Lidköpings Mekaniska Verkstads
Lidköpings Mekaniska Verkstads is a Swedish engineering and industrial machinery manufacturer based in Lidköping.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Lidköpings Mekaniska Verkstads AB, commonly abbreviated as LMV, is an engineering manufacturing company based in Lidköping, Sweden. Founded in 1875, the company originally made a broad range of components and machines for industrial customers, often supplying products that were subsequently resold or incorporated into larger industrial systems. Its long history reflects the development of Swedish mechanical engineering from general-purpose workshop production toward specialized industrial machinery. One of LMV's best-known historical projects was an attempt to develop an automobile. In 1923, the company produced a prototype designed by Åke W. Eklund. The lightweight car reportedly weighed approximately 475 kilograms and was engineered with Swedish road conditions in mind. It used a French four-cylinder CIMA engine and a Cozette carburettor. Contemporary descriptions emphasized the prototype's reliability, structural strength, and acceleration. LMV's proposed production model relied on outside subcontractors manufacturing individual parts, with final assembly planned at the Lidköping plant. Although the project did not enter series production, it illustrates the company's ability to undertake complete mechanical design and manufacturing projects beyond its established industrial work. LMV also played a role in the industrial network that later contributed to Sweden's machine-tool and automotive sectors. SKF purchased its first grinding machine from LMV in 1908. This commercial relationship preceded a corporate combination in 1929, when SKF and LMV were merged. The connection is notable because Assar Gabrielsson, later a founder of Volvo, had contacts with LMV through SKF. LMV also manufactured components for two other automobile projects, but those vehicles were never assembled after a change in company ownership. In the modern period, LMV became associated with machine-tool activities and ownership changes. From 2000 it was part of KMT Group, also known as Karolin Machine Tool AB. Within that structure, LMV became a wholly owned subsidiary of LMT, or Lidköping Machine Tools, which was also part of the KMT group. In March 2008, LMV was acquired by Norekon Invest AB, an investment company that owned the engineering business Noremech AB. In December 2019, ownership passed to Motala Verkstad Group AB, a Swedish industrial group, and LMV became a subsidiary of MVG. The company is therefore best understood as a long-established Swedish industrial engineering brand rather than as a consumer-facing product brand. Its documented activities center on mechanical manufacturing, industrial components, grinding and machine-tool expertise, and project-based engineering. Publicly available reference material does not provide a current product catalogue, detailed financial data, executive roster, or confirmed international sales footprint. Its historical significance lies in the continuity of its Lidköping engineering base, its early machine-building capabilities, its unrealized automobile program, and its successive integration into larger industrial ownership groups.
History
Lidköpings Mekaniska Verkstads was established in 1875 in Lidköping, Sweden. Its early business was broad rather than narrowly specialized: the company manufactured mechanical components and machines that could be sold onward to industrial customers or incorporated into other manufacturers' products. This type of contract and component production gave LMV a position within Sweden's developing engineering sector and allowed it to work across several areas of mechanical manufacture. The company became connected to the history of Swedish machine tools through its relationship with SKF. SKF bought its first grinding machine from LMV in 1908. The transaction demonstrated that LMV was capable of producing precision industrial equipment and helped establish a relationship between the two companies. In 1929, SKF and LMV were merged. The connection also placed LMV within the industrial network surrounding Assar Gabrielsson, who later became one of the founders of Volvo. Through SKF, Gabrielsson had contacts with LMV, and the company's subcontracting model may have influenced ideas later associated with automotive production. LMV itself explored automobile manufacturing during the early 1920s. In 1923 it completed a prototype designed by Åke W. Eklund. The car was notably light, with a stated weight of about 475 kilograms, and was designed with the poor road conditions of contemporary Sweden in mind. Its power unit was a French four-cylinder CIMA engine fitted with a Cozette carburettor. Descriptions of the prototype characterize it as reliable, robust, and capable of strong acceleration. LMV envisioned a production arrangement in which specialized subcontractors would make the separate components and the finished vehicles would be assembled at the company's own plant. The plan was not realized. LMV also made parts for two additional automobile projects, but changes in ownership prevented those vehicles from being assembled, and no LMV automobile entered regular production. During the later twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, LMV's identity became increasingly associated with industrial machinery and machine tools. From 2000 the company formed part of KMT Group, or Karolin Machine Tool AB. It subsequently operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of LMT, Lidköping Machine Tools, within the KMT organization. This structure linked LMV's historical manufacturing base to a more focused machine-tool group. Ownership changed again in March 2008, when Norekon Invest AB acquired LMV. Norekon also owned Noremech AB, an engineering company, providing LMV with a new ownership context within a broader engineering portfolio. In December 2019, Motala Verkstad Group AB acquired LMV. Since then, LMV has been identified as a subsidiary of MVG, continuing the company's long pattern of operating within larger industrial groups. The available historical record does not establish a detailed chronology of every product, facility, manager, or customer. It does, however, show a company with more than a century of continuity in Swedish mechanical engineering. LMV moved from diversified workshop and component production to recognized grinding-machine and machine-tool activity, while retaining a notable place in Swedish industrial history because of its technically ambitious but unsuccessful automobile prototype.
