The developments of the 1970s were dramatic for the Swedish steel industry. What initially appeared to be a severe cyclical downturn turned out to be a deep structural crisis. Stora Kopparberg was one of the companies most affected.

A major industrial company in the mid-1970s

Around 1976, Stora Kopparberg had approximately 15,000 employees. The company was then producing over one million tonnes of merchant steel, around 55,000 tonnes of speciality steel and selling approximately half a million tonnes of newsprint and magazine paper. It was a company with operations spanning steel, paper, forestry, mining and power.

But the problems in the steel division grew heavier. Losses at Domnarvet and in the speciality steel operations mounted and it became increasingly clear that the crisis was not merely temporary. It had deeper causes rooted in the structure of the Swedish and international steel industries.

The restructuring takes shape

In 1976, Stora Kopparberg transferred its speciality steel operations to Uddeholm. Two years later, in 1978, Svenskt Stål AB was formed. The merchant steel operations, including Domnarvet and the iron mines, were transferred to the new company.

In just a few years, the company was thus fundamentally transformed. Operations that had been central for a long time were removed from Stora Kopparberg and large parts of the traditional steel identity disappeared.

From steel to forestry and paper

At the same time, the company's focus on other operations was strengthened. Already in 1975, Stora Kopparberg had acquired Bergvik & Ala, which greatly increased the company's assets in forestry and the forest industry. After the restructuring of the steel operations, it became ever clearer that the future lay primarily in forestry, paper and related activities.

What appeared at the time as a deep crisis therefore also became a turning point. During the 1970s, Stora Kopparberg largely left steel behind and took further steps towards becoming a forest industry company.