Tony Ring is the Chairman of the Municipal Executive Board in Karlskoga (central Sweden, home to major defence industry). In FSN Perspektiv, he describes the impact of the disarmament years on the town and what the municipality is now doing to create conditions for increased growth following the 2020 Defence Decision.

Fifty years ago, AB Bofors in Karlskoga employed over 10,000 people, and the pride felt both by those working in the defence industry and by the people of Karlskoga in general was tangible. Towards the end of the 1980s, the general state of world affairs brought about a marked decline for the defence industry, and within Nobel Industrier and its subsidiary Bofors, the number of employees fell by several thousand.

In 1991, Nobel Industrier merged with FFV (Förenade Fabriksverken, the Swedish state arms manufacturer) to form the joint company Swedish Ordnance, resulting in further rationalisation. The structural changes carried out within the defence industry during the 1990s had major consequences for Karlskoga. One example is that more than 1,500 public housing units were demolished, a regrettable demolition record for a Swedish municipality.

Attitudes towards the defence industry also changed over time, and the former pride in Bofors was in many cases replaced by a sense of guilt and shame.

The situation was further complicated by the fact that the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament) agreed on two defence decisions that entailed dramatic reductions to the Swedish Armed Forces. In the early 2000s, the previous corporate structure was divided up, resulting, in simplified terms, in two separate companies.

BAE Systems Bofors, with products in the fields of air defence and artillery, and Saab Dynamics, with products such as the Carl-Gustaf recoilless rifle, the RBS 70 surface-to-air missile, and the AT4 anti-tank weapon. The reality and everyday experience of the defence industry and of Karlskoga municipality were thus entirely different when comparing the record years of the 1970s with the harsh conditions that prevailed just over a decade ago.

Then came the turning point...

The first signs of a new perspective on the importance of a stronger Swedish defence could be discerned in connection with Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. For Karlskoga, it was the 2020 Defence Decision that marked the definitive turning point. Major new orders placed with the local defence industry, and the decision to re-establish the Artillery Regiment A9 in Kristinehamn (central Sweden), placed entirely new demands on the municipality in terms of business cooperation and housing construction.

To meet the industry's requirements, the municipality established a support function in Karlskoga offering recruitment assistance, relocation services, and an overarching remit to market Karlskoga as a municipality to potential new employees for the industry. The municipality is also working strategically to develop new industrial land and enable new residential construction. By 2025, more than 800 new housing units will be completed.

In other words, it is impossible to overlook the powerful growth that characterises Karlskoga today, but the greatest difference is felt in an entirely different way. The pride is back. The defence industry reports a completely different climate when it comes to recruiting new employees. Today, newly qualified engineers seek out Saab and BAE Systems because they want to make a difference. That was not the case a few years ago.

Today there is once again a feeling in Karlskoga that what we develop and manufacture in our town genuinely makes a difference and contributes to Ukraine's ability to defend itself against the brutal Russian invasion.

Karlskoga has had its revenge!

Tony Ring

Chairman of the Municipal Executive Board, Karlskoga Municipality