Page 58 - Hotel Tunnel's 100 Years of History

The purpose of the property purchase was to establish a sugar factory in the properties. Petter Schultin had obtained a royal privilege from the Royal Majestic and Commercial College on May 16th, 1774 to esta- blish and run a sugar refinery in Malmo. As it happened, a consortium consisting of merchants Petter Dahl, Anders Wiedberg, Hans Petter Schiuberg, Hans Thomas Jacobsson, Henrik Falkman and Prans Suell
Jr. - the company Falkman & Suell - and Gustav Hegardt, also obtained
a similar privilege on the same day, based on shares. Thus, the city of Malmo witnessed the start of two competing businesses in the same area, a competition that would not lead to the downfall of either party, but rather to the gradual and increasing development of both. Interestingly enough, the two factories ended up being located right next to each other. In 1775-76, the enterprising Schultin had the property, which had been built by Jacob Michelsen in 1519, converted into a sugar factory, which he named Svansen; and on January 29, 1776, Petter Dahl, Frans Suell, and the other interested parties in the sugar factory compa- ny, which called itself Patrioten, owned by the merchant Carl Lohman, was property number 348, comprising the northeastern part of new pro- perty number 1 in the Svanen quarter, located at the corner of Adelgatan and Goran Olsgatorna .
Both factories began operations in 1777, but did not produce "complete" sugar until the following year. In that year, the Patrioten sugar factory, which was led by a German master and employed 2 apprentices, also Germans, and 2 workers, produced 99,828 bowlpound (0,425 kg) of refined sugar worth 16,638 riksdaler in specie coin, while the Svanen sugar factory, with a staff of 1 master and 2 apprentices, all Germans, and 3 workers, produced 35,526 hundredweight of refined sugar, 4,000 hundredweight of candy sugar, and 31,000 bowl punds of brown syrup, all worth 8,044 riksdaler 36 skill in specie coin. In 1780, Patrioten had
a staff of 1 master, 2 apprentices, and 4 laborers and produced 39,268 bowl pounds of refined sugar, 3,150 hundredweight of candy sugar, and 40,185 bowl pounds of brown syrup, while Svanen employed 1 master, 1 apprentice, and 3 laborers, and produced 43,045 bowl pounds of refined sugar, 1,200 bowl pounds of candy sugar, and 24,000 bowl pounds of brown syrup.
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