It all began with an idea. A problem solver at heart, Bo Sjöberg envisioned a more efficient solution for handling drill pipes. He invented an efficient and easy-to-use pipe handling system and built a unique drilling rig.

Working out of the Garage

Hardab was 1982 founded by then-16-year-old Bo Sjöberg and his father Tage as a welding shop operating out of their home’s garage.

Move to the Farm

After a few years, they moved the business to a new place – a remodeled farmhouse at Bo’s newly acquired family farm. They started to make heat-treatment parts for the local mills. They had operations running 24/7 waking up every 4 hours at night to change parts.

New Facilities

In the 90s Bo and Tage moved the business to a newly acquired large workshop in the nearby town of Karlstad. They changed their business model and started to make drilling consumables that required heat treatment and sold it to drillers across Scandinavia.

The Idea

At a customer visit, Bo discovers the bad working conditions drillers endured at the time – the worst of which might have been the constant lifting of drill pipes. He is surprised that there is no manufacturer that has resolved this calamity in the market

He goes back home and starts his effort to make the drillers’ workplace better. His revolutionary idea is the Hardab pipe handling system. He patents the system and builds a drilling rig around it. Our first customer realizes the improvements to the working environment and buys the first rig straight from blueprints.

Hardab AB products

Pipe Handling System

Hardab - Pipe Handling System