The Stena Sphere consists of the three parent companies, Stena AB, Stena Sessan AB and Stena Metall AB, wholly owned by the Olsson family. Together they make up one of Sweden’s largest family-owned corporate groups. The group’s revenue is 96 billion SEK and profit before tax for FY2023-24 is 4.3 billion SEK.

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the group is Dan Sten Olsson.

History

The foundations to today’s Stena Sphere were laid on 18 November 1939 when the Sten A. Olsson Metallprodukter trading company was founded. In the following years the company expanded both inside and outside the country’s borders. Sten Allan Olsson (1916–2013) was the son of the skipper and

shipowner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, us ...

Gustav Olsson (1876–1956) from

Donsö Donsö () is a small island in the Southern Gothenburg Archipelago and a locality situated in Gothenburg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,407 inhabitants in 2010. The local covenant church on Donsö has approximately 500 m ...

. In 1946, Sten Allan Olsson bought his first vessel with a

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

of SEK 25,000 from

Handelsbanken Svenska Handelsbanken AB is a leading Nordic countries, Nordic bank with international operations, providing a comprehensive range of financial services including corporate banking, investment banking, trading, and consumer banking such as loans, ...

, and the shipping business started on a small scale. At the beginning of the 1960s a ferry service started between

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

and

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

in northern Denmark. Over the years

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

services using the company’s vessels became a significant part of the business. In 1972 the business was divided into two branches: Stena Line AB and Stena Metall AB. In the same year the Masthugg terminal in

was completed. The business continued to expand and at the end of the 1970s major investments were made in offshore and RoRo vessels. Stena Fastigheter (Property) was founded in 1980. The tanker shipping company Stena Bulk was founded in 1982. Northern Marine Group, a management company for vessels that are not Swedish-flagged, was founded in 1983 and Sten Allan Olsson's son, Dan Sten Olsson took over as

. Concordia Maritime was founded and listed on the stock market in 1984. During the 1990s the company expanded, including in offshore drilling. By founding Stena Adactum at the beginning of the 2000s (decade) the Sphere was expanded to also include long-term

investments Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

in outlying business areas. Long Term Equity was founded in 2006 for long-term investments without ownership responsibility. A considerable number of the investments have focused on companies in the

energy sector The energy industry refers to all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy industry is a cr ...

, including oil and offshore but also in alternative energy sources. At the beginning of the 2000s (decade) expansion also continued in offshore/drilling. The Stena sphere has made a profit every year since 1939 and has grown to include the largest

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

company in the world.

The Stena Sphere

In the mid-1990s, Sten Allan Olsson transferred his ownership of the Stena Sphere to his children. His daughter Madeleine's children own 6% each. * Dan Sten Olsson (1947-) – 51% * Stefan Sten Olsson (1949-) – 24.5% * Madeleine Olsson Eriksson (1945-) – 12.5% *Marie Eriksson – 6% *Gustav Eriksson – 6%

Stena AB

Amongst its subsidiaries: *

Stena Line AB Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of ...

Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators. The company has three business areas: Scandinavia, North Sea and Irish Sea. The route network consists of 18 strategically located ferry routes around Scandinavia and the UK. Headquartered in Gothenburg. The Managing Director of Stena Line is Carl-Johan Hagman. *Stena Drilling Ltd is a maritime drilling contractor based in Aberdeen. The Managing Director is Erik Ronsberg. *Stena Rederi AB supports and coordinates the shipping activities in Stena AB. *Stena RoRo AB builds, purchases, sells and charters RoRo vessels. Many of Stena Line's vessels are owned by Stena RoRo. The Managing Director is Per Westling. *Stena Bulk AB operates a fleet of tankers worldwide, Erik Hanell is the Managing Director. *Stena Teknik is a central resource for expertise in ship building and ship conversions within the Stena Sphere. Technical Director is Harry Robertsson. *Northern Marine Group Ltd is a ship management company and ship manning agency. Philip Fullerton is the Managing Director. *Stena Fastigheter AB owns 2.1 million m² and manages 300,000 m² of real estate in Sweden, the Netherlands, France, China, and the United States. The CEO is Christel Armstrong Darvik. *Stena International B.V. is a, Dutch, property owning, subsidiary. *AB Stena Finans is the treasury and asset management entity for the whole Stena organisation. Peter Claesson is the Finance Director. *Stena Adactum AB acquires and develops other companies. The Managing Director is Martin Svalstedt.

Stena Sessan AB

Sessanlinjen (Sessan Line) or G.F.L. (Gothenburg-Frederikshavns line) was purchased by Stena in 1980. It ended the severe competition that existed in the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...

between Sessan Line and Stena Line up to that time. The Managing Director is Martin Svalstedt. One of its subsidiaries is; *Concordia Maritime AB which operates a fleet of 14 modern tankers. The Managing Director is Kim Ullman.

Stena Metall AB

Stena Metall recycles and processes metals, paper, electronics, batteries hazardous waste and chemicals. Its operations also include international trading in steel, metals and oil. It is the oldest part of the Stena Sphere having been founded on November 18, 1939. The CEO is Kristofer Sundsgård. It has operations in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the United States of

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

The Stena Sphere

Stena AB

Stena Sessan AB

Stena Metall AB

References

External links