“Family business”: The story of Hans, a record breaker

“It was 1972. I was in the ninth grade and I was looking for a summer job,” Hans says. “At the time, I really wanted to buy a guitar and needed money.” He found a summer job in Byske, on the Gulf of Bothnia, at Franke’s Swedish plant producing domestic cooker hoods. “I really liked it there. I enjoyed the work, I was earning my own money and so I stayed on,” he laughs.

A welder and solderer in the R&D department

Until 1980, Hans did assembly work in the motor department where the outer rotor motors for the cooker hoods were manufactured. Then, nine years later, he took some time off and trained as a welder and solderer in Skellefte?. The training lasted one and a half years. After that, he returned to Franke. “When I started working at Franke again, I was immediately loaned out to the Research & Development department,” he recalls. Initially, he was only supposed to stay there for a month. But he remained there for a total of 41 years – from 1982 until his retirement in the spring of 2023. If you ask Hans why he stayed with the company for such an incredibly long time, the first thing he talks about is “my great colleagues”. And, of course, the interesting and varied responsibilities he was entrusted with. “In all those 51 years, no two days were the same,” he says. He especially enjoyed “working with the engineers and designers,” and says it was always fascinating to see “how our ideas and concepts became real products.” With so many positives, he never thought about changing jobs. Thanks to his interest in product development, Hans has contributed to many of Franke Futurums patents.

The family saga continues

Over time, Hans’ responsibilities and day-to-day work at Franke changed significantly. “In the early days, we did a lot more work by hand and using makeshift tools.” Nowadays, there are all kinds of state-of-the-art, special tools, such as laser technology. These tremendus technological developments have made our work a lot easier,” he says.

Although Hans is now enjoying his retirement and has left the company, the story of the Nystr?m family lives on at Franke. Two of his children – a son and his daughter, as well as a granddaughter – now work for the company. That was never the plan, he says. “My daughter Anna didn’t actually want to work for Franke – but it seems that she has caught the Franke bug from me!” Hans laughs. Today, Anna works for Franke in Byske as a purchaser. Anna’s daughter Fanny, like Hans at the beginning of his career, works in assembly. Hans’ son Per is also employed at Franke in Byske where he works as maintenance mechanic. His second son Johan previously worked for Franke too, but has since moved on to work for another company in Norway

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Finally some time to play guitar

A big farewell party was held for Hans, the longest-serving employee at the Swedish plant. When asked about his plans for the future, Hans says he would like to lead a quiet life. He wants to spend a lot of time at his home and in the forest, and dedicate even more time to his love of music and especially his guitar.