Atlas Copco (Copco of Commercial Pneumatic Company) is a Swedish multinational industrial founded in 1873. [7] It manufactures industrial tools and equipment. AB Atlas, as it was once called, was founded by Edvard Fränckel, a Swedish industrialist, politician and senior Swedish railway official. The company was founded with Andre O. Wallenberg, Johan W. Arnberg, Carl G. Cervin and Fredrik Didro. In its inauguration phase, Atlas dealt with the production, purchase and sale of all types of materials for railway construction and operation. After the recession of the 1880s and the decline of railway construction, Atlas diversified into locomotives, central heating and machine tools.
In 1899, Atlas began to develop the first air compressors and established itself as a compressor manufacturer. As the old production lines were phased out, Atlas merged with Diesel Motors in 1917 and the new Atlas Diesel company was formed with two main divisions: diesel engines and compressor air products. [10] Andrew E. Derksen is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Atlas Corp. and General Counsel of Seaspan Corporation. Mr. Derksen has over 15 years of leadership experience in commercial and legal leadership positions in Japan, Europe and the United States. Prior to joining Atlas, Mr. Derksen was General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Energy Technologies Holdings (Delaware) and Exide Technologies Group SAS, a $1.7 billion privately held battery manufacturer.
where Andrew was responsible for strategy/mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, risk and legal management. Previously, Mr. Derksen was General Counsel at Faurecia Interior Systems (Euronext: EO), an automotive group, where Mr. Derksen oversaw the legal and regulatory affairs of a group of companies with 35,000 employees and 70 plants worldwide. In addition, Mr. Derksen has held various positions in the energy industry, including at Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) in Houston. Prior to his role as Managing Director and Director, Mr. Derksen practised law at Herbert Smith Freehills in Paris and Faskens in Toronto.
Mr. Derksen is called to the bars of Ontario, England and Wales and Paris. He studied business administration at ESCP (Paris) and holds a Juris Doctor from Queen`s University in Kingston, Ontario. Mr. Derksen works in the executive office in Hong Kong. The merger of Atlas Diesel experienced significant growth during World War I and towards the end of the war, exports dominated 40-50% of production. The depression years caused significant losses for the company, which led to several financial restructurings in the 1920s and 1930s. The economy began to recover, demand began to grow again in the mid-1930s, and Atlas Diesel experienced a sales boom, with compressed air mining being the largest area. World War II remained an active period for the company and a period when strategic planning played a major role in development. Manufacturing capabilities were improved and the purchase and acquisition of subsidiaries in Sweden and other countries was a key part of Atlas Diesel`s continued growth after World War II. The “Swedish method” was another war strategy that greatly influenced the company`s pneumatic program, consisting of lightweight rock drills and carbide tip drills. In 1948, the company ceased diesel production and the name “Atlas Diesel” was no longer relevant.
The name Atlas Copco became official in 1955 and was inspired by the Belgian subsidiary Compagnie Pneumatique Commerciale. [11] As a $1 billion company, Taylor-based Atlas Oil still sees people as its greatest resource, Simon said. “You have to hire the best,” he said. “You have to make sure you hire people who are hungry and want a career, not just a job.” Atlas Copco conducts research and development in a variety of technologies at its global research centres, where each business area has its own objectives and resources. Training and workshops have been introduced in customer centers and product companies around the world. The company is focused on growing automation to bring more production back to the U.S. and Europe. In 2020, Atlas Copco acquired Isra Vision[22] in February and Perceptron[23] in September to strengthen its position in automation. [24] In March 2022, Atlas Copco acquired the assets of Ceres Technologies[25], a US manufacturer and developer of gas and steam generation equipment for the semiconductor industry.
[26] Atlas has experienced strong growth in recent years.