Tommy Larsson Segerlind

"“Time and again, one returns to the same question: Who is really the inventor, the person who orders a solution to a problem or the one who comes up with the solution?” he would later say during a dispute over a patent, where he had falsely claimed himself as the inventor."

"Intensive work ensued. The basic idea was clear. Also, it was clear that Torudd had solved the filling problem when he formulated the theory of continuous filling. The tetrahedron would be manufactured in long chains by transforming the paper into a tube. The tube would be shaped beneath the surface of the liquid and then cut off. The problem was just that no one knew how. Never before had anyone heat-sealed paper straight through a column of milk. And there was no machine that could do it."

"The classic theory of how companies internationalize is based on the companies first establishing a stable domestic market. Once that is done and operations at home are consolidated, they start working on the export markets. It is a process that often takes several years. In the case of Tetra Pak, it was exactly the opposite. While they were working on the Swedish market, they tried to spread their products all over the world."

"There is no doubt that Tetra Laval has both the resources and expertise to meet the threats. There seems to be no shortage of ideas and initiatives, but as usual, it will cost enormous amounts to develop them and bring them to market. A competent management team is required, one that has the knack for which ideas should be stopped or supported. Naturally, the family can hire such a management team, but given the extensive resources required, the family must actively participate in the long-term and more strategic decisions based on their ownership role. In an innovation company, this is crucial. Otherwise, the company risks withering and eventually failing."

"After a long period of analyzing the market and Tetra Pak’s opportunities, the incredible happened. The tough and icy finance prince began to soften. He started talking about the bank perhaps helping to launch Tetra Pak into the market by utilizing its contacts worldwide. Finally, he was also prepared to consider an overdraft facility for Tetra Pak. But no deferment of amortization was discussed. The credit was to be repaid in four years."

"Overall, the problem-solving of the first generation – technically, market-wise, and legally – had given subsequent employees a 20-30 year lead. Many of Tetra Pak’s later generations of employees have lived under the illusion that the company’s products have always sold themselves. This was certainly not the case in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s."