Editing Surahammar Municipality (section)

== History ==
[[Steelmaking]] in this municipality was started on a larger scale in the 16th and 17th centuries when [[forge]]s were built there. It was a new phenomenon to run forge mills separate from mining and [[pig iron]] production sites in [[Bergslagen]]. The mills were located in Virsbo, Ramnäs and Surahammar and pig iron was transported from mills further north, initially by horse-sledges in the winter. There was ample local supply of [[hydropower]] to run the forge hammers and timber to make charcoal. Later, when [[Strömsholm Canal]] was finished, it was used to ship finished products to [[Västerås]] and [[Stockholm]] for export. This [[restructuring]] process appears to have been driven by the need to secure access to hydropower and timber for the forges since both the [[mining|mines]] and [[blast furnaces]] used up considerable amounts of resources in the production of pig iron.

Over time, the mills specialised and in Ramnäs the key product became iron chains – in modern days for the off-shore industry – and in Surahammar wheel-sets for the rail road industry and electro steels, both with [[Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget|ASEA]] as a major customer.

In Surahammar, Gustaf Eriksson developed the first combustion-engine automobile built in Sweden in 1897. It formed the basis for a new Swedish industry that was located in [[Södertälje]] under the name of Vagnfabriks-Aktiebolaget i Södertelge (renamed in 1906 to [[Vabis]] that later merged with [[Scania AB]]).

Today, the mills in Virsbo, Ramnäs and Surahammar have been transformed into modern industries with international owners.