Hillerstorps Specialmaskiner, 60 years

Winter work stoked an interest in mechanics
“I’ve always had an interest in mechanical work,” says Sigvard, now 86 years old. “But things were different before. In the 1950s, none of what we take for granted today even existed. For example, you weren’t allowed to use engines any way you pleased. You were allowed just one agricultural engine per property, with its use regulated. This was part of the repercussions of the Second World War, and it encouraged ingenuity.”

Rumour quickly spread through the village
“The fact that I could do welding work and repairs spread through the village and I got increasingly more work. By 1961, I’d completely given up stonemasonry and was working full time in my new role. I soon bought my first welder and started to work with local companies. It mostly involved simple drills, presses, wire extruders and pipe bending machines, but at this time, the late 1960s, everything relied on ingenuity because there weren’t any mass-produced machines or standard components to buy, at least not within our price range. What we had were standard machines that I was engaged to automate, to transform into specialist machines.”