Atlas Copco Podcast Atlas Copco Group

“Adopted with pride and further improved” may be the best description of the origin of Atlas early pneumatic tools and machines. Atlas bought tools for its own use in production and then further developed them in an interactive collaboration between users, designers, and metalworkers.

Industrial marketing is not about signing contracts whatever the price, but about an appreciation of what is best for the customer. It is about building long-term relationships and developing products that fulfill customers’ needs.

When Walter Wehtje was appointed managing director, the intention was to change Atlas Diesel from a technology-based to a market-oriented production company. He introduced a policy in which customer needs became the starting point for the development of product lines and sales strategies.

Atlas Diesel developed a light rock drill about the same time the swedish steel industry began developing tungsten carbide drill bits through Sandvik. the salesman in erik Johnsson realized the advantage of marketing the two simultaneously as the swedish method. the customer buyers, who found it difficult to negotiate prices for a method, were obligated to let the salesmen deal directly with their technicians, who had a greater understanding of the matter.

A major effort was needed to quickly utilize the potential of the swedish method. diesel’s production was phased out and Atlas diesel became a specialist company in compressed air that took huge world market shares, thanks to the obvious superiority of its methods.

Atlas Copco’s international breakthrough was based entirely on the swedish method and all business was with the mining industry, which was sensitive to economic fluctuation. during the 1960s, efforts were focused on local construction and industrial sectors.