On the 15th
of April, the founder of AS Fors MW Leif Fors passed away at the early age of
65. Leif was an exceptional entrepreneur who from an early age had to learn to
stand on his own two feet. Leif had his roots in the most beautiful of locations
in a small village known as Forsvik, Sweden.
In the
beginning of the 90s Leif took a ferry with destination Tallinn, Estonia. The
main reason for the journey was curiosity but what would reveal itself not more
than 400 kilometers from the Swedish coast line affected him deeply. He saw a
country in despair after fifty years of communist rule. Leif saw an opportunity
to create a future for himself but also the ability to create a future for
others. So he came to do in the creation of one of the industry's largest
companies in forestry, agriculture and construction. The international company
came to bear his name. FORS MW is known for its market leading products FARMA,
BIGAB and NIAB.
In 1992 he
left Sweden for Estonia and he never really returned back to Sweden. Estonia
came to stand close to his heart and when the time came he ended his days there
after spending more than 25 years in the country. Leif stood in line the very
first day you could register a company in Estonia. Before him in the queue were
45 people. Leif registered the Estonian company number 46. One number we carry
with pride. Leif literally built his own first factory by himself being the
builder as he was. Leif early put focus on user needs but also the ability to
produce trailers at a price that the customer would actually be willing to pay.
Rarely, a
person has had so many different and various strings in the trunk known as life,
but they also came to be a prerequisite not only in the creation of a
successful company, but also at the large forest and agricultural property in
Estonia. With the persistence of few and with lucidity Leif created something
in less than twenty years that most would not even come close to in a lifetime.
Many were
the stories by and about Leif over the years. His life had more than its fair
shares of difficult challenges and tough times but the word of giving up was
not in the vocabulary of Leif Fors. What would become Leif´s fate was known for
some time and he could therefore prepare for the future of the company in all
its parts. Leif´s daughter Ulrica Fors Stenmarck will now take over as the
family´s representative in the business.
Leif is
survived by his children Mikael Fors and Ulrica Fors Stenmarck.
Peter Kastberg
CEO AS FORS MW
