The ’50s brought swift expansion for shipping in general and the Salén lines in particular. The fleet grew quickly through purchases and commissions at the company’s own Ekensberg shipyard in Stockholm and from the Eriksberg yard in Gothenburg. 

Thanks to the good business deals, the need for personnel increased, and in 1947, the property at Styrmansgatan 4 was purchased, which quickly filled up during the 1950s. Even then, there was a special atmosphere in the building; people were proud of their company, and the camaraderie was strong. Much of this was unconscious but was integrated into the organization by the existing managers.

In 1958, the visions of a large tanker shipping company became a reality. One after another, new tankers were launched at Götaverken. “It was such that if Onassis or Niarchos had ordered a tanker, we would also have one, preferably a bit larger,” recalled Ingemar Thiel.

Read the chapter (the book opens in a new tab)