Unique Expertise with Full Flexibility

Investkonsult Sweden AB, the global specialist in nonwoven and absorbent hygiene machinery brokerage and consulting services, has based its success on profound market knowledge and a dedication to fully meeting its clients’ needs. Small, smart and flexible has proven to be the right strategy for this Swedish family-owned company.

Our success is based on our efforts to understand the nonwoven and absorbent hygiene markets and to always be attentive to our clients’ needs and requirements,” affirms Johan Berlin, the company’s owner and managing director.

Starting as a trader of conventional textile machines in the 1970s, Investkonsult changed direction at the turn of the millennium when Mr Johan Berlin took the company over, in order to fully focus on the non-woven and absorbent hygiene machinery segment.

“While still selling and buying machines, we realised that we had reached a level of specialisation that no one else had. Consulting came as a natural progression, making use of our specific in-depth

knowledge,” explains Mr Berlin. “We provide knowledge, reliability and transparency, as well as control over the equipment we re-sell, knowledge that has been built up during extensive travelling and customer visits. This is what makes us special.”

Today, Investkonsult is one of the few companies worldwide that specialises solely in these two fields. “Timewise, maybe 30-40 per cent of our business is consulting, but turnover-wise machinery brokerage still represents 90 per cent. The two business lines complement each other, consulting opens doors to major multinational companies to which we would not have had access before,” he points out.

Global specialist

Investkonsult’s major clients are existing non-woven manufacturers who have a desire to increase capacity by purchasing second-hand machines that are immediately available and in good condition.

“Specialisation built on a profound knowledge of the sector and maximum flexibility due to our small company size are our clear competitive advantages. These have enabled us to achieve impressive results. For example, we have arranged sales of several spun bond lines to various clients including installation. We are the only brokerage/consultancy that has executed such projects.”

“What makes us unique compared to traditional brokers of used equipment is that we work only by exclusive contract from our Principal, i.e. the seller. On the other hand, our ambition is to create strong and long-lasting relations also with the buyer, providing him with guidance and assistance. By establishing customer relations with a high level of trust and by constantly improving our services, we ensure that many of our customers choose our brokering services each time a procurement need arises.”

Mr Berlin explains that the company provides its services worldwide with the exception of China. “Europe constitutes our main market at least for sourcing equipment, but when it comes to selling the same equipment there is a split between Europe, North America, South America, India and Asia.”

One of a kind

How is it that a tiny company from the middle of Sweden has managed to develop the reputation of a global sector specialist? “Non-wovens are a fairly small, tight-knitted world where people know each other. Of course, being a member of EDANA and other organisations helps.”

“We also exhibit at major fairs. We are always present at the Outlook conference, as well as exhibiting at both INDEX (next year) and IDEA (2022). From time to time we also exhibit in India (Techtextil) and participate in other events in India as it has been a key market for us.”

Despite the workload, Mr Berlin is adamant he will not increase his staff of five people. “We are content with being a fairly small company working on a global scale. There are very few companies in the world with our expertise so we have enough work to do as it is.”

“I want to keep the business as a family company. It is not easy to find people with the right competence as this is such a specialised segment, so we would like to continue as we are - a one-stop-shop solution provider that strives to be the best in its area of expertise.”

“When multinational companies with thousands of employees worldwide come to us - a tiny company from Sweden - for advice and expertise, that’s a nice position to be in. I would like to keep it this way,” he affirms in conclusion. n

Johan Berlin, managing director of Investkonsult Sweden