Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstads AB

Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstads AB was a Swedish shipbuilding company based in Gothenburg. It was founded in 1850 by Christian Barchman under the name Ericsbergs metall och tackjerns-gjuteri. It delivered its last ship in 1979.

Founded in 1850 by Christian Barchman, the company originally worked with galvanization. The first shipyard wharf was opened in 1871, and two years later they delivered their first ship. In 1876 the company was transformed into a joint-stock company, and so the name was changed to Eriksbergs Mekaniska Werkstads AB. In the beginning of the 1890s, the shipyard was still the smallest of the three wharfs that existed in Gothenburg. Production was based on passenger ships, steam cutters and towboats for Denmark, Norway and Finland, and ferries for 's public transportation. In 1915 Eriksberg underwent massive developments to accommodate production of larger ships after a major takeover of the corporation's stocks by Dan Broström.

Eriksberg underwent similar developments as the other Swedish major shipbuilding companies; Kockums Mekaniska Verkstads AB, AB Götaverken and AB Lindholmens Varv - partly through World War I and the post-war period until 1940; a successive expansion triggered by a shipping boom and in particular by Norwegian and Swedish shipowner's need of new and bigger ships. In this regard, Eriksberg had an advantage through the direct-ownership by the Broström family (later through their listed mother company Ångfartygsaktiebolaget Tirfing). With a relatively modest share capital (6.5 million SEK) Eriksberg was able to make net profits of 40-50 million SEK every year during the 1940s. The cause for this was an unprecedented profitability during the second world war, repairing war-damaged tonnage and strong demand for replacement tonnage for Swedish and Norwegian shipping companies. This was enhanced by the favourable "wartime windfall taxes" introduced during the war. Most of these extraordinary profits were reinvested within shipping and industrial investments of the Broström Group, and this contributed to Broström's becoming the country's richest group in the beginning of the 1960s.

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