Mattias Jaginder, Managing Director Industrial Automation
Why create a new business group in automation?
“There are several attractive and underlying trends driving growth within industrial automation. Reshoring, new technologies, increased safety and proactive maintenance are just few. Main drivers for bringing production back to Europe are to cut distribution costs and shorten delivery times, as well as better control of the intellectual IP and the increasing production costs in low-cost countries. Industrial automation makes this move possible.”

What are the characteristics of Industrial Automation?
“Most companies within Axel Johnson International focus on distribution of high-quality products, often produced by others. The current companies in Industrial Automation, Caldan and OCS, are specialised in conveyor systems, and they design and assemble their own solutions under their own brand names.”
Where do you see your best market potential?
“Our initial focus segments are intralogistics and materials handling as well as food processing and packaging solutions. Next step is to investigate high-tech components for automated customised solutions.”
How do you see the business group grow?
“We aim to make a significant footprint within automation in a few years. It’s our defined strategy to acquire several complementary Western-European based companies that can act as hubs for further growth and facilitate business group collaborations.”