FAQ
When was Swedish Match founded?
Swedish Match springs out of two historical Swedish companies. In 1915, The state-owned Svenska Tobaksmonopolet (the Swedish Tobacco Monopoly) was founded and in 1917, Svenska Tändsticks AB was founded, with Ivar Kreuger as President.
How do I apply for a vacancy?
When applying for a particular position we would like you to write a cover letter and attach your CV/resume. It is important that your CV is accurate, lack of information could result in not being considered for an interview. For more information, see the page Vacant positions.
Can Swedish snus be purchased directly from you?
Yes, you can order the entire Swedish Match snus range via the Company's e-commerce service, www.swedishmatch.se, and via your local brand page if you are a resident in another market.
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Manufacture
What igniting properties are important for safety matches?
The most important properties of safety matches are that they strike easily, do not split or drop burning debris, do not break, do not continue to glow after the flame is extinguished, do not contain toxic heavy metals.
How are matches manufactured?
In Sweden, matches are manufactured solely from aspen. The wood arrives at the factory as unbarked logs, 3.1 meters long.
The logs are debarked and cut into blocks of about 60 cm long and turned into veneers the size of matches. The veneers are cut into splints, meaning matches without match heads, which are chemically treated so that there is no afterglow when they are extinguished. Following treatment, the splints are dried and polished – in a continuous process.
The splints are then loaded in a magazine that presses them into an endless, moving mat. When the mat rotates, the splints are dipped into paraffin and coated and become matches. The matches are finally packed in boxes.
How many matches can one tree produce?
Naturally, it would depend on the size of the tree. A Swedish aspen would produce approximately 1 million sticks.
How does Swedish Match preserve their supply of raw material?
Trees are only felled from well-managed forests in Sweden and plantations in Brazil.
How many matches are produced daily by a match machine?
A modern match machine produces approximately 2.5 million matches per hour. The first continuous match machine was invented in 1892 by C. Lagerman. It produced 200,000 matches per hour.
How many matches are manufactured in Sweden?
Every day, approximately five million boxes of matches are produced by Swedish Match, which correspond to about 250 million matches. If the boxes were stacked, one minute’s production would form a pillar higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. If the boxes were lined up on the E4 highway, one day’s production would stretch from Jönköping to Stockholm. The total length of the sticks would reach Australia.
Which matchbox label is most internationally wide-spread and famous?
One of the most famous labels is “Three Stars,” which was designed in 1887. It is referred to as the “Mona-Lisa of labels” and has been marketed over the entire British Empire. It is probably the world’s most widespread matchbox label. In Sweden, the most famous one is obviously Solstickan.
