About Speedheater Systems AB

The company that invented and developed IR as a paint removal method

Today, we are a company that develops, manufactures and sells products and system solutions for paint, putty and varnish removal. We go above and beyond to solve our customers’ paint removal problems.

Speedheater System is our patented method for paint removal using IR. It’s a product invented, developed and manufactured right here in Sweden by us at Speedheater.

The company was founded in 1988 by Birger Ericson, focusing at the time on exterior renovations with a growing number of paint removal projects. The work back then was done using the methods available on the market, for example, using chemicals or blasting. However, these methods ultimately damaged the wood surface and had a negative impact on the user’s health, and Birger recognized the need for new and better technology. The development of this new technology needed to fulfill three important criteria:

1. No damage to the underlying surface
2. No harm to the environment or the user
3. Easy to use

Birger’s solution would become the new invention, Speedheater, which was based on IR technology that would soften paint layers all the way down to the wood surface.

The Speedheater technology was presented at a paint trade fair in 1991, and subsequent business efforts throughout the 1990s focused primarily on renting and selling to the professional market.

In 2000, the Speedheater 1100 was launched. A smaller, handheld model that was also developed to make window restoration easier, but this time aimed at ordinary consumers. In the years since then, we have developed the Speedheater concept with new, more efficient solutions of our 1100 model (the Speedheater Standard and Speedheater Rapid), as well as various accessories, including suspension solutions and scrapers. We have also developed the brand-new model, Speedheater Cobra, which is even more flexible and easy to handle.

We are a company that strives at every stage to facilitate and streamline work, both in terms of developing new products for our customers and with our own internal work. We have a flat business organization where every employee is equally important. Working at Speedheater System means taking responsibility for your own work while also receiving support from all of your coworkers. This gives us strength and helps make for an efficient service-oriented organization that our customers clearly recognize and appreciate.

Birger Ericson, Founder & CEO

Meet Speedheater’s founder and CEO

Birger Ericson

Even before 1988, when Speedheater System AB was founded, Birger had been driven by a tireless commitment to developing innovative solutions that make it easy for both professionals and enthusiasts to restore buildings, furniture and boats. Although the setbacks have been many over the years, Birger has never lost his passion for creating and developing high-quality solutions that are safe for both users and the environment. Birger’s inventions have helped change the industry and set new standards for experts and DIYers alike.

In addition to being a devoted family man with a world-class inventive mind, he also leads Speedheater’s amazing team with humility and incredible personal commitment. As if that wasn’t enough, he was recently elected chairman of the Swedish Federation of Business Owners in Alingsås and has been a board member of the Swedish Inventors’ Association in Gothenburg for some time.