Tage Norberg

"”Vi måste försöka komma ifrån det traditionella sättet att konstruera en förpackning. Jag tror att framtidens förpackningskonstruktion kommer att utgå ifrån hur man bygger öppningen, inte som det är nu, tvärtom”, sade Torudd och började förklara sina tankegångar. Torudd menade att företaget skulle satsa på en fyrkantig förpackning utan kontinuerlig fyllning. Istället för att lägga all vikt vid den kontinuerliga fyllningen skulle man bygga en förpackning med konsumentvänlig hällanordning. Det var hans bestämda uppfattning att tiden var mogen för det. Ruben blev entusiastisk och ville omedelbart kalla in [Harry Järund](private://read/01jgv3rewabvpzfbhb06r0km4d/#indx-215x) och patentingenjören [Tage Norberg](private://read/01jgv3rewabvpzfbhb06r0km4d/#indx-271x). Harry Järund spelade golf, men Norberg kom. Tillsammans funderade de vidare. De kom till sist fram till att man skulle ha en lös plastpåse som klistrades fast i toppen på kartongen. Där skulle man också ha ett utstansat hål där en plastpip som fungerade som hällanordning skulle stickas in. Rubens entusiasm ökade än mer och han ville att patent skulle sökas fortast möjligt. När Harry Järund kom tillbaka från golfen fick han besked om att han skulle försöka konstruera förpackningen efter anvisningarna."

"Nils Andersson and Gad enthusiastically took on the new project. But despite both of them constantly disparaging Americans and Frenchmen, who were already using the method successfully, their own results were poor. And both Gad and Andersson refused to consult anyone who already mastered the method. Quite soon, people began to wonder what was happening with the project. The reports gave clear signs that something was not right. And they never managed to show any paper where the plastic really stuck. “It’s damn strange that the paper department can’t make paper in the Eagan machine when everyone else apparently can,” Hans commented irritably on the missed development. “It’s not strange at all; they insist on doing everything themselves and refuse to learn from others’ experiences,” Erik Torudd replied. It was not until a year after the construction started that they figured out the temperature required for the plastic to really adhere. And that was due to an accident at work. A temperature regulator had malfunctioned, and the temperature of the extruder had begun to rise uncontrollably. Only then did the plastic adhere. The accident taught the Tetra Pak team something that the French and Americans had known for a long time. Only another year later would the method work well enough that it could be reliably used in production. But then, on the other hand, there were problems with Dupont, who was the rightful patent holder. “There is undoubtedly a patent infringement,” the company’s own patent engineer Tage Norberg also stated when the matter was discussed. However, Tetra Pak was saved by the fact that Erik Torudd had been shown the method already in 1951, and at that time there was no patent. Thus, Dupont had no legal ground against Tetra Pak. For the second time, Tetra Pak had cunningly appropriated a machine design."