- 2019
Acquired by Motala Verkstad Group
[1]Motala Verkstad Group AB acquired LMV in December 2019, making it a subsidiary of MVG.
- 2008
Acquired by Norekon Invest
[2]Norekon Invest AB acquired LMV in March 2008.
- 2000
Becomes part of KMT Group
[1]LMV became part of KMT Group, also known as Karolin Machine Tool AB, and subsequently operated under the group's LMT machine-tool structure.
- 1929
Merger with SKF
[1]SKF and LMV were merged after their earlier commercial relationship in grinding machinery.
- 1923
Automobile prototype completed
[1]LMV completed a lightweight automobile prototype designed by Åke W. Eklund. The planned production program was never launched.
- 1908
SKF purchases its first LMV grinding machine
[1]SKF bought its first grinding machine from LMV, creating an important link between the two Swedish industrial companies.
- 1875
Company founded
[1]Lidköpings Mekaniska Verkstads was established in Lidköping, Sweden, as an engineering and mechanical manufacturing company.
Products and positioning
A long-established Swedish engineering and industrial machinery manufacturer with roots in general mechanical production and a later association with grinding and machine-tool technology.
Machine tools
Industrial grinding machines
Grinding machinery is the clearest documented product category associated with LMV. The company's historical relationship with SKF began when SKF purchased its first grinding machine from LMV in 1908. This equipment placed LMV within the precision-machine and industrial-tool segment of Swedish engineering.
Industrial engineering · 1875
Industrial components and machines
LMV originally manufactured a wide range of mechanical components and machines for industrial customers. These products were often supplied for resale or incorporated into other industrial operations, rather than marketed as consumer products under a standardized retail range.
Automotive prototype · 1923
LMV automobile prototype
Completed in 1923, the LMV automobile prototype was designed by Åke W. Eklund. It weighed approximately 475 kilograms and used a French four-cylinder CIMA engine with a Cozette carburettor. The design emphasized low weight, durability on Swedish roads, and strong acceleration. It remained a prototype because planned series production and final assembly were never undertaken.
Brand decisions
2019
Acquisition by Motala Verkstad GroupM&ABackground
LMV was operating as an engineering and machine-tool company when its ownership changed again in late 2019.
Action taken
Motala Verkstad Group AB acquired LMV in December 2019.
Aftermath
LMV became a subsidiary of MVG. Publicly available reference material does not specify the transaction value or subsequent operating changes.
2008
Acquisition by Norekon InvestM&ABackground
After its period within KMT Group, LMV changed ownership in the Swedish engineering sector.
Action taken
Norekon Invest AB acquired LMV in March 2008. Norekon also owned Noremech AB.
Aftermath
LMV continued under a new industrial ownership arrangement until its acquisition by Motala Verkstad Group in 2019.
2000
Integration into KMT GroupStrategyBackground
LMV's later business was increasingly connected with machine-tool manufacturing and the KMT Group.
Action taken
LMV became part of KMT Group and operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of LMT within that group.
Aftermath
The move placed LMV within a specialized machine-tool ownership structure before its subsequent sale to Norekon Invest in 2008.
1923
Development of an LMV automobile prototypeProduct launchBackground
LMV explored automobile manufacturing as an extension of its mechanical engineering capabilities during the early 1920s.
Action taken
The company completed a prototype designed by Åke W. Eklund and planned a subcontractor-based production model with assembly at the LMV plant.
Aftermath
The automobile was never placed into production. LMV also produced parts for two other car projects, but those vehicles were not assembled after an ownership change.
Sources2 sources
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