Stena Sphere

The Stena sphere consists of the three parent companies, Stena AB, Stena Sessan AB and Stena Metall AB, wholly-owned by the Olsson family. Together they make up one of Sweden’s largest family-owned corporate groups, the groups revenue was US$ 6.55 billion in 2009. CEO of the group is Dan Sten Olsson.

History

The foundations to today’s Stena sphere were laid on 18 November 1939 when the Sten A Olsson Metallprodukter trading company was founded. In the following years the company expanded both inside and outside the country’s borders.

Sten Allan Olsson (1916-) was son of the Skipper and shipowner Gustav Olsson (1876-1956) from Donsö. In 1946 Sten Allan Olsson (1916-) bought his first vessel with a loan of SEK 25,000 from Handelsbanken, and the shipping business started on a small scale. At the beginning of the 1960s a ferry service started between Göteborg and Skagen (Denmark).

Over the years freight services using the company’s vessels became a significant part of the business. In 1972 the business was divided into two branches: Stena Line AB and Stena Metall AB. In the same year the Masthugg terminal in Göteborg was completed. The business continued to expand and at the end of the 1970s major investments were made in offshore and RoRo vessels.

Stena Fastigheter (Property) was founded in 1980. The tanker shipping company Stena Bulk was founded in 1982. Northern Marine Management, a management company for vessels that are not Swedish-flagged, was founded in 1983 and Sten Allan Olsson's (1916-) son, Dan Sten Olsson took over as CEO. Concordia Maritime was founded and listed on the stock market in 1984. During the 1990s the company expanded, including in offshore drilling.

By founding Stena Adactum at the beginning of the 2000s the Sphere was expanded to also include long-term investments in outlying business areas. Long Term Equity was founded in 2006 for long-term investments without ownership responsibility. A considerable number of the investments have focused on companies in the energy sector, including oil and offshore but also in alternative energy sources. At the beginning of the 2000s expansion also continued in offshore/drilling. Investments in the three oil drillships Stena DrillMax I, II and III, have been the Group’s biggest up until now.

The Stena sphere has made a profit every year since 1939 and has grown to include the largest ferry company in the world.

Stena sphere

In the mid-1990 Sten Allan Olsson (1916-) transferred his ownership of the Stena sphere to his children.

• Dan Sten Olsson (1947-) - 51%
• Stefan Sten Olsson (1949-) - 24,5%
• Madeleine Olsson Eriksson (1945-) - 24,5%

Stena AB

Amongst its subsidiaries:

• Stena Line is a Swedish ferry company operating ferries in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and Irish Sea. The CEO of Stena Line is Gunnar Blomdahl.
• Stena Drilling is a maritime drilling contractor based in Aberdeen. The managing director is Tom Welo.
• Stena Rederi AB supports and coordinates the shipping activities in Stena AB.
• Stena RoRo AB builds, purchases, sells and charters RoRo vessels. Many of Stena Line's vessels are owned by Stena RoRo. Stena RoRo has 200 employees and had sales of SEK 592 million in 2006. Christer Schoug has been the managing director Since 15 May 2006.
• Stena Bulk operates a fleet of tankers worldwide, Ulf G Ryder is the managing director.
• Stena Teknik is a central resource for expertise in ship building and ship conversions within the Stena Sphere. Technical Director is Harry Robertsson.
• Northern Marine Management is a ship management company and ship manning agency. Hugh Ferguson is the managing director.
• Stena Property owns 2.1 million m² and manages 300,000m ² of real estate in Sweden, the Netherlands, France and China.
• Stena International B.V. is a, Dutch, property owning, subsidiary.
• AB Stena Finans is the treasury and asset management entity for the whole Stena organisation. Svante Carlsson is the Finance Director.
• Stena Adactum acquires and develops other companies. The managing director is Martin Svalstedt.

Stena Sessan AB

Sessanlinjen (Sessan Line) or G.F.L. (Göteborg-Fredrikshavns line) was purchased by Stena in 1980. It ended the severe competition that existed in the Kattegat between Sessan Line and Stena Line up to that time. One of its subsidiaries is;

• Concordia Maritime AB which operates a fleet of 14 modern tankers.

Stena Metall AB

Stena Metall recycles and processes metals, paper, electronics, hazardous waste and chemicals. Its operations also include international trading in steel, metals and oil. It is the oldest part of the Stena Sphere having been founded on November 18, 1939. It has operations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Russia, USA, Germany, Czech Republik, Romania, Italy, and Austria .

External links

• Stena Sphere
• Stena Line Main web site for Stena Line.
• Stena Drilling
• Stena RoRo
• Stena Bulk
• Northern Marine Management
• Stena Fastigheter
• Stena Adactum
• Stena Sessan
• Stena Metall
• Concordia Maritime AB
• Stena Technoworld AB