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HL Display’s history started in Borlänge,
Sweden, in 1954 by Harry Lundvall. His first
product for shops was a plate stand made
of shaped metal wire. In due course, by hotbending
plastic he also produced an item
for displaying the price next to the product.
In 1969 Harry’s son Åke Westberg took
over the business, which was at the time
turning over about SEK two million and
had five employees.
In 1975 Åke Westberg obtained a patent for
the shelf edge strip that he had developed.
The HL Datastrip is the product for which
HL Display is still best known, and it remains
an important part of the product range. The
patent was the breakthrough for HL Display.
The largest Swedish retail chains recognised
the benefits of Åke’s solution, and they soon
became major customers.
In 1977 Åke Westberg’s daughter Lis
Remius and her husband Anders Remius
started a sales company that mainly sold
products from HL Display’s product range.
In 1986 Lis and Anders Remius bought
HL Display from the investment company
Parcon, which had acquired the company
from Åke Westberg in 1982. They recognised
a potential in HL Display that they
wanted to develop themselves, including
the establishment of sales companies in
other countries.
International expansion began in 1987.
Sales abroad had previously been channelled
through direct sales and distributors,
but now HL Display set up its own sales
companies in Belgium and the UK. Sales
companies were then set up in Germany in
1989, and in Norway and France in 1990.
At the turn of the year 92/93 the company
completed its first company acquisition,
with the purchase of Jegab Display. Since
then HL Display has acquired a number of
smaller companies, which have strengthened
the product range or added expertise within a
specific field of production technology.
In 1993 HL Display was listed on the
Stockholm Stock Exchange.
In 1996 a partnership was set up with
Trion Industries as a means of entry
into the American market. International
expansion
continued in line with the rapid
growth of the retail trade. Between the mid-
1990s and 1999 sales companies were
established in Poland, Austria, the Czech
Republic, Latvia, Russia and Turkey.
In 2000 and 2001 the number of sales
companies in Eastern Europe was augmented
with new ones in Ukraine, Slovenia
and Slovakia. During 2000 HL Display also
began to look further to the east, towards
Southeast Asia. Many of the company’s
customers,
such as Carrefour, already had
a presence in several major Asian markets.
It was therefore natural for HL Display to
have its own presence in these markets.
The first Asian company was launched in
2000 in Singapore, and it now serves
as the hub of HL Display’s activities in
the region.
In 2002 and 2003 expansion continuedapace
in Asia, with new companies being
established in Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Taiwan, Thailand and China.
In 2005 HL Display was awarded the title
Public Company of the year by the financial
newspaper Dagens Industri and the
Swedish Shareholders’ Association.
At the 2006 Annual General Meeting Anders
Remius was succeeded by Gèrard Dubuy
as CEO of HL Display. Anders Remius’
commitmentto
the company continues,
now as the Chairman of the Board.
In 2006 production started up at
HL Display’s factory in China, situated
in Suzhou, to the northwest of Shanghai.
Local production is a very important step
to increase competitiveness in the region.
During 2007 HL Display made two
acquisitions in Finland; Display Team, a
leading supplier of merchandising solutions
to brand manufacturers, and Sooni,
HL Display’s previous distributor in Finland.
In 2008, HL Display acquired its Bulgarian
distributor as well as incorporated sales in
Lithuania into the Latvian sales company.
The 2007 Annual Report won the Nasdaq
OMX’s competition for the best annual
report, small-cap company class.
In 2009, the British company PPE Ltd. was acquired, which is
HL Display’s biggest acquisition so far. A sales company was
started in Dubai as a first entry into the Middle East market.
A regional logistics centre was opened in Hungary.
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