Focus Industry driving the industrial transformation

The industry is of great importance for growth and development in North-Middle Sweden’s three regions, Dalarna, Gävleborg and Värmland. Here there is a strong and socially important industry which today employs over 50,000 employees. Focus Industry is a joint effort to collect and highlight the work being done around the transformation of industry in our regions.

The Way Forward

In North-Middle Sweden, Dalarna, Värmland and Gävleborg are collaborating as are their innovation and business promoters for the sustainable development of the industry.

What is Focus Industry?

More focused work is needed to promote sustainable, enduring and viable development in small and medium-sized enterprises in North-Middle Sweden. The regions therefore collaborate under the name Focus Industry. Based on the industry sector’s challenges and need for transformation, we see six prioritised action areas.

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Success stories

Competencies, Innovation

Service delivery creates sustainable competitiveness for small- and medium-sized enterprises

To secure North-Middle Sweden’s competitiveness for the future, business promoters in Värmland, Dalarna and Gävleborg have organised training courses in service-driven business development. In simple terms, it is about increasing companies’ profitability by developing value-adding offers with the customer’s needs in focus. “This training opened up the mind to how you can work with services,” says Lina Bylund, who completed the training.

Competencies

How North-Middle Sweden is investing in the development of industry skills

The industry in Dalarna, Värmland and Gävleborg have similar challenges and opportunities when it comes to securing the industry’s needs for skills and manpower. Collaboration can help to create an attractive industrial region, and several initiatives are underway in North-Middle Sweden to move forward. “It is important to meet the existing need for competence,” says Christer Rosén, who is involved in a new adult training programme to train sawmill operators.

Internationalisation

Export giant with global impact

In North-Middle Sweden, where steel, paper and wood products meet ground-breaking innovation, international collaboration is more than just a strategy, it is a vital factor for the region’s economic future. Here we explain how players in Värmland, Dalarna and Gävleborg not only adapt to the global market, but also shape it.

Circular Economy

Residual flows can create new products

Low carbon and the circular economy can be a challenge for the industry, but also a big opportunity. In North-Middle Sweden, several initiatives are currently underway to help companies reduce their environmental impact and at the same time create new sustainable products and services.

Innovation, Research and Development

“Test beds are crucial to increase Sweden’s innovation capacity.”

From an EU perspective, North-Middle Sweden is below average in terms of investment in research and innovation. At the same time, it is a region well placed to create sustainable regional development through rich natural resources and prominent industries. A number of initiatives are currently underway to make better use of these opportunities. Here are a few examples.

Innovation

New initiatives for local and sustainable spare parts production

A long-term effort to secure industry’s access to critical spare parts and components is now underway. The aim is to contribute to a competitive industry by reducing the risk of supply chain disruptions.