If we had not had our inventors, Sweden would not be what it is today - and not the rest of the world either.

Many of those objects that we daily are surrounded with and every fourth element is invented or discovered by a Swede.

Welcome to the museum of one of those successful men - J.P. Johansson.

The parents of J.P. Johansson were crofters under the estate Fötene Nolgården outside Vårgårda.

The croft was situated at the end of the country lane far from other settlements and was therefore named Stöppatorpet (the croft at the stop).

Johan Petter was the oldest of seven children and was born on December 12, 1853.

Schooling was short and irregular. As a very young child, he had to help with the daily work at the croft.

13 years old, he built a threshing machine with the gear located in the ground so that the horse could pull the machine. It was simple enough, but raised astonishment in the district

Soon, the crofter' s cottage was too confined and Johan Petter had to leave and earn his own living.

At first he worked as steam-engine helper at a factory at Vårgårda. Here they noticed his good way of handling the machine and he was promoted to stoker.

During 1870, the railroad was in a very expansive era. J.P. Johansson was attracted of this new technique of transportation and started to work at then on-going railway construction at Motala, in January 1873.Maybe he had read about the success of John Ericsson, when he participated in the first competition in the world between locomotives from Manchester to Liverpool in 1829.

In the fall of the same y ear he left Motala to participate in the construction of the railroad Stockholm-Westerås-Bergslagen (SWB), between Västerås and Kolbäck. Here he worked with the inspection at Långängskrogen.

Here he lived with the family of the soldier Ytterholm, who had a son, Johan Erik, who had worked at the Munktell Factory at Eskilstuna. Once when Johan Erik visited his parents' home, J.P. Johansson showed him the technical repair work that he had helped the soldier’s wife with.

"You don't belong here. You are a mechanic. Go to Eskilstuna and apply for a job with Munktell. I will write you a recommendation".

J.P.Johansson got his recommendation, left his job as a navvy with SWB and went to Eskilstuna

Arriving at Eskilstuna, he at once applied for a job with Munktells. However, Lutman, the foreman had no employment to offer at that time. But he got employment with the Eskilstuna railroad until the winter, when he did military service at the Regiment of Västgöta Dal.

Having tried several times, he finally succeeded in getting employment with Munktells in June 1874 and then he was on the right track.

His first job was to support red-hot rivets and then he continued as mechanic, a travelling fitter, draughtsman and designer.

He was not satisfied with the oil-cup for the steam cylinders and he succeeded in designing a better one. This became his first patented invention.

The patent is dated April 11, 1885 and has number 107.

The document of the patent is signed by Salomon August Andrée, chief engineer of Patent- och registreringsverket (the Patent Office), and also a well-known balloonist.

J.P.Johansson established himself as an enterpriser in July 1886, with financial support from Count Lewenhaupt of Geddeholm and Lieutenant von Post from Hagbyholm.

Due to the rich surrounding countryside, and the rapidly growing mechanisation of farming, Enköping was considered suitable.

He thought that maintenance and repair of agricultural equipment would give him many openings for work.

The first blacksmith' s shop, which he rented, was located at the now named Gustav Adolfs Plan. Here there was no waterpower available and due to the central location, too many jobs were to repair old pots and pans, broken locks and similar small assignments, for which he could not bill enough so that it would be profitable.

About one y ear after the start at Enköping, he bought, as he put it himself. " a waterfall at Fanna" about two kilometres from the center of Enköping. This was that piece of ground where Sandvik Bahco and the J. P. Johansson museum now are located.

At the waterfall he built his first blacksmith's shop. His excellent reputation as a mechanic and the increasing mechanization was the reason that opportunities for work was very excellent also in the new shop. It was in this shop that J.P. Johansson made his experiments and produced the very first samples of his first important invention - the universal pipe wrench -, which was patented on August 17, 1888.

The inventions came one after the other. He got the full hit on May 11, 1892, when his highly efficient design of the -adjustable wrench - was patented. So far, Sandvik Bahco has made more than 90 million wrenches according to the patent of J.P. Johansson, and production still continues. All over the world there is a yearly production of 40 million adjustable wrenches, all of them according to the model of J.P. Johansson. The success was total.

The company AB B A Hjorth & Co in Stockholm acquired with great alertness the retailing rights for all of J.P. Johansson's products in 1890.

The demand for the adjustable tools was great. The blacksmith's shop was replaced by workshops and production increased. The rise of motoring further increased the demand. J.P. Johansson erected new workshops and produced tools at an ever-increasing speed. Now he also was an industrialist.

Drilling machines for manual operation or combined manual and belt drive. Instantaneously changeable self-feed for three different feeds. The table and table bracket can be moved up and down and swung round to both sides on the column. Spindle of steel.

In the late 1890's J.P. Johansson produced his first fan. Also the demand for fans increased so rapidly that it became necessary to erect a new workshop for the manufacture of fans.

Together with two partners he started Enköpings Maskinfabrik. The workshops were erected close to the harbor in 1898. There, a large-scale production of fans and machines was carried out. Also the adjustable spring-hammer was manufactured there Also this was a J.P. Johansson invention that became very popular and was generally accepted.

The workshop building, which later was called Hamnverken (The harbor Factory) is now suggested to be a museum for industrial history.

His wife Matilda died in April, 1914. In 1916, J.P. Johansson transferred the company to his son Hannes Brynge and AB B.A. Hjorth & Co. He was then 62 years old and traveled to America to get some rest and also visit his old mother, who earlier had emigrated.

Back in Sweden he continued experimenting with an electrical oscillation armature, which was ready in 1919. The same year, at the age of 65, he started a new industry- The Triplex Factory. Here he manufactured several patented inventions such as Triplex pendulum, the fire-wood tongs Eldgripen, the sugar-tongs, Triplex-junior, pipe-cleaners etc.

Besides this, there was a comprehensive production of subcontracted items.

Also during his last years, J.P. Johansson worked in the experimenting-laboratory at the Triplex factory, which was located close to his home, Villa Fannalund. He discussed with his employees and was thinking of new inventions.

His last patent is dated August 22, 1940

During a short time period as a blacksmith at Hagbyholms farm outside Västerås, he met his future wife Matilda (1857 - 1914). That was at the end of the 1870's.

On November 27, 1881, they married in Eskilstuna.

The family moved to Fridhem in 1887. That was a building just across the present gate of the factory and was part of the ground that he bought the same year.

Some years later, 1905, Villa Fannalund was ready for moving in. That was a magnificent private residence with electrical ceiling lights long before Enköping was electrified in 1915.

The couple got four children:

Tyra (1882-1953)

Judit (1887-1971)

Hannes (1888-1972)

Ingrid (1890- 1954)

Johan Petter Johansson passed away in his home on August 25, 1943 after a long life, rich in achievements, and only a few months before his 90th birthday.

His tombstone can be found at Vårfrukyrkan in Enköping.

We hope that you have found your visit to the museum interesting.

If you want to know more about J.P. Johansson's patents and other activities, you are welcome to join the J.P. Johansson-sällskapet.

Membership costs SEK 100:- per year for private members.

We thank you for your visit and wish you welcome as a member.

J.P. Johansson-sällskapet,

S-745 82 ENKÖPING, Sweden

Phone. (46) - 171 227 07