From the beginning, Lennart focused on one theme which was to build a reliable adiabatic cutoff machine that would save time, energy and material. He built and sold several machines in the United States, and then waited for the word to spread about the value of these machines. But to his dismay, his new machines had become a “best kept” secret. It seems Lennart had discovered the adiabatic advantage, but his customers had discovered that Lennart’s machines were their competitive advantage. Word of mouth advertising simply was not going to work for this innovation.

The fulfillment of Lennart’s dream was to come, but not as fast as he had hoped. It would take a chance encounter through some unusual connections before Lennart Lindell, a Swedish immigrant, would meet Gordon Goranson, the son of a Swedish immigrant who had settled in Chicago. That unusual connection was their wives. Mrs. Lindell and Mrs. Goranson met at a Swedish-American event and began talking. The result seems to prove, twice-fold, the old adage that behind every successful man is a good woman.

Gordon Goranson had a background perfectly matched to the needs of an inventor with a young company struggling to stand on its own feet. Not only had Gordon been a seasoned plant manager, but he had a very successful career as a banking executive. This blend of manufacturing and banking experience, combined with Lennart’s technical knowledge, put them on a life-long path that neither man would ever have expected.

Corporate growth: In 1998, LMC, Inc. went commercial. Not only was the company producing high-velocity, adiabatic cutoff machines for sale to manufacturers, but the company began a division, APM, which provided manufactures with cutoff services of round and profiled solids from bar and coil in medium to exceptionally large volumes.

In 2001, the events of 9/11 created havoc for the US economy and many small manufacturing companies simply could not survive the downturn. This event also took its toll on LMC, Inc., but the company found a way to remain on its feet. To survive, LMC, Inc., relied on its core values, the same core values of drive and determination that first caused that young Swedish inventor, Lennart Lindell, to come to America to build his dream. And it relied upon the vision and experience of a seasoned business navigator, Gordon Goranson, who knew how to weather storms.

In early 2002, LMC, Inc. purchased its first corporate home at 335 Wurlitzer Drive in DeKalb, Illinois. That facility housed both the machine division and APM, the cuoff service division. But additional growth was needed and it seems a person’s roots are hard to ignore. Both Lennart and Gordon, began to look to Europe for additional growth opportunities. There was an entire industrial market in Europe that had not suffered the consequences of 9/11 and that market could provide a variety of opportunities for LMC. It was time to act. After significant research, Lennart and Gordon decided that a sales and production office should be opened in Sweden. So, in September 2002, LMC, AB, was founded and located in Lidkoping, Sweden. Today, sales in Europe are strong and have proven Lennart’s and Gordon’s growth strategy to be well founded.

As LMC grew, it became apparent that the company needed a new home to build more machines and APM needed more room to provide cutoff services for a growing list of customers. So, in August, 2003, LMC moved its machine design and manufacturing division to 630 Enterprise Drive in DeKalb, and APM took over the entire Wurlitizer facility. LMC originally rented one half of the Enterprise facility from a shows and exhibit design company who had also suffered a setback from the events of 9/11. But in early 2005, based on a need for even more space to grow its machine business, LMC, Inc., purchased the building with plans to become the sole occupant.