Today we speak of corporate turnaround specialists as if they were a modern phenomenon. But already in the 1920s, there was a man who had mastered the art of taking on ailing companies and giving them new life. His name was Emil Lundqvist and he can be regarded as a very early, if not perhaps the first, corporate turnaround man.

A man without grand gestures

Emil Lundqvist was the opposite of the charismatic business leader. He was cautious, methodical and worked without drama. But the results spoke for themselves. He had helped build the new ASEA under Sigfrid Edström's leadership. He had made major contributions to the reconstruction of Scania-Vabis and as managing director he had reorganised Kopparberg-Hofors Aktiebolag.

When he was entrusted by chairman Marcus Wallenberg to lead Stora Kopparberg in 1923, he was already a proven force.

The crises that shaped the company

Lundqvist's time at the helm was far from calm. During the 1920s and 30s, Swedish industry was hit by violent economic swings. Lundqvist's strength lay in navigating through these storms without panic. In the middle of the downturn in the early 1930s, he proposed something few others dared: investing in a major new paper machine at Kvarnsveden. It was a bold move that proved to be exactly right.

Under his leadership, operations were expanded across all areas: paper production at Kvarnsveden, pulp at Skutskär and speciality steel at Söderfors.

A legacy of stability

When Emil Lundqvist died in 1942, it was noted that Stora Kopparberg had never been in a stronger position. He had steered the company through two decades of economic turbulence without losing course. His legacy was not spectacular. It was something better. It was lasting.