The town of Floda is situated in the community of Lerum east of Gothenburg along road E 20. The coachbuilding factory in Floda was started by Åke Gustafsson and Carl Harald Björk in the twenties. The company started in localities former to an ironworks. The wooden material used in the coachbuilding were spruce, birch, oak and ash and the first body made was on a T-Ford chassis. One of the workers was called Hjularbo-Kalle ( a swedish alitteration: hjul=wheel, Jularbo-Kalle=famous swedish fiddler ). He got the name 'cause he produced all the wheels made with wooden spokes. The company produced the first fire truck of Lerum - Floda. Soon the activities moved to an blacksmith locality and the former ironworks now was inhabited by a firm who manufactured scales. Later a new factory building was built in Floda and then another in Hedefors between Lerum and Floda. The new factory in Hedefors was started by a gentleman named Björkblom. The factories had slightly different activities, the older one made cars for personel use and the newer one made commercial vehicles. When having built the new facilities the compnay changed its name to Nya karosserifabriken. It would later on be changed ones more to Flodaverken. Under this period lots of gasoline trucks were made for Irak.

In the town of Lerum there was another coachbuilder named Göran Edvardsson. His company still existed as late as in the year of 2001. It is told that they built a car for a gentleman who, when he came to pick it up, thought it had become to expensive.
- Than you shouldn't have it! Edvardsson answered. After that the car was hung in the ceiling of the factorybuilding and hang there through all years.

A big thanks to Birgitta Waldenborg on Medborgarkontoret in Lerum who fished for information in possible and impossible lakes of stories and tales. Also a thanks to Jan-Krister Johansson that provided with information about the company today.

Published 2003-03-09