Road maps from Nynäs and Koppartrans

Nynäs and Koppartrans were two leading independent brands of petrol (gasoline) in Sweden acquired by Svenska Shell.

Nynäs

Brief History

A/B Nynäs Petroleum, controlled by Axel Johnson, built an oil refinery in Nynäshamn in 1928, and soon became a major player in the Swedish retail petrol market. At its peak it supplied around 500 outlets, but in 1981 the Nynäs stations were sold to Shell, and the parent company concentrated on bitumen and heavy fuel oil products. Nynäs at one stage owned the small KH chain in Denmark, but this was first put into a joint venture with Norsk Hydro under the Viking brand, then sold to its partner. In recent years, Nynäs has also been involved in fuel oil sales in Britain.

The map on the left dates from 1960, and is the Southern one of a pair splitting Sweden between North and South. The next map, again of Southern Sweden comes from 1965; the third map is the Northern half of a pair dating from 1972; and the final map is probably the last ever Nynäs map of Southern Sweden, dating from 1982. All maps are from Kartlitografens and mark Nynäs locations.
1960 image courtesy of Roy Mårtensson; 1965 from Richard Horwitz

Koppartrans

Brief History

Koppartrans was formed in 1953 from the merger of Stora Kopparbergs AB (the world's oldest company, dating back to the 14th Century) and Transatlantic, an affiliate of Ahlmarks. In 1964 it was acquired by Shell, but the name was still occasionally to be seen on filling stations as much as a decade later.

Maps

No maps are known from Shell's smaller, and later, acquisitions of Bilisten or Polar, although their stations were marked on some Shell location booklet maps. Bilisten has since been sold by Shell.