STAL (Svenska Turbinfabriks AB Ljungström; "Swedish Turbine Manufacturing Co.") was an
industrial company established in 1913 in
Finspång
Finspång () is a locality and the seat of Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,440 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Finspång is a traditional industrial town. The first industries were established in 1580 when a Royal fact ...
,
Sweden, by the brothers
Birger Ljungström, and
Fredrik Ljungström
Fredrik Ljungström (16 June 1875 – 18 February 1964) was a Swedish engineer, technical designer, and industrialist.
Considered one of the foremost inventors of Sweden, Fredrik Ljungström accounted for hundreds of technical patents a ...
, developing the
Ljungström turbine.
In 1916, STAL became a subsidiary of
ASEA
''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company.
History
ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås a ...
. In 1959, the company was merged with ''AB de Laval Steam Turbine'' in
Stockholm and formed ''Turbin AB de Laval Ljungström'', which changed its name to ''STAL-LAVAL Turbin AB'' in 1962. After ASEA merged with
Brown Boveri
Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies.
It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1970 ...
to
ABB
ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...
1988, the name was changed to ''ABB STAL AB''. This company later joined forces with
Alstom. Ever since, the business is split between Alstom (Alstom Power Sweden AB) and
Siemens (Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB).
History
''AB Ljungströms Ångturbin'' was formed in 1908 for the production of the
Ljungström turbine (later called ''STAL turbine'') and other inventions of the two brothers
Birger Ljungström (1872-1948) and
Fredrik Ljungström
Fredrik Ljungström (16 June 1875 – 18 February 1964) was a Swedish engineer, technical designer, and industrialist.
Considered one of the foremost inventors of Sweden, Fredrik Ljungström accounted for hundreds of technical patents a ...
(1875-1964). The first Ljungström turbine was completed, and in 1912 the second copy was delivered to 7000
kW to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to supply
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's trains with power. Manufacturing was originally placed at workshops at
Lövholmen at
Liljeholmen
Liljeholmen is a district of the Hägersten-Liljeholmen borough in Söderort, the southern suburban part of Stockholm.
History
In 1860 Liljeholmen became the first suburb outside Stockholm city limits. The district was then one of two self-gov ...
just outside central
Stockholm.
''Svenska Turbinfabriks AB Ljungström '' (STAL) was formed in 1913 to take over the manufacturing and sales right of Ljungström turbine. The production moved simultaneously to
Finspång
Finspång () is a locality and the seat of Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,440 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Finspång is a traditional industrial town. The first industries were established in 1580 when a Royal fact ...
. The operations expanded rapidly and steam turbines for both industrial and marine purposes were exported to, among others,
Japan,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
.
ASEA
''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company.
History
ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås a ...
took over the majority of shares in STAL 1916, and in 1932, it delivered
Northern Europe's largest power plant, a 50
MW STAL turbine, to the public
Västerås steam power plant
Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049.
Västerås is the se ...
in
Västerås
Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049.
Västerås is the se ...
. The same year was also saw the production of refrigeration from another of ASEA's subsidiaries, Luth & Roséns Elektriska AB in Stockholm. During the 1940s, STAL began to develop gas turbines for
jet engines
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term typicall ...
. Among other things, the idea was to manufacture combat engines for the
Swedish Air Force, but when they preferred British manufacturers, STAL instead focused on stationary industrial gas turbines. The result was the GT-35 model, which in further developed form is still sold, now under the name SGT-500.
In 1959, the operations were merged with ''AB de Lavals Ångturbin''. The new company name ''STAL-LAVAL Turbin AB'' came a few years later and the business was concentrated in Finspång.
List of Managing Directors
STAL had the following
CEOs:
STAL 75th 1988: Executive Directors of STAL
* 1913-1916: Birger Ljungström
* 1917-1919: Ivar Hahne
Ivar (Old Norse ''Ívarr'') is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Another variant of the name is Iver, which is more common in Norway.
The Old Norse name has several possible etymologies. In North Germanic phonology, several of the elements c ...
* 1920-1940: Georg Leire
Georg may refer to:
* ''Georg'' (film), 1997
*Georg (musical), Estonian musical
* Georg (given name)
* Georg (surname) George is a surname of Irish, English, Welsh, South Indian Christian, Middle Eastern Christian (usually Lebanese), French, or ...
* 1941-1955: Erik David Lindblom
* 1955-1959 (1961): Curt Nicolin
Curt René Nicolin (10 March 1921 – 8 September 2006) was a Swedish businessman. He served as the chairman of ASEA and the Swedish Employers Association.
Early life
Nicolin was born on 10 March 1921 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Felix Nicol ...
Gallery
File:STAL Ljungström ångturbingenerator 50MW 1932.jpg, The Ljungström turbine with 50 MW electronical effect (G5 in :sv:Västerås ångkraftverk).
File:STAL Ljungström steam turbine rotor 50MW.jpg, 50 MW Ljungström steam turbine.
File:Västerås gamla ångkraftverk1000.jpg, Västerås steam power plant
Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049.
Västerås is the se ...
, exteriors.
File:STAL mottrycks ångturbin, Tekniska museet, Stockholm.jpg, STAL turbine exhibited at the entrance of the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology
The Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology ( sv, Tekniska museet) is a Swedish museum in Stockholm. It is Sweden’s largest museum of technology, and has a national charter to be responsible for preserving the Swedish cultural heri ...
in Stockholm, Sweden.
File:Louis De Geer-STAL-medalj, frånsida.jpg, Plaquette in bronze depicting on one side Louis De Geer and Finspång Castle, on the other side STAL (Svenska Turbinfabriks Aktiebolaget Ljungström). Produced by AB Sporrong & Co. From the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology
The Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology ( sv, Tekniska museet) is a Swedish museum in Stockholm. It is Sweden’s largest museum of technology, and has a national charter to be responsible for preserving the Swedish cultural heri ...
.
See also
* STAL Dovern
The STAL Dovern was a Swedish turbojet design of the early 1950s, named after a lake in Finspång municipality in Östergötland, Sweden. Intended to power the Saab 35 Draken, this aircraft was powered by the Rolls-Royce Avon instead. The Dov ...
* STAL Glan
* STAL Skuten
STAL (Svenska Turbinfabriks AB Ljungström; "Swedish Turbine Manufacturing Co.") was an industrial company established in 1913 in Finspång, Sweden, by the brothers Birger Ljungström, and Fredrik Ljungström, developing the Ljungström turbi ...
References
* http://www.leteckemotory.cz/motory/dovern/
Hans Johnssson. Scandinavian pioneering efforts on the gasturbine area.pdf
External links
Turbine History in the STAL Club - Person Club Division at Siemens in Finspång for collection of turbine history
About the growth of group-union cooperation at, among others, STAL by Anders Kjellberg
Documentary about Västerås steam power plant in Västerås: ''Kokpunkten -- Det gamla ångkraftverket'' (YouTube)
{{Authority control
Technology companies established in 1913
Companies based in Östergötland County
Defunct manufacturing companies of Sweden
Ljungström