The foundation of FASADGLAS Bäcklin AB is Bäcklin’s Glazier’s Workshop, which was established in 1913 by Emil Bäcklin. Bäcklin’s Glazier’s Workshop was a traditional glazing company, located in Södermalm in Stockholm. In 1951, Vilhelm Svennewall acquired the company, and in 1974 his son Håkan took over the business.
In 1979, FASADGLAS was established, and in 1982 the company merged with Bäcklin’s Glazier’s Workshop. The operations were then relocated to Bromma in western Stockholm. The company was previously wholly owned by Håkan Svennewall and his family, but since 2002 a number of employees have become co-owners, and in 2004 Erik Mitteregger acquired 30% of the share capital.
Over the past 40 years, the business has evolved from a pure service glazing company to today also having a wholesale division, the largest contracting operation in the Nordic region, as well as acting as consulting advisors within the PSU department (Project and System Development). In addition, the company also operates a small metalworking firm for custom fabrication, as well as a large production facility in Hultsfred where our glulam-based façade system (bARK Facade system) is manufactured.
In 2020, Fasadglas Bäcklin AB made the strategic decision to phase out aluminium in our façade constructions and instead replace it with glulam structures. The main reason for this system shift is to significantly reduce our climate impact (CO₂), but also to improve the insulating performance of façades (U-value), enhance building operational efficiency, and increase rentable floor space (LOA). This resulted in the newly developed bARK Timber System.
The bARK Timber System essentially consists of three customer solutions: a so-called “stick façade” system (assembled on-site), a “module system” with prefabricated wall elements (assembled in the factory), and partitions which are finished module frames (with or without glass). Today, we have testing and approvals for the product standard SS-EN 13830 (resistance against water penetration and wind for +20 floors), compliance with fire ratings EI30, EW30, EI60, and EW60, as well as approval for security classes SK2 and SK3.
In 2024, bARK Facade system accounted for 72% of the contracting division’s sales, and our goal is for 85% of our sales to consist of bARK Facade system by 2026.
As part of the system change, Fasadglas Bäcklin AB invested (2021) in a new factory in Hultsfred with a total of 21,000 m² of production space dedicated to manufacturing the bARK Timber System.
To develop a system, an organization, or a company in a qualified and conscious manner, it is essential to base this on the company’s mission, vision, and business idea. These are therefore presented below as an integrated part of Fasadglas’ development.
”Design and innovation for a bright future.”
”Design-build in cooperation for a sustainable future with environment and energy in focus.”
Based on the company’s mission and vision, as well as the current ownership directives, Fasadglas’ business idea is presented here:
Societal development, with its continuously increasing demands for sustainable solutions, better energy efficiency, and bolder design, creates new opportunities for innovative thinking in the field of glass and façade constructions.
Building with glass and other sustainable materials, such as wood, is essential for property owners to meet society’s environmental and sustainability requirements while providing humans with protection against the elements and the vital resource of natural daylight.
With its expertise and many years of experience, Fasadglas can provide consultation in the early phases. We develop buildable concepts and technical solutions according to the customer’s requirements and vision, dimension and test solutions, produce our own systems at our facilities, and install complete façades throughout Scandinavia.
With strong commitment to both our own and our customers’ environmental work and sustainability goals, we can offer innovative and commercially sound collaborations that secure the company’s future. By questioning established truths, assessing our environment, and being open to innovative solutions, we can remain at the forefront and thus create positive long-term development for Fasadglas together with our B2B customers.
FASADGLAS provides almost all types of glazing and façade assembly, including:
Glass/wood façades – bARK Timber System (stick, module, partition)
Service glazing, service of metal/wood units including related installations
Wholesale sales of glass, fittings, and accessories
Interior glass (sliding hatches, mirrors, showcases, full-glass doors, glass walls, glass floors, elevator walls)
Full-glass railings for balustrades, connecting walkways, balconies, etc.
Acoustic glazing and noise barriers
Burglar-resistant and security glass
Fire-protective glass solutions
Glass façades, including retail façades with various door and passage systems
Glass roofs with advanced structures
Renovation and restoration of glass and glazing structures
Metal units (aluminium, steel, stainless, copper, brass)
Glass printing / printed glass
Energy installations / solar panels
Advisory services
FASADGLAS’ head office is located in the Ulvsunda industrial area (Bromma), Karlsbodavägen 9–11. In addition to Bromma, the company has offices in Uppsala and Gothenburg, but we carry out projects across the entire country as well as in neighboring countries.
