We were delighted to meet Harry Söderström, CEO and Founder of Unibloc Pump Inc. Unibloc Pump has been a business member of SACC GA for many years. Harry’s company develops world-leading, innovative products. The future looks bright for Harry and Unibloc Pump, whose headquarters will remain in Atlanta, GA. Read about the origins of the company, their recent acquisition, his connection to SACC GA, and much more. 

Söderström has worked in the pump industry since he was 16 years old. He started with the Swedish company Albin Pump in Kristinehamn, where he was responsible for their export. 

After his successes, he was offered to bring the Albin Pump business to the U.S. He moved to the States in the 1980s and established meaningful connections right away. With the experiences from his previous work at Albin Pump, he decided to start his own company and create valves and pumps. He hired high-tech engineers and started the pump company with only two pieces of paper. 

“You have to rely on your own intentions and innovations” 

The start-up was a tough period at first, but after a while, the business slowly started to establish a market. The Unibloc Pump company first focused on biotechnology and pharmaceutical pumps. The business sold all over Europe, the U.S, and Asia. They then expanded into pumps for the food industry and business has been booming ever since. He explained that he came up with road tanker pumps for food products for the Swedish company and later moved the business to Germany. Today, these road tanker pumps are a market leader in Europe. 

The Game Changer 

His biggest accomplishment has been developing and innovating pumps and valves from just a white piece of paper. Unibloc was the first company in the world that made cast iron into stainless steel -that was the game-changer in that industry, he says. Today, Unibloc Pump designs displacement pumps, strainers, valves, sight glasses, bubble traps, and hydraulic oil coolers. 

The key is to niche yourself into a market 

Harry explains three reasons why Unibloc Pump is the market leader in the protein business: 

1. The professionalism and industry knowledge of the employees 

2. The innovation and adaptability of the business 

3. Knowing their niche within the industry 

He told us that design has become a vital component of the industry, which was and still is Unibloc’s niche. As Harry states it, ”if you go to the dance and you see two suits, both of them have nice designs but one is more good-looking than the other, who would you pick? That is how you can describe this industry. If you choose between two pumps that have the same functionality and same price, you will pick the one that has the best design.” 

“We have been successful in every area we have been worked in” 

Unibloc Pump is delivering products in a variety of industries including transportation, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical. The company is mainly targeting the biotech industries. They have also made the world’s smallest lobe-pump in the industry. 

The acquisition 

Unibloc Pump has been acquired by May River Capital, a private equity firm focused on helping high-caliber industrial businesses grow and prosper. Harry Söderstrom will continue leading the company as Chief Growth Officer under May River Capital’s (MRC) ownership. Söderström explained that many companies have been interested in buying Unibloc Pump, but most were only interested in purchasing to close down the business in Georgia. 

“Employees comes first, money comes second” 

What made the MRC deal unique was that they wanted to keep the business in Atlanta and keep all employees. MRC also wants to develop Unibloc into something bigger, which was very important to Harry. 

Atlanta is an untapped city 

Many companies have started to move from the northern U.S. to the south. What makes Atlanta an attractive city for businesses is the bustling airport that connects flights from all over the world This easy access has made Atlanta a hot area to live in. 

“Atlanta is where the future is.” 

Labor costs less here as well since cost of living is cheaper than, for instance, New York and California. His favorite places to visit in Atlanta are the High Museum of Art, the Georgia Aquarium and the restaurants. Harry hopes to one day scuba dive with the sharks at the aquarium. He also mentioned that he loves the bustling and excellent food culture in Atlanta. 

His relationship to SACC GA

Harry became a member of SACC GA early on to establish Swedish connections. As a member he has enjoyed the dinners, lectures, networking, and events that SACC GA has to offer. We were happy to hear that in the future, he hopes to be more involved in the chamber. 

Harry finished the interview with a recommendation that people, especially Swedes, come and visit Georgia to experience the beautiful nature and culture. Everything is closely located 

to the city and outdoor activities are popular and plenty of them. We are only 3-4 hours away from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mexican Gulf or 2 hours flight to Caribbean. 

Interview with the first American SACC USA Chairman, Gary Bruce - Managing Partner at Prosperity Developers International (PDI)

We had the pleasure of talking with Gary Bruce, Managing Partner at Prosperity Developers International (PDI). He currently lives in Winter Haven, Florida with his wife Bonnie, who also is involved within PDI. He got involved with the SACC organization after working for PartnerTech in Malmö, Sweden. He has a genuine interest in the Swedish culture and still has many family friends in Sweden. In this interview, Bruce talks about his biggest accomplishment with PDI, his connection to Georgia, his unique connection to the SACC community and much more. Enjoy! 

PDI is a boutique global management consulting firm. Their target clients are small to medium-sized companies with an interest in the USA and Scandinavia. PDI’s role is to provide management services while bridging the cultural gap that often slows down and creates costly expenses for companies.  

“Our management team is fluent in both cultures and will be able to provide services that are adapted for each. We offer a broad range of services and have a unique mixture of experienced consultants onboard with a broad network.​”

Their biggest attribute is the experience and growth of their staff. “We have really accomplished people working with us and hope to announce some additional partners soon”, Bruce said. 

Another highlight of PDI’s success is, according to Bruce, working with past SACC-USA intern, Mona.

The History of PDI 

Bruce explained that PDI has been active for a number of years. However, the past few years have focused on requests for support and help with Swedish companies wanting to move and grow in the US. Currently, all of their business partners have extensive experience with Sweden/Scandinavia and the USA. PDI’s major practices are sales and marketing, operations & administration, company formations, and multicultural & bilateral business. 

