42 



THE INDIA RUBx^fiR WORLD 



[November i, 1904. 



has, I believe, a greater mileage of railway than any other 

 European country, and the consequent demand for certain 

 rubber goods is largely met by the Trclleborg company. I did 

 a good deal of traveling by rail north of Stockholm, and only 

 saw two names stamped on the vacuum brake hose — those of 

 Trelleborg and Helsingborg, the former name occurring much 

 more frequently than the latter. There may, of course, have 

 been hose in use derived from other sources. I can only testify 

 to the fact that I did not come across any. The nervous trav- 

 eler, by the way, might wish that continuous brakes were com- 

 pulsory on passenger trains. They are always there, certainly, 

 but when, as is often the case even with the so-called express 

 train, trucks of wood or other merchandise are added to the 

 train, the continuous brake system lapses and the passenger 

 coaches are boarded by brake boys who work the hand brake 

 on the inclines. This is somewhat of a divergence from my 

 strict topic of the Trelleborg works, though it is not altogether 

 without bearing upon its railway hose department. From igoo 

 to 1903 the company had an agreement with the Dunlop Pneu- 

 matic Tyre Co., Limited (Continental), to manufacture all orig- 

 inal Dunlop tires sold in Scandinavia. It may be mentioned 

 in conclusion that the works manager and foremen are Eng- 

 lishmen, and that the company has offices in Stockholm and 

 Gothenburg. 



I now pass on to Svenska Gummi-Fabriks Aktiebolaget, of 

 Gislaved, a small town in the region north of Gothenburg. 

 There is a strong American flavor about this factory, as it was 

 built in 1893 by the present manager, Mr. William Gislow, form- 

 erly employed by the Boston Rubber Shoe Co. and the Good- 

 year's India Rubber Glove Manufacturing Co. It may be men- 

 tioned, by the way, that Mr. Gislow also built the Helsingborg 

 factory, in 1891. Until the Trelleborg firm entered into com- 

 petition in 1899 the firm under notice was the only one in Swe- 

 den making mechanical rubber goods, which are now, as form- 

 erly, the main product. The first premises proving too small, 

 a new mill was built in 1898, so as to enable the rubber shoe 

 branch to be taken up. In June, 1900, their new premises were 

 entirely destroyed by fire, but were rebuilt in the following 

 year, and work is again in full swing. Rubber shoes, cycle 

 tires, and balls are made, in addition to mechanical goods for 

 railway and admiralty and general factory purposes. Much of 

 the rubber machinery has been made in America, the Farrel 

 Foundry and Machine Co., being, I understand the principal 

 supplier. As a change from the other works and as being more 

 in accordance with the traditions and practice of Scandinavia 

 this factory is run by water power; three turbines are in use 

 developing 450 HP. The use of coal is thus reduced to the 

 minimum required for raising steam for vulcan pans, etc. The 

 floor space of the factory I may mention amounts to about 

 45.000 square feet. 



The last two works to which I have to refer can only be 

 treated summarily, as I am not in possession of any detailed in- 

 formation. The first of these is Skandinaviska Gummi Aktie- 

 bolaget Svanholen.of Viskafors, a small town lying some dis- 

 tance northeast of Gothenburg. The factory was founded in 

 1890 and has a capital of 370,000 kroner. The general manager 

 is Hjalmar Hallin, and the main article produced is the galosh. 



The other works, which is also the newest in Sweden, is 

 known as Svensk-Engelska Gummi-Fabrik Aktiebolaget. It 

 was formed in 1898 with a combined Swedish and English cap- 

 ital of 400,000 kro/u-r. The factory is situated in the outskirts of 

 the large town Malmo, on the south coast, on the through 

 route from Copenhagen to Stockholm. 



From what I gathered in conversation it would rather seem 

 that the recent multiplication of rubber shoe factories, and in- 



deed mechanical rubber factories, has produced a competition 

 in the home markets which is too keen for profitable business. 

 It was, of course, easy enough by means of duties to ward off 

 the foreign attack, but now those who were first established 

 find their business cut into by new comers. It is suggested 

 that all the elements for a satisfactory combination in the trade 

 exist, the principal element, of course, being the limited num- 

 ber of factories. The Norwegian and Swede, it appears, can 

 now, on account of the competition, purchase a better class ar- 

 ticle — I am referring more particularly to galoshes — for a cer- 

 tain sum of money than is the case in any other country, and 

 the manufacturers, therefore, who do not lay claim to altruistic 

 motives, are inclined to grumble at the state of aflFairs. 



Without having the requisite degree of knowledge to enable 

 me to comment usefully on the plaint which I have voiced, I 

 can yet understand that in the case of sparsely populated coun- 

 tries such as Sweden and Norway, the competition arising from 

 five rubber shoe factories may easily become somewhat disas- 

 trous from a dividend-paying standpoint. Evidently the busi- 

 ness done by the firms first established must have been satis- 

 factory, otherwise new comers would not have been attracted 

 to the scene. It has been mentioned elsewhere that the Ger- 

 mans intend to raise their tariff against the Scandinavian rub- 

 ber shoe factories, so things do not altogether look too bright 

 for the future. One sees advertisements of Russian galoshes at 

 stations up and down the country, but the only public adver- 

 tisement of the sort referring to Swedish firms which caught 

 my eye was — 



" Malmo galoscher starka frau latta elegante billiga " 

 — which I take to mean strength, combined with lightness, at 

 moderate prices. So much for the Scandinavian rubber trade, 

 the study of which in the course of a holiday tour could, of 

 course, only be superficial. The pages of this Journal, which, 

 though American in origin, is thoroughly cosmopolitan in its 

 aims and trade interests, will be open to Scandinavians who may 

 wish to amplify or criticise the remarks of the present writer. 



» ♦ * 



Editorial Note. — The following statistical details, com- 

 piled by The India Rubber World from various official 

 sources, may prove of interest as supplementing the foregoing 

 correspondence : 



AMERICAN EXPORTS OF RUBBER GOODS TO SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



1S9Q-00. 1900-01. iaol-03. 1902-03. 



Belting, packing, and hose $ 3.456 $ 7.88g $ 4,134 $ 5,542 



Boot and shoes 1,132 637 7,531 5,183 



All other 9,806 25,266 7,72g l3,qo8 



Total |i4,394 $33,792 $19,794 $24,633 



BRITISH RUBBER C.CODS EXI'ORTS TO SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



190I. 1902. 1903. 



a Boots and shoes ^{711,165 £9,1^1 £ 9.94S 



A Other sorts 32,441 32,692 22,988 



Total £a3^(>o(> ^42,403 ^32,933 



a To Norway alone. 



d Not including Waterproofed Appaicl. 



GERMAN RUBBER GOODS EXPORTS TO SWEDEN. 



[Weights in Kilogravis.'] 



1901. 1902. 1903. 



Rubber threads and sheets 17,300 35,000 31,100 



Elastic tissues 145,200 135,300 146,500 



Hard rubber goods 41,500 43,000 50,600 



Fabrics and rubber — including tires. 16, goo 17,500 24,200 



Hose (mechanical) 14,100 15,700 28,500 



GERMAN IMPORTS FROM SWEDEN. 



1901. 1902. 1903. 



Boots and shoes kilos 51,000 44,700 28,400 



Corresponding details for Norway are not available from Germany. 



