The Gambro story

It all started with the first artificial kidney invented by Professor Nils Alwall. Just three years later, in 1964, the industrialist Holger Crafoord met the inventor at a social event and listened to his story. It was so impressive, he felt compelled to develop and market this life-saving innovation.
 
Development work began in Lund, Sweden. The company adopted the name Gambro, which comes from the Swedish abbreviation for “Gamla Brogatans Sjukvårdsaffär Aktiebolag". Roughly translated, that means “Old Bridge Street Medical Supplies Company". Mass-production of single-use artificial kidneys and dialysis machines began in 1967. The company’s first plant outside Sweden was built in Hechingen, Germany in the 1970s.

During the last three decades, acquisitions have helped broaden Gambro’s range of products and services. Hospal, COBE, REN and Vivra have all been added to the Gambro Group. REN and Vivra are now divested as Gambro has sold all US clinics to US dialysis company DaVita.

Indap AB, indirectly jointly-owned by EQT and Investor AB announced on April 3, 2006 a public cash offer to the shareholders of Gambro to acquire all outstanding shares in Gambro. The new ownership structure of Gambro became effective in June 2006.
 
Milestones in the Gambro Story:

2007 With the divesture of Gambro Health Care, Gambro became the only global clinic-independent company with a full range of products, covering all renal therapies within Peritoneal Dialysis, Self Care hemodialysis, In-Center hemodialysis, Renal Intensive Care and Hepatic Care
2006 Indap AB, new owners of Gambro
2005 In December 2005, Gambro BCT reached its sales target of USD 300 million.
2005 Gambro sells US clinics and establishes strategic alliance with DaVita and Baxter.
2004 Gambro celebrates its 40th anniversary.
2003 Gambro BCT reached USD 200 million in sales.
2001 The new state-of-the-art plant for production of dialyzers opened in Germany.
2000 COBE BCT changes its name to Gambro BCT.
1998 Incentive changes its name to Gambro, heralding the start of a new era.
1997 Launch of Trima Automated Blood Collection System.
1996 Gambro becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Incentive, an international technology based industrial group.
1991 First Gambro dialysis clinic is opened in Lund, Sweden.
1990 COBE (American company founded in 1964 – active in renal care, blood component technology and cardiovascular surgery) is acquired.
1988 Launch of COBE Spectra Apheresis System.
1987 Hospal (a European company founded in 1977 by the merger of Sandoz and Rhône-Poulenc) is acquired and the BiCart-cartridge is launched.
1983 Gambro shares are listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
1977 The AK-10, the first computerized dialysis machine, is introduced at a renal care congress in Helsinki Finland.
1973 The first plant outside Sweden is opened in Hechingen, Germany.
1967 The dialyzer “Ad-modum-Alwall” is launched.
1964 Gambro was founded in Lund by Holger Crafoord, an industrialist who decided to develop and market the artificial kidney.