The SiOO X Story – Protecting the Planet - Book - Page 19
The Sioo Story. Beginnings.
HER JE GREW UP in a small town in Sweden and as a child had
a love of sports and especially sailing in the clean waters of his
local lakes and rivers. After training as a teacher of maths and
physics he was called up for his compulsory military service,
which he served in the Swedish navy as the captain of a mine
sweeper at the tender age of 20.
World War II for fire protection, was also tested. However, this
technique was rejected since it was discovered that it does not
penetrate and protect as effectively, but rather over-strengthens the surface layer, which then becomes subject to cracking.
With the confidence of successful experimentation and remarkable results, Herje decided to ‘go for it’. He had taken a year off,
studying chemistry at home and preparing to form a business
to develop a silicate product, as yet un-named, and get patent
protection. He won a competition for business start-up funding
and formed Sioo Wood Protection AB in 1998. Herje and his team
developed a product suitable for protecting wood against the
taxing Scandinavian environment. Contacts were established
with paint giant Akzo Nobel and Chalmers University of Technology, where together the basic technology was tested for
several years. The Sioo team simultaneously carried out in-house
development projects. A unique silicon formula was developed
and the results were confirmed by testing the product under
both laboratory conditions and on wood exposed to real-world
elements. “It was a real thrill. A whole new world opened up. I
was studying, teaching and completely captivated,” says Herje.
He applied for a patent, which was approved a few years later.
This served as the foundation for a broad and stable patent-protected technology base on which to develop the business for
many years to come.
After military service he worked for some time in a pre-fabricated house-building factory, but in the 1980’s decided to
move to Munich to study. In Munich he met some architects who
were involved in the restoration of historic buildings, a chance
encounter that was to change his life. Working with them, he
learnt about the use of silicate stabilisation of plaster in cultural
heritage and the use of silanes as water repellents. This led to
one of those ‘what if?’ moments.
Herje moved back to Sweden and continued his studies, but with
a focus on running a business, eventually leading to a degree in
business administration and an award of a Master’s in business
economics. He had a number of jobs in big companies, but did
not like the environment of large organisations; he really wanted
to run his own business.
The Munich friends kept in touch and periodically got together.
After a few years they launched a business based on researching
old techniques to discover forgotten treasures of knowledge
that could be developed into modern products. Meanwhile,
Herje had started working as a teacher, which he was enjoying hugely. The partners settled on a successful technique that
conservators have been using for centuries to preserve wood.
It involves a simple mixture of silicon and potassium that pene
trates into and unites with wood, while strengthening it with
a crystalline layer. This technique has protected valuable art
objects and wooden details in buildings against mildew, rotting
and insects for centuries. Sodium silicate, which was used during
Herje’s house became a test-rig, neighbours acquired silicate-enhanced decking and people started making enquiries – what
was going on, what was the decking being treated with? Eventually, after much testing, the first cans of SiOO:X were sold in
2006, with production starting in 2007.
Photo: Stendahls.
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