Scandinavian American

Swedish Company Celebrates 600th Anniversary

FALUN. Sweden. September 27. (By Airmail)—One of the world's oldest industrial corporations still in operation, the Stora Kopparberg Mining Company, of this city, on September 14 observed the 600th year of its known existence.

At that time, the almost as venerable Royal Society, "Pro Patria," dating from the 15th century, distributed 4,100 gold medals to the employees as a reward for long and faithful service. The oldest recipient was Per Erik Persson of Boda, who is 83 years old and has an unbroken service record of 62 years.

While originally a mining concern, the company is now engaged in many other industries such as lumber, pulp and paper, as well as metals and chemicals, and the celebration will be staged in three different places, Uppsala and Borlänge, besides Falun. Its oldest document extant, recording a transfer of part ownership to the Bishop of Västerås, was dated in 1288. It is regarded as the oldest business record in existence. How much older the business really is, no one knows.

During the course of the centuries the Falun copper mine, which long ago has given out, has yielded between 400,000 and 500,000 tons of copper, worth approximately $200 million. In the 17th century, the mine was closely associated with Sweden's position as a Great Power.