Our History

A history of bringing things to a halt.

Some people say we are very cautious. They are totally right, of course. Brakes are a serious business, and there is no room for mistakes. Complete precision and 100% reliability are essential. But that doesn’t stop us being innovative. Our history began in 1916 when Ernst Hjalmar Rydahl started the company in a cellar in the town of Karlstad, right in the heart of Sweden. Ernst Hjalmar sat until late at night experimenting with different materials and trying to make the best brake linings.

The fire brigade became frequent visitors. The materials were flammable and caught fire easily. But that didn’t worry Ernst Hjalmar. He was a true innovator and entrepreneur. His knowledge and skills laid the foundations for our company.

In the beginning we manufactured mainly brake linings for horse-drawn carriages and the few motor cars that were then appearing on Sweden’s roads. During the 1960s and 1970s we began providing some of the other components associated with brakes. Today we are a complete supplier of brakes and have developed special knowledge of industrial applications. We are the leaders in our field in Scandinavia. In the end of 1990s Rydahls bought a company which was a specialist in "tailormade brake systems"

All of this makes us Brake Experts!