Sven Lundberg

"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."

"The summer went by without any action taken. No one engaged to try to sway public opinion. No one tried to get Eskilstuna-Kuriren to adopt a more impartial line. And eventually, Sven Wedén’s campaign became an increasingly greater threat to Tetra Pak. He managed to drive Mjölkcentralen’s Sven Lundberg to agree to conduct a market survey on the situation among consumers. Ruben, on his part, tried to get Prime Minister Tage Erlander to ban the bulk sale of milk. The Prime Minister was well aware that bulk milk was one of the main sources of contamination behind the paratyphoid epidemics that were spreading across the country. Poor hygiene meant that store and dairy personnel often contaminated the milk, and the disease then spread to consumers. But banning bulk milk was the absolute last thing Erlander wanted. To legislate that milk could only be sold in packaging would mean an indirect price increase for consumers, since they would have to bear the cost of the packaging. And in Sweden, household milk was, and is, sacred. Contributing to an increase in the price of milk during an election year would be committing political suicide. However, Ruben lacked an understanding of the nuances of realpolitik and became quite irritated over Tage Erlander’s stubborn refusal to agree to a ban. And Erlander, in turn, became irritated over Ruben’s constant proposals."