Our wholesale and service divisions have offices and workshops in Bromma, while our production unit (bARK Production AB) is located in Hultsfred.
FASADGLAS is a member of the Glasbranschföreningen (GBF), the industry association for companies in the glass and metal sector. GBF has about 500 member companies with a combined turnover of approximately SEK 7 billion (2023).
Our key customers are property owners, building contractors, property management companies, and glaziers. We have a vision of what we aim to achieve in our daily work and the values we want our brand “Fasadglas” to represent. These values should permeate our operations, motivate us in our interactions with customers, and create a company spirit and pride in our work—something our customers should experience in every encounter with us.
Our values guide our work, and all employees must understand what they mean:
Reliable – we deliver products and services on time and at the right quality.
Innovative – we dare to think differently to fulfill our customers’ ideas and requirements.
Long-term – every new assignment marks the beginning of a long-term relationship.
Committed – we are always proud of the product or service delivered/installed.
Community – our workplaces are characterized by openness, helpfulness, and respect for each other’s expertise.
Through feedback meetings, we adapt our organization and methods together with our customers.
Our most important customers are construction companies, property owners, management companies, and smaller glazing firms.
While we operate nationwide, our main markets are Stockholm, Malmö, Uppsala, and Gothenburg.
Quality, Environment and Occupational Health & Safety (QEH&S) have always been of strategic importance for Fasadglas. We are the only major Swedish façade contracting company certified under ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management), a status we have held since 2011.
Being certified means that our quality and environmental management system has defined processes and routines that ensure a certain minimum level and comply with ISO standards, and that we are audited by an independent certification body once a year.
Our customers’ requirements regarding quality, environment, and occupational health & safety are constantly increasing. There is growing demand for, for example, self-inspections in various phases of the construction process, work preparations, risk assessments, sustainability measures, and products evaluated in Byggvarubedömningen/SundaHus/Basta.
The construction industry is among those most affected by accidents, serious incidents, and fatalities. Fasadglas never compromises on safety. Safety always comes first! All employees have both the right and the obligation to stop work if it cannot be carried out safely.
Fasadglas works systematically with occupational health & safety, both at the company level and within the projects in which we operate. We investigate, assess risks, take action, and follow up.
Fasadglas strives to always meet the needs, requirements, and expectations of our customers. We live up to our core value of quality by ensuring that our services are characterized by the “right” quality, and that every assignment serves as a strong reference for future relationships.
We secure quality in our projects through the use of QEH&S tools, which include templates and checklists to ensure that specifications are safeguarded throughout the entire construction process—from design to handover. This also means that we place equally high demands on our suppliers and subcontractors to ensure that every link in the chain meets the required standards for the final product.
Proper design and project management are prerequisites for achieving an end product of the right quality. To guarantee that our working methods continue to improve and become more efficient, we conduct active internal quality and deviation management, where experiences are fed back and our routines further developed.
We make the following quality commitments to our customers:
It is Fasadglas’ quality policy to:
offer our customers innovative and sustainable solutions.
carry out assignments methodically in cooperation with the customer, based on their requirements and our shared experience.
set and follow up on requirements for our suppliers and subcontractors to ensure quality at every stage.
allocate resources to secure and continuously improve the quality of our work.
Fasadglas operates today in a time when pollution and emissions from both our own and previous generations affect the environment not only locally but also on a global scale. We want to continue running our business while at the same time contributing to the conditions necessary for future generations. Remaining an obvious choice for customers with ambitious environmental goals means that we must reflect, dare to change, and renew both our working methods and the materials we use. As part of this effort, the bARK Timber System has been developed.
In addition to working sustainably and with appropriate/alternative materials, this also means that we develop innovative solutions to meet market demands regarding energy efficiency and renewable energy. We will inform about the environmental work we perform and place requirements on our suppliers and subcontractors to live up to our standards.
It is Fasadglas’ environmental policy to continuously:
choose the right materials and carry out our projects with the least possible environmental impact.
develop energy-efficient products.
evaluate and improve our environmental work based on our sustainability goals.
work actively to increase the use of solar panels.
comply with environmental legislation, industry standards, and other requirements.
Respect for the individual and for the environment is everyone’s responsibility and forms the foundation of our business, as well as a prerequisite for achieving our goals.
For Fasadglas, a good work environment is a prerequisite for both sound financial performance and healthy development, and it must be given the same importance in both daily operations and long-term work.