Unique Selling Point 

PDI’s unique selling point is their wide network of connections and being fluent in both Scandinavian and US business cultures. Bruce explains,“Our team is highly connected to business and government. Since PDI is highly involved with SACC, they have many connections and support many SACC members in the USA.”

Bruce’s Connection to Georgia 

Bruce has many connections to Georgia - he lived in Georgia for 20 years and still has many close friends here including our board members Christina Tai, Tom Rosseland and John Woodward, amongst others.

Proud Member of the SACC Community

When Bruce started to get involved with the SACC community, his first intention was to keep his connection to Sweden after working there throughout the years. 

He continues to be heavily involved with SACC to this day. In fact, Bruce was the first American SACC-USA chairman - to this day, he regards this achievement as a real honor. During his period as chairman, he was part of the group that started the SACC Summit event Executive Forum events. PDI has utilized this successful partnership with SACC Texas to support Start Up Sweden. 

He finished this interview with - It was a real honor to be the first American to hold the office SACC USA chairman. 

#MondaySuccessStories interview with Carl Dunger, trainee 2016 

We had the pleasure of talking to Michael Blake, Director of Strategic Advisory Services with accounting firm Brady Ware and Company. Michael is a SACC-Georgia individual member and joined the chamber last year. Brady Ware and Company is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. Michael works from the Alpharetta office in Georgia, but has only been at the office a few times since March because of the coronavirus pandemic. His job at Brady Ware & Company is to help clients make major strategic decisions and to help them understand those decisions with empirical data and analytical methods. Michael hosts a podcast called Decision Vision where episode #102 was launched this week. Read on about why Michael chose accounting, his interest in Sweden, his podcast, and much more - enjoy! 

Background 

Brady Ware & Company was founded about 65 years ago. It entered the Atlanta Market about 12 years ago with the acquisition of two firms and has continued to grow. Now they have about 140 employees, of which 34 are stationed in the Atlanta market. 

“I like being an advisor more than I like being a broker and it’s been good ever since.”

Michael joined Brady Ware & Company a little over three years ago with a background as a venture capitalist and an investment banker before becoming a business and intellectual property appraiser. Because of his experience with business appraisals, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic decision support, he was a natural fit.   

Math is what makes us unique

Blake explained that he’s not afraid to analyze data and to crunch numbers. 

“I'm actually not a mathematician and when I was in school, I was not particularly good at math”

He believes that people too often make important decisions without the benefit of consulting data. It is just a matter of being willing to explore the data, he says. “Reading data is not easy, it's a language all to itself that I've had to learn and our clients really like the fact that not only do we do that, but we also explain it to them in a way that they can use it.”

Clients turn to Brady Ware’s strategic advisory support for help in making decisions that are consequential and hard to reverse. They utilize empirical data in order to help their clients make those decisions. Blake further explains that people do not have to be mathematicians, economists, or physicists to understand the data and inform their decisions. Our job is to bridge the gap between the math and the client’s application. 

Business is about the purpose 

Blake emphasizes that Brady Ware recognizes that, “…the client can often be in a very lonely place, especially if their role is to manage risk.  The risk manager can often be under tremendous pressure from colleagues, bosses and advisors to take a decision in a certain direction, while the risk manager resists because they think it’s in the company’s best interest to do so.  We want to be the ally of the person that is managing risk who is often putting themselves on the line for what they think is the right thing to do – or not to do.” 

Michael is passionate about the podcast that he hosts in cooperation with Brady Ware & Company. He develops and hosts all the episodes of the podcast called Decision Vision, and episode #102 was released this week. Some of the people that have been interviewed are SACC-GA board member Tom Rosseland and Deborah Lanham, CEO of the

Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce. This is a project he has been working on for almost two years. He is thankful for the whole team involved in the podcast such as the producer John Ray at Business RadioX, the Brady Ware marketing team, andover 100 guests who have appeared on the program.

“My goal is to help clients become better decision-makers by sharing the experiences of people who have had to make those decision before” 

The interest in how people can make better decisions was inspired by world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Kasparov once said that improving your skill in chess is about learning how to become a better decision-maker. Michael was inspired by that sentence and strives to make Decision Vision about helping people become better decision-makers. 

Atlanta is a great place for business 

Michael thinks Atlanta is a great place for business because of the opportunities to develop relationships. “My relationship with the Swedish American Chamber is really a great example of that because I've had a fascination with Sweden for a while.”

Atlanta offers lots of organizations as well as landmarks. The places that Michael likes to visit are the Civil Rights Museum, Georgia Tech, and The Downwind Restaurant and The Globe Hub at Peachtree DeKalb Airport. 

His relation to Sweden

Michael is not aware of any Swedish heritage, but that hasn’t stopped him from developing an interest in the country. Sweden is known as an innovative nation and, due to Michael’s background in technology, this fascination with Sweden comes naturally. He even recently completed the Swedish course on Duolingo. 

“Innovative companies have come out of Sweden and continue to come out of Sweden”

Sweden’s strong set of social programs and innovative spirit further fuels his interest. He referred to an article that said that Sweden is considered one of the top-3 innovative countries in the world.  

Finally,

He wanted to finish this interview with two highlights. “First of all, I think the Swedish chamber is fantastic.”

He has always looked for an opportunity to get involved with the chamber since he has learned the language. He would love to do more with the chamber in the future and also travel to Sweden and learn if there is an opportunity to develop business relationships there.

The second point is that people are more than welcome to contact him for advice. “I've been very fortunate that I had the help of many people to make good decisions over the course of my life and career, and I want to do the same for others”.

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