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One evening, near Christmas 1944, a young Swedish econ-
omist called Ruben Rausing was watching his wife Elisabeth
making sausages in the small kitchen of their home in the
university town of Lund, Sweden.
He was impressed by the manner in which the sausages were
contained in a skin and kept fresh by pressing shut each end. So,
he began questioning his wife about the method she used. Their
conversation that evening was to lead to the invention that
would revolutionise lives throughout the world, and make the
couple - and their family - billionaires.
For Ruben was to apply the principle to milk, inventing the
low-cost, germ-free packaging system, which he called TetraPak
- a roll of cardboard twisted to make a pocket and sealed into a
rectangular carton. Today if you buy milk or orange juice at
virtually any supermarket from Dublin to Peking it will have
come from Rausing's idea that day in his kitchen.
This is the legend of TetraPak. However, it seems that the
reality could be rather different. It is certainly true that Ruben
realised the huge potential if a form of germ-free sealed
packaging could be found for household items such as milk. But
the alternative version of the story suggests that at this point he
approached Erik Wallenberg, a young research scientist working
for his company. Wallenberg claims hat he is in fact the person
who designed the first TetraPak, working from an idea
originated by Ruben.
Now aged 78, he recalls the day Ruben Rausing came to
him. Rausing told him that he had bought a herd of cows which
needed milking, and wanted a container made to package the
milk.
'I was under a lot of pressure to find a solution,' Wallenberg
said, 'but strangely it was while I was at home with flu that I
came up with the idea of the tetrahedron-shaped milk package.'
Rolling up a piece of paper to demonstrate the process, he
continued. T made up my mind that a cylinder - a tube - should
be made and that it should be pressed together at one end. I
decided it should also be pressed together at the other end.
However, to avoid getting a flat cushion-like package which
could contain only a small amount of liquid, I decided to make
the second pressing together in a plane at right angles to the
first one ... that is simply how the TetraPak was born. I went
back to the laboratory and we began testing.'
Wallenberg said Ruben had early doubts about the
possible success of the idea, 'but we tested it by putting water
inside for several days and, when there was no leakage, he was
convinced. I think that Ruben Rausing realised its potential
immediately. He bought the patent and all rights from me for
3,000 kronor (a little less than £300), which to some people
was a half a year's wages at that time. Obviously, at the time
those in the company knew of my work but after a while
another story began to emerge of the invention — that it had
all been the work of Mr Ruben Rausing. Yet although clearly
among the world's most successful businessmen, they pride
themselves on their secrecy.
Whatever is the reality, by 1952 the first TetraPak
containers were being successfully produced, and in a few
years Ruben had built up a huge business.
By the late fifties, all three of Ruben's sons had joined
their father within the company. But it was already clear that
Hans would play the leading role in the company.
'He was,' says Wallenberg, 'extremely able and, like his
father, single-minded. He only seemed to have one interest and
that was to make money.'
Despite their enormous wealth, today both Hans and Gad
live modestly, and as far as Hans is personally concerned, in a
recent interview he admitted, 'I have no idea how much money
I have. You can't measure money in lists.'
