"The university has been an external development department"

Lundqvist Trävaru has been named one of Sweden's smartest companies. Inspired by the world of computer games, they have, in close collaboration with the university, digitized an ancient company.

- Luleå University of Technology has been there for us as a kind of external development department during our business journey from 10 to 100 million in turnover, says CEO Samuel Holmström.

Norrlandsnavet is a new knowledge center at Luleå University of Technology to strengthen and develop companies in northern Sweden. The center is funded by the Kamprad Family Foundation, and a guiding principle in the work is that the path between companies and the university should be short and simple.

One company that has long experience of working with Luleå University of Technology is Lundqvist Trävaru AB in Piteå. A family-owned furniture joinery founded in 1936, which today is run by the third generation and has gone through an impressive development - completely in step with the times. Today, the company manufactures kits for garages, holiday homes and stables, among other things. Using a 3D program, customers can easily draw their building and get prices for materials and craft services directly in the browser.

Involving students

Lundqvist Trävaru has frequently hired students from Luleå University of Technology for development work. The 3D program is developed together with system developers, graphic designers and game developers, and several former students are now employees of the company. Over the years, everyone from linguists to students in industrial economics and technical design have carried out many student projects in the company; what language is appropriate in assembly instructions, what could a strategy for internationalization look like and how can the company's logistics flows be changed to enable a doubling of the production rate?

- These are just a few examples of all the projects carried out together with the university's researchers and students," says Samuel Holmström.

Lundqvist Trävaru has seen an impressive increase in turnover over the past decade and in 2019 opened its new house factory in Piteå. The company has been named a gazelle company five years in a row by Dagens Industri, a super company by Veckans Affärer and has also won the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) award for Smart Industry.

- "I believe that Norrlandsnavet is extremely well placed to make a difference in our region by matching the needs of companies with the arsenal of values that the academy can bring to the business community; research, education and contact with students. We will have a natural meeting place between academia and business, especially if we succeed well in collaboration with other business promotion organizations, says Samuel Holmström.

Developing their business

Vinit Parida is a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Luleå University of Technology and the scientific leader of the Norrland hub. He sees great opportunities for small and medium-sized companies in northern Sweden to develop their business thanks to Norrlandsnavet.

- Lundqvist Trävaru is unique - they have managed to use digitalization to revise their business models and become more profitable. Together with the university, they have undergone a radical transformation, which has given birth to new technological and business development ideas, provided them with access to talent and new collaborations with different stakeholders. Lundqvist Trävaru is a great success story of how the university can be a resource and source of knowledge for smaller companies in northern Sweden," says Vinit Parida.