User:Piab AB/sandbox

Piab AB (Piab aktiebolag) is a developer and manufacturer of automated material handling and factory automation processes worldwide. The company has 16 offices spread in Europe, North America, South America and Asia.

History
The company was founded in 1951 by Sven Tell in Stockholm, Sweden with the first product being a pair of compasses by which circles of large and small diameters can be drawn by means of interchangeable bars. The product gave the company it's name "pi" (p is the ratio of diameter to circumference) and "AB" (incorporated) put together to Piab. Products that followed were instruments for measuring tensile forces such as the PIAB dynamometer which is still being used more than 60 years after production. In 1968 the company introduced the Pneucette, a tin solder suction device which was their first venture into vacuum technology which would became Piab's field of focus. In 1972 the company developed the patented APV 1000 which was the first multistage ejector.

Company
Piab AB serves customers through a network of distributors and is distributed in more than 50 countries. The company has approximately 270 employees worldwide and offices in 16 countries; Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, UK and the USA. Over 300 distributors are connected to Piab worldwide.

In 1998 Jacob Tell took over as the new CEO. In 2006 Altor Equity Partners acquired Piab AB with Peter and Jacob Tell keeping the position as executive managers. In 2008 Per-Erik Lindquist was appointed CEO of Piab. In 2013 Anders Lindqvist took over the position of CEO after Per-Erik left his position.

Notable products
The APV 100 was the first vacuum innovation from Piab, presented in 1972, and introduced multistage ejectors in vacuum technology. The patented COAX® two-stage ejector was introduced to the market in 2000. In 2011 the vacuum pump piCLASSIC was awarded with the title product of the year which is published by the Engineering & Maintenance of Industrial Plants magazine. Piab presented modular suction cups with the piGRIP line of products in 2012.