Torsten Wiborgh, 51 years old, civil engineer and on weekdays road surveyor at Sveaskog, is to become the new CEO of Sweden’s oldest man-made waterway Hjälmare Canal. His tasks will include securing the cultural heritage of the canal and developing it as a visitor attraction.
“It’s an honour to be given the job of administering this national treasure, which Baltzar von Platen himself worked on. I will develop the canal as an appealing visitor attraction, among other things by cooperating with local business owners,” says Torsten.
Hjälmare Canal is owned by Sveaskog, which has commenced extensive refurbishment work on the canal. Since 2002, the visitor attraction has been improved with a service building with shower and toilets, a visitor centre with exhibition and café, hiking trails, resting places and barbecue spots.
Torsten is a road surveyor at Sveaskog with responsibility for roads, bridges and dams in the market area of Bergslagen. As CEO of Hjälmare Canal, he succeeds Jimmy Pettersson, CEO at Sveaskog Naturupplevelser AB. Jimmy Pettersson will focus on his other areas of responsibility within Sveaskog Naturupplevelser AB.
Hjälmare Canal, which stretches for almost 14 kilometres between River Arbogaån and Lake Hjälmaren, has been in operation since 1639. It was built to facilitate the transport of goods between Bergslagen and Stockholm. Today, the canal is only used by pleasure boats and passenger boats. The locks are opened and closed by hand just as they were four hundred years ago. Lake Hjälmaren is situated 22 metres above River Arbogaån, and the difference in level is distributed over nine locks.
The canal has been owned by the Swedish state since 1815. In 1819, activities in Hjelmare Canal and Slussverks Bolag were spun off into separate companies.
Torsten Wiborgh lives in Örebro and started at Sveaskog in 2001. Previously, he worked within the construction industry, including at WSP.
For further information, contact:
Torsten Wiborgh, CEO Hjälmare Canal, tel. +46 (0)70-339 50 02
Esbjörn Wahlberg, Press officer, Sveaskog, tel. +46 (0)70-231 35 02
Facts: Sveaskog
Sveaskog is Sweden's largest forest owner, with 3.3 million hectares of productive woodland, and a leading supplier of timber, pulpwood and biofuel. We are involved in land sales, cater for hunting and fishing and provide land for local entrepreneurs within nature-based tourism. By focusing on profitability and important environmental considerations, Sveaskog is contributing to long-term sustainable development. The company has a turnover of SEK 7 billion and around 730 employees.