CIDAN History

Founded in Sweden – Since 1907

Most companies can’t say they’ve been in business for over 100 years, but we have – 116 years to be exact. Some say that might make us old, but luckily, our machines and values don’t get wrinkles. So what you’re left with is the wisdom and knowledge that comes along side withstanding the test of time.

Being that we can trace our lineage and rich history back to more than a century ago, our story is extremely long and tedious. Instead of going through the past 116 years in detail, we’ll give you some of the highlights. Why? Because where we came from is the foundation of who we are, the root of our values, and can give some insight in regards to where we are headed.

So, just sit back and enjoy the story of CIDAN Machinery, one of the oldest and most well-established companies in the sheet metal business.

The merging of five companies

This story begins in the quaint municipality of Götene, Sweden, situated between the third and sixth largest lakes in all of Europe, Vänern and Vättern. The year is 1907 and our focus is the founding of a company named Göteneds Mekaniska Verkstad – we’re going to go with Göteneds for short.

Göteneds manufactured industrial equipment and was founded on the core values that we still observe today – innovation, safety, speed, reliability and flexibility. Over the next forty years, Göteneds evolved and adapted to new industry and technological trends – designing and manufacturing high quality machines for sheet metal processing. In 1947, when it produced the very first sheet metal shearing machine, Göteneds went down in the chronicles of history a complete game changer. That spark ignited a flame that still burns brightly today.

All the while, in the neighboring country of Denmark, another notable founding took place within the sheet metal machinery industry. In 1954 CIDAN A/S sprung forth from its strong roots in attention to detail and innovation. As CIDAN A/S’s customer base grew so did the knowledge of their unparalleled quality service and great strides in the industry. In 1993, CIDAN A/S acquired Göteneds. The merging of that quality service and game changing innovation resulted in an unstoppable dream team. In the following years the business in Sweden grew stronger and stronger. Year 2009 was Sweden and Götene the obvious place to place the head office to, as well as the production which had previously been placed in Denmark. In 2016 a Swedish company acquires CIDAN Machinery.

At the end of 2017, it was time for the next big step, then CIDAN Macinery AB acquires Austrian Forstner Maschinenbau GmbH. Forstner, who started in 1960, has great expertise in sheet metal with an impressive programme of cut-to-length lines, straightener with rollers, feed functions, control systems, decoilers and recoilers etc., which thus makes CIDAN Machinery into a full partner in State-of-the-art and high-quality sheet metal working equipment. In 2019 CIDAN Machinery aquires Austrian nuIT, experts in information technology (IT) regarding automation and metal trim production. In the beginning of 2022 we acquired long folder producer Thalmann Maschinenbau. The acquisition marks a major step forward as a One-Stop-Partner for sheet metal equipment manufacturer and software developer that integrates all unit operation from de-coiling to folding that includes long folders.

More than a century of innovation

1907 Göteneds Mekaniska Verkstad is founded in Sweden
1947 First shear is produced
1954 CIDAN is founded in Denmark
1979 Power Folder K15 is introduced
1984 Power Folder K25 is introduced
1987 Combi Beam invention
1993 CIDAN A/S acquires Göteneds Mekaniska
1995 Power Folder KM is introduced
1996 Power Folder KMP is introduced
2000 Power Folder PRO is introduced
2002 Power Folder PROLINO is introduced
2004 Power Folder FUTURA introduced
2006 Power Folder FUTURA PLUS & Power Folder MEGAPRO are introduced
2007 CIDAN Machinery Inc., USA is established & Göteneds Mekaniska has 100 year anniversary
2009 Production in Denmark is moved to Sweden; name changed to Petersen Machinery in DK & SE
2010 Power Folder KMS is introduced
2012 Shear RAPIDO and decoiler ROTOCOIL are introduced; CIDAN Machinery Trading Shanghai is founded
2013 CIDAN Machinery Americas is created as sales area for CMI; CIDAN Machinery is the company name to be used globally instead of Petersen Machinery
2014 Shear EVO is introduced
2015 The Up/Down PRO Z Power Folder is released
2016 Power Folder FORMA is introduced
2016 A Swedish company acquires CIDAN Machinery Sweden AB
2017 Automation advancement with the release of Vacuum cup backgauge
2018 CIDAN Macinery AB acquires Austrian Forstner Maschinenbau GmbH
2018 The Up/Down FORMA Z Power Folder is released
2019 CIDAN Macinery AB acquires Austrian nuIT GmbH
2019 Power Folders F, FS and FX Series are introduced
2019 New Forstner nuSLIT lines introduced
2022 CIDAN Machinery Group acquire long folder producer Thalmann Maschinenbau in Switzerland