The founder of Fluorotech Gary Sundberg dies at 81

Gary Sundberg’s story is part of Finnish industrial history. He was born in Vaasa on November 10, 1941. He started as an entrepreneur already in 1966, when he founded Teknolon Oy together with Kaj and Lea Sundberg. Teknolon was a wholesaler specializing in thermo- and fiber reinforced plastic.

Teknolon's real breakthrough began in 1978 when the head office was built in Kerava, which brought sales, warehouse, and production facilities under the same roof. The production facilities for reinforced plastics were the most modern of their time. Attention was paid, for example, to proper ventilation and the latest machines in the industry.
In 1979, Teknolon went international when a joint venture with Kema Nobel (Akzo Nobel) was established in Sweden. The newly founded company Teknoscand Ab manufactured reinforced plastic products such as tanks and pipelines.

The company group expanded in 1982 and 1983 when Teknolon acquired Oy Sul-Mu Ab, Strongplast and Tekso. Teknolon became Northern Europe's largest manufacturer dual laminates and reinforced plastic tanks, and their pipelines.
Gary sold the business group in 1985-1988.

Gary did not retire, in 1991 he founded Oy Fluorotech Ltd with his sons. The company was a wholesale and retail company specializing in industrial plastics. The company's employees were former Teknolon group members. A generational transfer in the company took place in 1996, when Gary Sundberg became the chairman of the board and his son Christian Sundberg became the CEO. In 2019, Fluorotech's name was changed to Atolli Oy. Today, Atolli is distribution, installation and maintenance company for swimming pools, water treatment and industrial process pipelines with operations in Finland, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic countries.

As an entrepreneur, Gary Sundberg has received recognition and honorary positions. He was chosen as businessman of the year in 1983. The grand old man of the plastics industry also served in the early 80s on the board of the Confederation of Finnish Industries and was a strong influencer in the Finnish Plastic Industries Federation and the Plastics Association. Gary was one of the founders of the European Plastics Distributors Association EPDA and has served twice as chairman.

Gary was also known as a football player. He started playing football at the age of nine in Vasa IFK, whose A-team at that time was one of the best in Finland. After the family moved to Helsinki, Gary soon found himself at Helsinki IFK. He debuted at the age of 17 in HIFK's A-team, had a long-playing career, and later served as the club's chairman and Honorary Chairman. His proudest moment was when HIFK moved up to the Finnish Football League in 2014.

In addition to football, he enjoyed long distance skiing and ran marathons. In later life, his great passion was golf.

Gary enjoyed meeting other people and liked to be in the center of events. In addition to friends, Gary's close circle included Liisa and 5 children and 4 grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Save the Children Finland organization’s account FI64 1017 3000 2107 27 (BIC: NDEAFIHH) and include Gary Sundbergs name as a reference.