When this summer's Olympics took place in Paris, it marked the eleventh time Malmsten's Racing Lane Lines have been used in the Games. This year, the company supplied equipment for four sports: swimming, water polo, diving, and open water swimming. CEO Marcus Malmsten was present at the event.

"I may not fit the typical CEO mold. I enjoy being hands-on in every aspect. I strongly believe that to excel as a CEO, it's essential to engage directly with our customers and understand their reality. It's fulfilling to personally assemble our products alongside my brother Christian, ensuring everything meets our exacting standards. This hands-on approach leaves no room for error," explains Marcus Malmsten, who took over as CEO of the family business Malmsten in 2016.

"In swimming, breaking records is everything. Our mission is to deliver the finest tools to achieve that goal.”

On that note, nothing has changed. With the same goal, his parents aimed to improve equipment for swimmers in the local swim club in the early 1970s. Former elite swimmer Tommy Malmsten was a swim coach, and together with his wife Margareta, they soon led ideas such as wave-damping lane lines and "self-assembled" swim goggles through their own small-scale handmade production.

"Back then, lanes were divided practically using garden hoses, causing significant sloshing and splashing that disrupted swimmers' flow'. The wave should enter the line and be absorbed, not bounce back or spill into neighboring lanes." explains Tommy Malmsten.

"Swimming is a sport where hundredths and tenths make all the difference. We sold our first lines at a competition in Bremen in 1975, and I remember numerous records being set,"

Local production quickly became a cornerstone for the family business. Plastic components for swimming goggles and lane lines were injection-molded in Sätaröd, Sweden, and assembly was handled with the help of swimmers and friends in a tent next door. At home, around the kitchen table, the swimming goggles were packaged by hand, and it wasn't until the mid-80s that the company acquired functional office and warehouse facilities.

Fifty years after the company was founded in 1974, the pursuit of records continues—now on the world's largest swimming stages. The Racing Lane Line, used in around sixty World and European Championships, undergoes continuous product development.

"We've collaborated with a professor at KTH and conducted extensive measurements and tests on both our competitors' products and our own. By offering competitive pricing coupled with superior functionality and durability, we aim to solidify our position further," says Christian Malmsten, Vice President and Product Developer.

Recently, Malmsten received further validation of their efforts: a new contract with World Aquatics, formerly FINA, securing the use of Malmsten equipment from 2025 to 2028.

In 2028, the Los Angeles Olympics await, which, in a way, is a home game for Malmsten. Through its subsidiary, Malmsten Inc., the company has already established local production facilities and assembled a dedicated team in the USA.

"The USA is the largest market in the world, and establishing a presence there has always been a dream for us. The journey has been long and challenging, but once we found the right person to collaborate with, we didn't hesitate," says Marcus Malmsten.

That person is former national swimmer and Olympic medalist Mikael Örn. He was coached by Tommy Malmsten and swam the third leg in the bronze-winning team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. With a subsequent career at IBM in the USA, he was the right man for the job.

“We've essentially become market leaders in water polo already, and we believe we can capture 35-40% of the American swim line market in a few years,"

Plans are now in place for a similar establishment in Asia. "Yes, possibly in South Korea. We're already established at major competitions in Asia, but to become a competitive supplier in day-to-day operations, we need local manufacturing," Marcus Malmsten adds.

Åhus remains the heart of the family business, and here the headquarters has just undergone a makeover. After a total renovation, the number of office spaces has doubled. "It's an investment for the future. We anticipate needing more space as we grow while also aiming to offer our employees a modern and pleasant working environment. Moreover, we increasingly invite our customers to Åhus for training sessions and to showcase our production," says Marcus Malmsten.

This is undeniably a family business. Christian's wife Hazel works as a marketing coordinator, and Marcus's wife Malin has also joined the company—responsible for an entirely new operation.

"Malin is in charge of Arena, for which we've become the official distributor in Sweden. Arena is a world leader in competition equipment and suits for swimmers, and this collaboration opens many doors for us in a highly competitive market," he says.

There is also a younger sister, Elisabeth, who is a co-owner but not actively involved in the operations at Malmsten.

Malmsten has also been entrusted to be a distributor for state-of-the-art Duraflex diving boards in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and several countries in Southwest Asia, while through several subsidiary companies, they also supply water slides and all other swimming pool equipment to their customers.

"We're becoming an increasingly complete supplier of everything needed in a swimming pool. From designing and planning aquatic centers to movable pool floors, pool linings, and water toys."

However, Margareta Malmsten emphasizes that success is built on more than just having the right products. "You can have the best products in the world but need the best employees to succeed. We have an absolutely fantastic team. Many key people also have a background in swimming, with several of them trained by Tommy, for example, Eva-Marie Håkansson, who helped build up our export department. Without all this in-house expertise, we wouldn't be where we are today."

For the Malmsten Group, 2023 marked an all-time high. Despite challenges with currency fluctuations, shipping costs, and soaring raw material prices, the core business continues to thrive in the 2024 anniversary year. For founders Tommy and Margareta, now senior advisors in the company, it's a remarkable journey from the kitchen table where it all began fifty years ago.

"We've experienced so many incredible things along this journey. It's almost hard to comprehend. And much of the positive developments in recent years are thanks to Marcus and Christian," says Margareta Malmsten.

"I've always loved going to work. It's flowed like a dance," adds Tommy Malmsten.

We've lived with the company around the clock, solving new problems every day, and suddenly, ten years have passed. And then, just like that, fifty years. We've always looked forward."