We shall:
strive to completely eliminate workplace accidents as well as physical and psychological work-related injuries by continuously analyzing and preventing risks.
work to maintain strong community and cooperation among employees, contractors, visitors, and society.
ensure that employees feel involved in the company’s development.
actively promote employee health and well-being.
maintain an active dialogue with employees, authorities, and the community.
comply with all laws and regulations within the field of occupational health and safety.
actively work to ensure that no one feels excluded in the workplace.
We carry out virtually all types of glazing work and often participate in early stages (pre-planning – Phase 1) by providing advisory services together with the client and other consultant groups. To support this, we collaborate with the world’s leading players in each respective field. We also maintain close cooperation with the Glass Industry Association and relevant authorities to ensure compliance with laws and standards.
Quality documentation at worksites—covering everything from delivery inspections and deviation management to self-inspection of completed work—is the responsibility of the respective project managers or site supervisors, who are required to be present daily at all major projects. For larger projects, internal project audits are conducted monthly. In addition, major contracts are concluded with a documented evaluation (ERFA meeting) of the project execution, and the results are then communicated internally to the relevant parties within the company.
FASADGLAS (excluding subsidiaries) employs 86 permanent staff (2024), of which 66 are salaried employees (13 of them women). In addition to our own installation staff, we work with approximately 15 subcontractor companies that are evaluated, audited, and rated annually to continuously raise the level of installation quality. Fasadglas is responsible for ensuring that all personnel, including subcontractors, complete the necessary training, and that all subcontractors pay taxes, employer contributions, and have the required insurance.
To broaden our (Fasadglas Bäcklin AB) operations with strategically important products/functions, Fasadglas owns or co-owns several companies:
bARK Production AB:
Production of bARK Timber Façade
Fasadglas Fastigheter i Hultsfred AB:
Ownership and management of production facilities
bARK Fasadsystem AB:
Brand company
Fasadglas i Uppsala AB:
Project office
Fasadglas Smide i Sundby AB:
Custom metalwork
The Board of Directors meets five times per year and consists of the CEO, the owners (4 individuals), and three external members. Day-to-day operations are managed by an executive team consisting of the CEO, Head of Contracting, QEH&S Manager, Marketing & Sales Manager, PSU Manager, and CFO/HR Manager.
Our meeting routines consist of:
Board meetings: 5 times/year
Executive team meetings: 8 times/year
Production planning: weekly
Deviation meetings: weekly
Company meetings (all staff): 2 times/year
Work environment committee meetings: 4 times/year
Safety inspections (office + workshop): 4 times/year
Workshop department meetings: 4 times/year
Finance & HR department meetings: monthly
Project department meetings: 6 times/year
Service department meetings: 3 times/year
Wholesale department meetings: 3 times/year
Estimation department meetings: 3 times/year
Design department meetings: 6 times/year
Our main glass suppliers are essentially all glass manufacturers in Sweden and Europe. For companies that supply installation materials such as sealants, screws, nails, rivets, etc., we have agreements with several suppliers. The same applies to timber and profile suppliers. Our ambition is not to enter into exclusive agreements with a single supplier but to reserve the right to collaborate with all suitable suppliers.
We place high demands on and measure agreed quality, delivery reliability, service, and active quality and environmental work. We also test new suppliers to ensure that we can always offer our customers the right product at the right price. Fasadglas conducts an annual evaluation of all suppliers, as well as an annual review and agreement process with all current subcontractors.
FASADGLAS’ greatest asset is our highly skilled staff. We place great emphasis on continuous training and other competence-enhancing initiatives. In new recruitment, our goal is to hire women and younger employees with the right qualifications and potential. The workshop for glass processing is located in Bromma, and our large-scale bARK production facility is in Hultsfred.
Our vehicle fleet consists of approximately 20 trucks of various sizes as well as a number of mini cranes. We also operate functional machinery for cutting, grinding, drilling, material handling, and more.
The turnover in the past year (2024) was approximately SEK 400 million.
The company has 2,270,314 shares. It is majority-owned (approximately 60%) by Ryttarholmen AB and Erik Mitteregger (approximately 30%), with the remaining shares (around 10%) owned by the employees.
The newsletter, “bARK News”, is distributed six times per year to all our employees with information about what is happening within the company.
Through a continuously updated website and active participation in social media, we aim to reach the attention of our customers and other stakeholders.
Postal address HQ
FASADGLAS Bäcklin AB
Box 11187
SE-161 11 Bromma
Sweden
Visiting address
Karlsbodavägen 9-11
Tel: +46 8-704 74 00
E-mail
info@fasadglas.se
Web site
www.fasadglas.se
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fasadglas
