Our history

Ahlins was founded in 1948 in Habo, at a time when the area was known for its metal and key factories. The company started as a comb factory, and quickly became a significant player. During the late 1940s, Ahlins was actually Sweden's largest manufacturer of steel combs, a product that was sold all over the country and used by everyone from young people to professional hairdressers.

During the 1950s, the range was further developed with celluloid combs, which became an export success. Many in the area earned extra money by grinding combs at home as a home job – a typical feature of the Habo area during that period.

As colored metal products became in demand, Ahlins added a completely new branch of the business in the 1960s:
anodizing of aluminum, a process that was then mainly used to color metal combs.

This was the beginning of Ahlins’ development towards a surface treatment specialist.

At the end of the 1980s, the comb manufacturing was sold, and Ahlins chose to fully focus on surface treatment and anodizing, something that would shape the entire future of the company. Since then, anodizing has been the core of the company.

In the following decades, Ahlins continued to grow through:

• deeper expertise in anodizing
• investments in production capacity
• expansion of complementary services such as cutting, tumbling and assembly

During this period, Ahlins became a well-established contract company for the industry.

During the 2010s, the process portfolio was further broadened:

• Hard anodizing was established and became a competitive advantage in industries with high functional requirements.
  Passivation was introduced in 2019, an important step for customers in electronics, medicine and defense.

At the same time, Ahlins continued to modernize its production and develop its automation.

The 2020s have meant major investments and extensive development work.

• Ahlins began construction of a new, state-of-the-art factory, completed in 2023 and covering approximately 5,000 m². It is built for energy efficiency, environmental responsibility and highly automated anodizing.
• The company increased capacity dramatically, especially thanks to large contracts in the automotive industry, including hard-anodized parts for engine components.
• Modern automation, including advanced robotic solutions from ABB, among others, was introduced to meet the demands for volume, safety and repeatable quality.