The "ghost house" of ABB will be tech-hubb

"The Factory" becomes the name of the new cluster of innovation that will open the ports of Häggvik in Sollentuna next year. Behind this investment is investment firm Wellstreet, which will manage the project in collaboration with the municipality of Sollentuna and Centria Fastigheter, also a Wellstreet partner.

14,000 square meters will be added to 100 start-up companies, venture capital companies and other ecosystem players in the start-up business sector.

Even large companies wishing to relocate some of their activity in the city center should be able to integrate into the huge greenhouse that had been vacant since ABB's move two years ago.

"This is a very unique opportunity, but we are also a bit frightened by the size of the project," said Mikael Wintzell, co-founder and CEO of Wellstreet.

He points out that "The Factory" should not be used as an acceleration program or campus associated with a university.

"Inner City and Stureplan in particular are a fantastic strength in terms of expertise, experience and networking opportunities." Our responsibility in the business world is to find ways to increase power. Our primary goal is to find opportunities for companies to move from startups to global successes.The main goal of the project is simply to provide a physical venue to bring together interesting businesses and skills outside the city center.

Is there a "violent activity" in place

Wellstreet started operations in 2015 and has today invested in 42 companies. Mikael Wintzell, CEO of Klarna, is trained as a sales manager. Co-founder Saimon Saneback has previously led several e-commerce companies, including Stylepit.

A "violent activity" is currently taking place in Häggvik, says Mikael Wintzell. The plan is that the first companies – consisting of start-ups in which Wellstreet has invested – will already be established in the first quarter of next year. The premises will then be filled successively.

In particular, young, fast-growing companies are involved in digital platforms and services, rather than in hardware that Wellstreet looks for as tenants.

"Five months is an eternity in the world of startups, but for now, the first quarter of 2019 is extremely close," he said.

The ambition of "The Factory" can only be described as a high-flying mission. According to Mikael Wintzell, the goal is to become "a substantial part of Swedish digital innovation".

"This platform will outlast the ambitions of Wellstreet and myself – we would never have given a project of this size if Centria and Sollentuna owners did not share our vision." "You do not enter and exit. of such a project in a year.Then you will do something else.

Do you want to put Sollentuna on the map of the world of innovation

We still do not know how the collaboration between Wellstreet and Sollentuna on "The Factory" will work in practice. Expectations of cooperation – whatever the desired appearance – are great by the municipality.

"We hope this will put Sollentuna on the map of the world of innovation." Besides the proximity of Arlanda and the city center, Sollentuna has a great geographical advantage as we are located near Kista, often called Swedish Silicon Valley Henrik Thunes (M), chairman of the Sollentuna City Council, explained that many international IT companies have chosen to set up their operations in Sweden, and we see clear synergies for try to create a bridge between Kista and Sollentuna.