He is four years older than Södra and has been a member since 1962. Ingvar Svensson from Lövshult has several memories with Södra and gladly shares these when we visit him at his farm outside Lammhult. "I am a completely ordinary person who got the opportunity to influence during a turbulent time," he says.
Ingvar Svensson. An ordinary person from Lammhult got the chance one day to speak at Södra's extraordinary meeting. It was in Nässjö in 1979. He went up to the podium after Gösta Edström, with a speech he had adjusted on the spot.
"I had prepared a speech where I raised how poorly I thought Södra was managed. At the meeting, it was said that the speeches shouldn't be about the past but only about the future. So, I rewrote the speech on the spot and talked about how I didn't want Södra to be managed in the future," Ingvar recounts.
If Ingvar hadn't gone up to the podium that day, Södra might look different today. For a few days after the meeting, the phone rang.
Gösta Edström called me. I was so surprised and shocked that it wasn't even bigger if even the king had called me. He talked, and I listened. He thought my speech was good, and that's how it started. He also sent me a thick binder with copies of writings he had sent to the board of the association, advising the board members on how to act in the current crisis. I still have this binder today.
The State was a Co-Owner
During this period, the state was one of the co-owners of Södra, something Södra's founder Gösta Edström did not approve of. During the same time, Ingvar Svensson was elected to Södra's administrative council.
"Since I was an inexperienced forest owner, I called Gösta Edström before each meeting and consulted with him about the agenda and how I should position myself on the issues. Once, the question arose about forming a management company where Södra, LRF, and the state would each own a third. Then Gösta shouted and asked me to meet him at the gas station in Lammhult so that he could read the papers."
Simultaneously, Gösta asked Ingvar to make a motion at the administrative council's meeting a day later, asking that Gösta be allowed to come there. Ingvar did so, surprising the chairman Torsten Nilsson, who adjourned the meeting to consult with Mårten Benz, who was the CEO at the time.
"The chairman returned and explained that they had called Gösta, who was now on his way to the office. Gösta came and gave his view of Södra's financial situation and the possibility of borrowing money to buy out the state and become sole owner of the association again. After that, Gösta contacted the meeting representatives, so he received a power of attorney from a third of them to speak on their behalf. These power of attorneys were placed with the Notary Public (secret) so that the Södra board could not influence the individuals."
"According to the statutes, Gösta could now request an extraordinary meeting, which he also threatened to do if the board did not decide to buy out the state, as he did not want to know anything about a management company. We know the outcome today, except perhaps that Södra's representatives were treated with disdain in the government office when solving the state."," explains Ingvar.
"All's well that ends well! And today, we have a Södra that is stronger than ever. The best bank for the members."
On January 2, 1985, the formal takeover occurred, and Södra returned to being wholly owned by its members.
What would have happened if Ingvar hadn't moved for Gösta Edström to come to the administrative council's meeting that day? Would Södra still have been owned by the state?