Inside Björkborn’s Carl-Gustaf Production Line
Karlskoga is a quiet town in Örebro County, Sweden, home to just about 27,000 people. It was here that Alfred Nobel spent his final years, refining the invention that later changed the world. Karlskoga also happens to be the birthplace of the Carl-Gustaf multi-role weapon system and the headquarters of Saab’s Dynamics business area, where support weapons, missiles, and torpedoes are designed, assembled, and tested for customers around the globe. In this article, we will take a quick tour of the Björkborn production facility and meet some of the people that work there.
Imagine a fenced industrial area spread across three square kilometres, with more than 120 small houses and a few large buildings. In these houses, small teams of four to six people work closely together, while the larger buildings accommodate up to 40 employees.
A typical day at Björkborn begins in the kitchen, where managers, office staff and production teams gather over coffee and breakfast, catching up as they plan the day ahead.
"Since the production teams work in separate houses, this gives us a chance to meet each other," says production manager Daniel Thörn.
After breakfast, Thörn and his team head to the production area. The work here involves energetic materials, and safety is non-negotiable, Thörn emphasises. "We are very careful to follow all safety measures applicable in our industry."
"The Carl-Gustaf system has been incredibly important to us. Our products must be ready for use when customers receive them. They must be of the highest quality and be fully reliable and functional on the battlefield, and they are," Thörn adds.
The sense of pride is shared across Björkborn. Jonna Sarajärvi, now Head of the Ammunition Assembly Workshops, has spent 18 years on site. Recalling the warmth she felt the day she joined Saab, Jonna says, "Everyone was friendly and helpful. There’s a strong sense of community, and the company genuinely cares about both people and the town."
Encouraged by colleagues and supervisors, Sarajärvi has steadily taken on new challenges. "My managers saw that I wanted to grow and supported me. They encouraged me to apply for the position of Head of the Ammunition Assembly Workshops."
Saab Dynamics receives around 500 applications each year, largely driven by word of mouth, as friends, neighbours and family members share their experiences with quiet pride.
For Katarina Mälman, a project manager working on the RBS 70 air defence system, Saab is almost a family tradition; her mother and uncle work here as well. After 16 years in various roles, she now leads a cross-functional team ensuring that customer orders are delivered on time.
"This is an innovative and collaborative environment," she says. “We succeed together, regardless of our role in the company."
She divides her time between the workshop floor, where she inspects the manufacturing process and talks to the team at the production line, and management meetings in the office.
Around her, more than 400 employees assemble and test complete systems, from support weapons and subsystems to torpedoes and advanced ignition systems. Primary explosives and pyrotechnic compounds are produced on site, alongside complex mechanical and electronic components.
In a building known as Knallen, laboratory technician Peter Brunzell and his team conduct planned destruction tests on electronic ignition systems, primary explosives, and pyrotechnic compounds. Brunzell is energetic and thorough, qualities that come in handy when working with pyrotechnics.
Inside one small, carefully controlled room, technicians refill compounds and assemble ignition systems in near silence. Sprinklers line the ceilings. And in one of the rooms, the humidity feels closer to the Amazon rainforest than a Swedish winter’s day.
"Some of the compounds can catch fire if the air is too dry. An electronically controlled humidity sensor regulates the humidity in the room. If the humidity is too low, the system will correct this by spraying a fine mist," Bruznell explains.
For Thörn, who joined Saab by chance after his studies, the journey has been far from monotonous. Over 13 years, he has held four different roles and worked with people from around the world.
"This is a fantastic company to work for," he says. "Saab sees each employee as an individual and gives real opportunities to develop."