– We’ve never chased quick wins or shortcuts. Every year, our ambition is simply to get a little better – across many areas at the same time, says Magnus.

He’s talking about Mjällby, a small football club that stunned the country (and actually the football world) by winning Allsvenskan 2025 – Sweden’s top division. An achievement widely considered impossible for a team from a small rural community in southern Sweden.

– We can’t match the resources of the big clubs. We can’t buy the most expensive players, and we don’t have the same access to talent that bigger cities do. So instead, it comes down to working with the people you have and creating an environment where they can grow. Players who might not stand out individually, but who together have become an incredibly strong team – one with genuinely world-class cohesion,” he says.

More in common than you’d think: football and industry

Magnus took on the role of chairman at Mjällby in 2015 – the same year he stepped into the leadership of Alvi Group. He sees more similarities than differences between running a football club and an industrial company.

– Whether the tool is a football or a machine doesn’t really matter. It’s about a group of people trying to achieve something together. You do that by taking many small, well-planned steps in the right direction – every day, every year. Eventually, the results take care of themselves, he says.

The numbers back him up. Since 2015, Alvi Group has doubled its revenue to around 60 million euros. Profits have gone from hovering around zero to around 5 million euros per year.

– We deliver more and better for our customers, with the same number of employees. Some of that is down to investments in new technology and automation. But most of it comes from a philosophy of continuous improvement that has become part of the company’s DNA, he concludes.