Lund

"When the problem of constructing a machine that could manufacture tetrahedrons came up, Harry Järund, now the work study manager at Åkerlund & Rausing, believed he had the solution. On January 3, 1945, he made a sketch that showed how the machine could work. Through a system of chain-driven clamping jaws, tetrahedrons could be continuously produced from a paper tube. Ruben liked the idea and assigned a group of technicians under the direction of the exiled engineer Dieter Kunckel from Germany to further develop it, despite many within the company questioning Kunckel’s competence for the task. He was a highly qualified engineer but not a mechanical engineer. His expertise was in a completely different area: before his exile, he had designed submarines for the German navy. But Ruben, who was incredibly stubborn once he had made up his mind, did not want to listen to the criticism of Kunckel. Instead, a location was rented at old Väster in Lund. Here, Kunckel and his men would develop Harry Järund’s basic idea."

"“It was unfortunate that I mentioned Lomma to Hans Rausing because he panicked and now he is running around here or calling and tormenting me several times a day. It’s almost like I can feel my old ulcer,” complained Hilding Borstam who didn’t quite understand Hans’ hysterical reaction. In the confused situation that prevailed, Hans came to the conclusion that the company had to launch a massive advertising campaign specifically targeting the households in Lomma. It was the only way to avoid a stinging defeat, he argued. He nagged intensely at Holger and Erik Torudd. The two of them, with the right of age and experience, had much more ice in their stomach, however, and managed to slow him down. At Erik Torudd’s initiative, they instead began to work the market “from the back.” By filling the newspapers with positive letters to the editor and persuading the journalists to do interviews with the city veterinarian of Lund about the hygienic advantages of tetrapacks, they would win the households over to their side. The tactic was that it would be better to knock out bulk cream with clean weapons rather than trying to manipulate consumers through an advertising campaign, which would likely be seen through. If the tactic of getting the press on their side succeeded, it would all look much more elegant and could be used in later marketing. A few weeks later, it became clear: the tetrapack was on its way to eliminating bulk sales. Tetra Pak had managed to turn the opinion and the company management could breathe easily. This time."

"As the big day approached, there was some doubt among the ranks about whether people would really come. Sweden was going to play Hungary in football the same day as the gathering would take place. To enable as many as possible to participate, Erik Torudd and Sven Lundberg therefore decided to split the information meeting into three different sessions throughout the day. They also realized that they needed some sort of attraction to draw people in. When the doors were flung open to the grand ball and concert halls of the Winter Palace at Norra Bantorget in Stockholm, people poured in. The great film and revue actors Stig Järrel, Sickan Carlsson, and Gösta Bernhard warmed up the audience with some entertainment. Then Erik Torudd took over and accounted for sales figures from Lund. They showed that retailers who sold cream in bulk only earned five öre per half liter. The reason was mainly the loss that occurred during the measurements in the cream measures. With tetra packaging, however, the stores could earn 20 öre per half liter, claimed Erik Torudd. The three performances were a success. In total, over 5,000 people came and the week after, Stockholm’s tetra sales increased from 3,000 to an incredible 43,000 packages."

"Their perhaps unrequited love for technology also meant that they were always open to new technical ideas. As long as both were still at the headquarters in Lund, their doors were always open for the technicians. If someone had a new idea to present, both of the Rausing brothers were prepared to cancel any meetings whatsoever in order to instead hear about it. If they found the idea worth trying, it was just for the technicians to proceed."