is now "Storebro Boats AB".
Von Haugwitz also acquired the "Storebro Tapetseri & Inredning", which also declared bankruptcy due to the bankruptcy of Storebro. The new company was named "Nya Storebro Tapetseri & Inredning AB".
In November 2013 the first pictures of a SRC 460 Commander were presented at a customer meeting in Storebro. At the moment it looks as if these plans will not be realized.
On 2014-01-14 Storebro Boats AB announced the aquisition of the Swedish Nordwest-yard. In the autumn of 2014 nearly all employees were dismissed. In 2015 the new company showed a profit for the first time. Meanwhile the company domicile of both companies was moved to Älvsjö, Stockholm.
In autumn 2016 the Storebro 31 was publicly presented as a new project. Unfortunately this project, like the SRC 460 Commander, has not yet reached the production line status.
In 20202020, the shipyard announced its intention to build ships again. On the one hand, the SRC 435 Commander was relaunched and offered at a favourable package price, on the other hand, the SRC 350 Biscay was introduced. While the SRC 350 Biscay has not left the development stage (and has grown in size in the meantime), four ships of the SRC 435 Commander have been built or are under construction.
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2023-06-03