Light My Fire forms production company to better meet rising international demand
The success of products such as Swedish FireSteel, The Spork and MealKit has transformed the Swedish outdoor accessory company Light My Fire from a family start-up to a worldwide success with distribution in 35 countries - all in less than a decade. With this exploding international demand, the Malmö based company has restructured its manufacturing with the establishment of Light My Fire Production.
Light My Fire Production, formed December 1, 2007, is a joint venture with Smålandsplast in Loftahammar, a long-time Light My Fire partner. Each company owns 50% of the company and its manufacturing equipment. Light My Fire Production will employ 12 people at its facilities in Västervik and will supply all manufacturing and logistics for the parent company’s worldwide production. With the new production company, Light My Fire will have both increased capacity and complete quality control over the entire production chain from design and manufacturing to packaging, stock and shipping.
Made in Sweden, Part II
In an era when most companies take it for granted that manufacturing in Asia is the only way to compete, Light My Fire has proven that domestic manufacturing in a high salary and high tax country such as Sweden is not only an option, it’s good business.
“What people miss when they crunch the numbers for manufacturing in Asia is all the hidden costs,” says Light My Fire CEO, Calill Odqvist. “Long lead times, inflexibility, freight and the costs of mistakes that can cross three oceans four times. By being close to our production we can almost instantly adjust our manufacturing to adapt to local trends in foreign markets. In the long run, making fast changes keeps us competitive on price as well quality. Everyone wins – it’s good for the local community, its good for the company and its good for our brand.”
Like Mark Twain used to say: “Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket!”
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Based in Sweden, Light My Fire specializes in outdoor accessories that are as practical in the city as they are in the wild. From making fires to eating meals - its products have been taken to heart all over the world by both the backyard and the backwoods survivalist. Sold in 35 countries, Light My Fire products include the FireSteel fire-starter, the MealKit (a re-invented messkit) and the popular success the Spork, which sold over a million copies in its first year on the market. Its latest products are GrandPa‘s FireFork, LunchBox and the SeatPad.