Henry Dunker

The Dunker family had its origin in Schleswig-Holstein. The family lived in Esbjerg, Denmark when Henry was born in 1870. Henry was two years old when his father Johan Dunker, who was an engineer at the time, was asked to lead the work and building of property at the Port of Helsingborg.

File:Helsingsborgs Gummifabrik AB, 1901.jpg

In 1891, Dunker's father Johan founded Helsingsborgs Gummifabrik AB. The rubber footwear produced by the factory was of poor quality, so the younger Dunker travelled to Russia to learn how to produce better rubber.{{cite web|url=http://us.tretorn.com/Our-History/a/4/ |title=Our History |publisher=Tretorn |accessdate=11 June 2014 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714181752/http://us.tretorn.com/Our-History/a/4/ |archivedate=14 July 2014}} During a visit to Saint Petersburg, Russia, he did not find any new material, but in Riga, Latvia he met chemist Julius von Gerkan, who agreed to help him improve the rubber formula. His company was known for creating a rubber that was soft when cold but not sticky when the weather improved.{{cite book|last1=Proctor|first1=James|last2=Roland|first2=Neil|title=Sweden|date=2003|publisher=Rough Guides|location=London|isbn=184353066X|page=[https://archive.org/details/sweden0000proc/page/163 163]|edition=3rd|url=https://archive.org/details/sweden0000proc|url-access=registration}}

File:Henry Dunker byst.jpg

In 1894, Dunker took over control of the factory and, after some time, expanded the factory.{{cite web|url=http://www.foretagsamheten.se/Entreprenorer/Entreprenorer/Henry-Dunker/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411070156/http://www.foretagsamheten.se/Entreprenorer/Entreprenorer/Henry-Dunker/ |url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-04-11 |title=Gummit gjorde honom rik |publisher=Foretagsamheten.se |language=Swedish |accessdate=11 June 2014}} In 1905, Dunker, along with Johan Kock, changed the Velox factory in Trelleborg into the Trelleborgs gummifabrik. Through a network of sales offices not only in Sweden but also in Copenhagen, Berlin and Vienna, Dunker gained better control over the distribution chain.{{cite web|url=http://sylvan.st/persongalleri/gerda%20dunker.htm |title=Persongalleri | Gerda Dunker |publisher=Sylvan.st |language=Swedish |accessdate=11 June 2014 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141841/http://sylvan.st/persongalleri/gerda%20dunker.htm |archivedate=14 July 2014}} With time, the rubber products produced by his company expanded to include tennis balls, shower caps and tires. In 1912, Dunker created a cartel with the purpose of increasing its competitive power abroad.{{cite web |url=http://www.affarsvarlden.se/hem/analyser/article2565541.ece |title=Dunkers makt består – Affärsvärlden |language=Swedish |publisher=Affarsvarlden.se |date=24 May 2014 |accessdate=11 June 2014 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093735/http://www.affarsvarlden.se/hem/analyser/article2565541.ece |url-status=dead }} Prices for the rubber increased in Sweden but were lowered abroad.

Dunker gave his workers free healthcare and subsidized medicine.{{cite web |url=http://se.tretorn.com/history.aspx?tag=ecde7b1e-1dff-35cb-30ae-bab0a44480be |title=History |language=sv |publisher=Treton |accessdate=11 June 2014 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163307/http://se.tretorn.com/history.aspx?tag=ecde7b1e-1dff-35cb-30ae-bab0a44480be |archivedate=14 July 2014 }} He installed wooden floors in his factories to improve the comfort of his workers. In 1911, he started a day care facility (barnkrubban) to provide care for his employees' children during the workday, a phenomenon that began in the 1850s{{Cite web |url=http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/158823.pdf |title=Colour Me Green, A Sustainable Preschool in Kareby, Kungälv – A brief history of preschools in Sweden (p.16) |access-date=23 June 2014 |archive-date=4 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204220812/http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/158823.pdf |url-status=live }} but was still unusual in the early 20th century.

In 1961, at 90 years of age, Dunker was still chair of the board of his company Trelleborgs Gummifabriks AB. The business employed 5,000 people and had a floor area of {{convert|180000|sqyd|m2}}.[https://books.google.com/books?id=rpcjAQAAMAAJ The Rubber and Plastics Age Volume 42, Page 635]

File:Dunkers kulturhus.jpg is a museum and art centre in Dunker's adopted city]]

Dunker was married to Gerda Sylvan (1879–1936), a daughter of the merchant August Sylvan and Gustava Eleonora Lundgren.Vem är det? Svensk biografisk handbok 1943 (Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt & Söner, 1942), p. 182 [https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1943/0182.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105034841/http://runeberg.org/vemardet/1943/0182.html |date=5 November 2016 }}

Dunker died in 1962 in Helsingborg. Upon his death, he willed his fortune to the Henry and Gerda Dunker Foundation which subsequently funded many improvements to Helsingborg. The Henry and Gerda Dunker Foundation, together with the Henry and Gerda Dunker Donation Fund No. 2, own the majority voting interest of Trelleborg AB.{{cite web|url = http://www.trelleborg.com/en/Investors/The-Trelleborg-Share/FAQ---The-Dunker-interests-and-Trelleborg/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070704011219/http://www.trelleborg.com/en/Investors/The-Trelleborg-Share/FAQ---The-Dunker-interests-and-Trelleborg/|url-status = dead|archive-date = 4 July 2007|title = The Dunker interests and Trelleborg|author = Official website Trelleborg AB|access-date = 23 June 2014}} Dunker is buried at Donationskyrkogården in Helsingborg.{{cite web |url=http://stadslexikon.helsingborg.se/index.php?title=Henry_Dunker |title=Henry Dunker – Helsingborgs stadslexikon |language=Swedish |publisher=Stadslexikon.helsingborg.se |date=11 December 2012 |accessdate=11 June 2014 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714142300/http://stadslexikon.helsingborg.se/index.php?title=Henry_Dunker |url-status=live }}

{{clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunker, Henry}}

Category:1870 births

Category:1962 deaths

Category:Swedish business executives

Category:Swedish industrialists

Category:People from Esbjerg

Category:People from Helsingborg

Category:Danish emigrants to Sweden