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Iron and Steel
This is a traditional Swedish industry and Sweden was the largest exporter of iron products in Europe for over two hundred years. Its importance has however diminished in recent years.
The mining industry is dominated by the LKAB company and 90% of its production is exported, mainly to the German steel industry. The exports of iron ore have decreased since the mid 1970s but Sweden is still among the top ten exporters in the world.
The steel industry is also exporting most of its production. Swedish steel producers have concentrated on quality and more than half of the sales value consists of the more expensive special steel used for precision tools and ball bearings, etc.
Production
The engineering industry is the largest manufacturing industry in Sweden. The industry has a very high technological level. Swedish engineering companies like SKF, ABB and Ericsson and inventions like the ball bearing have given Sweden a good worldwide reputation in this sector.
The car and airplane industries are also significant. Volvo and SAAB are well-known companies in these fields and produce both cars and trucks under various brand names. SAAB is also a producer of commercial and military airplanes.
Many traditional Swedish mechanical manufacturing companies have diversified into the electronics industry, which has grown rapidly. Sweden has one of the most automatized manufacturing industries in the world, and Sweden's ABB is the largest producer of industrial robots in Europe. Ericsson is a very successful company in telecommunications and sell digital exchanges and cellular phone systems to markets all over the world.
The Service Industry
The service sector is by far the largest in the Swedish economy in terms of employment. It consists not only of traditional services like financial, educational and medical but also of an increasing service part in production...