- History
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It is with great pride we say that Malmö Conference Agency was the first agency of its kind in Sweden – and in the Nordic region in fact. The company was founded back in 1969 and focused on organising congresses and conferences, as well as promoting Malmö as a conference city to the whole world.
Malmö Conference Agency was started up on the initiative of the City of Malmö and the Skåne Chamber of Commerce (now the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden), which both went in as 50% owners. The inspiration came from the USA, and when Gösta Håkansson of Svenska Dataregister in Lund was hand-picked to run the conference agency he made several visits to America.
Gösta Håkansson ran Malmö Congress Agency until 1989, during which time he travelled near and far to attract events to Malmö. The first event was the VIIIth Congress of the Nordic Society of Refrigeration in 1969.
Malmö Conference Agency got off to a flying start, and within just a couple of years tens of thousands of delegates had been dealt with by the agency. Many events and features have attracted a lot of attention, such as the 30-metre whale on Stortorget square for the International Whaling Commission congress and the many Viking celebrations held at Malmö Castle during the 1970s and ‘80s.
In the early 1980s, Malmö Conference Agency was one of the promoters behind the ‘United Conference Cities of Sweden’ co-operation, which involved the nation’s leading conference agencies.
In 1989-1991 Malmö Conference Agency was run by Katarina Lönn, who had previously worked in PR at Kockum.
In 1991 Lennart Håkansson took over the Agency, which comprised both a conference agency and a tourist office. The company then came under private ownership and the tourist section was acquired by the City of Malmö in 1999. Lennart Håkansson managed the company successfully until 2002 and focused the operation on major medical congresses, largely thanks to his excellent contacts in that field.
The current owner Claes Berglund, who have long experience in the conference industry, took over in 2002 and have since concentrated goal-consciously on further developing the operation. Today Malmö Conference Agency is one of Sweden’s leading agencies in the conference industry, and aims to be at the forefront when it comes to innovation and development.
Claes Berglund also runs the successful sister company S:t Gertrud Konferens & Restaurang in the heart of Malmö. www.sanktgertrud.se
- Presentation
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Malmö Conference Agency is a professional conference organiser (PCO). We arrange national and international congresses as well as scientific conferences, mainly in the medical sector.
