Born in Örebro in 1850, Carl Johan Andersson was four years younger than Ericsson. The future business partners got to know each other while working for Öller & Co. In parallel with their apprenticeship training at Öller, both men received financial support through government grants for practical studies abroad, and they both acquired comprehensive background knowledge for their future careers. Like Ericsson, Andersson invested SEK 1,000 in the newly established company. However, it was the personal characteristics and thorough training of the two men that formed a solid foundation for the company.
Carl Johan Andersson remained as a partner in the company until 1886, when Lars Magnus Ericsson became sole proprietor. The more meticulous Andersson was appointed foreman and continued to serve in that capacity until 1908. Exactly why Andersson decided to terminate his position as a company partner was never known - but a disagreement with Ericsson is the general consensus of opinion. The rift was probably caused, quite simply, by Anderson's lack of interest in management. He wanted to concentrate on engineering jobs. When the company was restructured as AB LM Ericsson & Co in 1896, Andersson was appointed to the Board of Directors, but he resigned in 1901, the same year Ericsson resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board. In 1908, Andersson left the company and established residency in Uppsala. Members of his family retained prominent positions with Ericsson, however. Wilhelm Berling, his son, was appointed technical manager of the Ericsson Manufacturing Company in Buffalo, NY, in the US, and was later named President of the company in 1914.
When Andersson retired to private life after working for 32 years with the company he helped establish, he instituted a foundation called the C J Andersson Support Fund, with an initial endowment of SEK 5,000. The fund was established "to provide some form of assistance for respected men and women with at least two years of employment in the factory, who, through illness or other misfortunes, had fallen on hard times". During the 30-year period from 1908 to 1937, the C J Andersson Support Fund donated SEK 10,315 to 222 persons, including 101 women.
For a few years, Andersson served as a member of the Stockholm City Council as a representative of the conservative right. He was also interested in development of the workers' movement and, on his 50th birthday in 1900, he donated SEK 500 to establish a library for the company's employees.
Carl Johan Andersson was a quiet man, creating the impression of a modest, perhaps introverted person. At work, he was extremely energetic. He died at his home in Uppsala on August 11, 1927.
Author: K V Tahvanainen
