Exhibition News

The nearly 50 year history of ESSVE is filled with a number of innovative products that have facilitated the work of hundreds of thousands of craftsmen in the Nordics. However, the real success came just five years ago: The ESSBOX System. This spring, it will be launched globally. “There is nothing like it on the market,” says Johan Cederstrand, international sales manager and deputy CEO at ESSVE.

In the first years after it was established in 1970, ESSVE was a general store owned by founder Anders Wall, one of Sweden’s most famous businesspeople. When the telecom giant LM Ericsson bought ESSVE in 1979, the company went from being a general store to focusing on mounting solutions. The idea of ‘being able to draw anything in anything’ became the new motto. After a number of acquisitions, ESSVE eventually became part of Bergman & Beving AB, which since 1994 has owned 100% of the company. 

At this point, ESSVE had a revenue of around SEK 500 million (€50.2 million), mostly made up of sales of products from other brands. The management decided that ESSVE would go from being a wholesaler to becoming a brand and develop its own products. “It was a natural development for the company,” says Johan Cederstrand.

ESSVE has a long tradition of developing new, innovative products together with professional craftsmen, to facilitate its work. Today, as many as one third of ESSVE’s employees work with innovation and product development, and the assortment is filled with fastening solutions. The wide range includes everything from traditional nails and screws to innovative solutions for heavy-duty fastening in wood, concrete and steel. “Our strength is our constant focus on the end user, their experience and challenges,” says Johan Cederstrand.

One of the bestsellers in the early 2000s was a handy metal box pre-filled with wooden screws. ESSVE sold thousands of boxes every year and began to think about how the popular product could be developed. Around 2008, ESSVE created a focus group consisting of a number of professional craftsmen who were allowed to use and evaluate the case as part of their daily work.

It soon became apparent that the case contained too many screws that were not used, and the cardboard packages were of poor quality. The craftsmen also had very individual requests regarding what the case should contain. “That’s when we concluded that every craftsman should be able to fill the case according to their own needs,” says Johan Cederstrand.

The focus group soon grew to include 200 test pilots who were all professionals in the fields of plumbing, construction and electricity. Based on the craftsmen’s evaluations and feedback, engineers went on to work with Core Innovation to develop the most versatile fastening system solution, which became a four year project. The result was the ESSBOX System, which was presented for the first time at the Nordbyggmässan (Northern Europe’s biggest construction fair) in 2012.

The metal case with pre-filled screws was transformed into a green, hard plastic system case, in which all cardboard boxes were replaced with robust plastic boxes that could handle tough working conditions. The brilliance lies in an octagon pattern at the bottom of the case, which keeps the boxes in place and makes it possible to stack both cases and boxes together. The product boxes all have the same height and are available in different lengths and widths.
The case locks all plastic boxes into place when the lid is closed. This way, the user gets a clear overview and the supplies are kept in proper order. It enables the user to easily adapt and stock the case with products needed for each specific job. The fact that the plastic product boxes are moulded to fit only the green plastic case helps create a strong loyalty among the craftsmen who repeatedly refill their cases with new ESSVE products.

“The ESSBOX System is the best thing that has happened since sliced bread,” states Johan Cederstrand. “Today, almost all bread is sliced and it is regarded as something obvious. The same applies to the ESSBOX System. Even though craftsmen did not see the need for the ‘green case’ ten years ago, nobody wants to go back to how it was before.” 

Since the release of the ESSBOX system in 2012, ‘the green box’ has sold over 200,000 copies and increased sales by 150%. Today, ESSVE sells about 500 million screws every year, or 61 per second.

“With the launch of the ESSBOX System things really exploded, we went from being part of the crowd to become the market leader within fastening solutions in the Nordics,” says Johan Cederstrand.

During the last five year period, ESSVE’s turnover has increased by 17% each year to about SEK 1 billion (€102 million). The goal now is to double the turnover by 2025. There are a number of reasons behind the strong growth, however, a primary success factor is likely to be ESSVE’s close collaboration with retailers. Since ESSVE is offering the whole width of fastening solutions, with around 5,000 articles in its assortment, the company can also serve as a partner to its retailers and as a support in the development of their business. ESSVE’s continuous investments in innovation and marketing creates the space for retailers to grow their fastening business. ESSVE even guarantees a sales increase for new customers. “We help our retailers with everything from designing their stores, to educating their staff and giving technical support,” says Johan Cederstrand.

The next step on ESSVE’s journey is its international launch, taking place at the International Hardware fair in Köln in March 2018. At the fair, ESSVE will also launch a revolutionary and innovative product, which the company refers to as ‘the world’s best wooden screw’. “I am very excited and it feels as if we are taking great steps on our fantastic journey of growth,” says Johan Cederstrand. 

www.essve.com