Åkers Styckebruk has been put on the map by the industrial activities that have been pursued by the Åkers company for more than four hundred years. In sporting circles, Åkers Styckebruk is perhaps just as well known for its long-established ice hockey team, which not long ago played two seasons in the top flight of the national ice hockey league. Both the Åkers company and the Åkers ice hockey team are now looking to the future, even if their goals are somewhat different.

“For us, it’s important for the Åkers Group to be associated with enterprise, innovation and the desire to keep up with the competition. By focusing on young players, Åkers Hockey is taking an approach that is in perfect accord with the major challenges facing Åkers as a company,” says Bengt Nilsson, President and CEO of the Åkers Group.

During the 2008/2009 season, Åkers Hockey will play its league games in Division 2 South, and the aim is for the team to offer both participants and spectators an attractive sporting experience.

“One way for Åkers Hockey to achieve the objectives set by the club and its players was to involve some of the municipality’s most important employers. The response from Åkers AB gives us reason to believe that there is a very bright future ahead for senior ice hockey in the municipality. This, together with the partnerships the clubs have within all age groups where the youth initiative Gripen Hockey is leading the way, will generate the interest in ice hockey that the municipality deserves,” says Anders Andersson, Chairman of Åkers Hockey.

The sponsorship agreement with Åkers AB means, among other things, that the team’s best player will get to visit the company’s production facilities in the US next spring and also see an NHL ice hockey game in Pittsburgh.

“An important element in this is to show that Åkers is an attractive employer offering plenty of different career opportunities,” says Bengt Nilsson.

The league season starts on 3 October. Preliminary match days for the season are Fridays and Tuesdays.

“Here at Åkers Hockey we believe that this will suit the spectators, and hopefully this arrangement will enable us to achieve one of this year’s most important goals, namely a crowd of 500 attending each home match,” concludes Anders Andersson.