Överum, located 35 km north of Västervik in the province of Småland, has a long tradition of iron handling. The enterprise was founded by the Walloons in 1655. The presence of flowing water, plentiful timber for charcoal production and iron ore were the determining factors in establishing a manufacturing facility in Överum. The production was initially dominated by cannons and cannon balls, but also pig iron and bar iron were produced. In the early 1800s the foreman named CP Spångberg created the first Överum horse plough and Överum started up serial production of horse ploughs, which went on for 108 years until 1958. In 1918 Överum was purchased by the Match Company. This led to a new production boost, and the manufacturing of tractor ploughs began in 1928. In 1944 the first fully mounted plough was launched and one decade later, the world's first plough with a fully automatic stone release system came along. As early as 1959 Överum launched the first fully mounted reversible plough, however initial sales were not a success. The desired success came in 1968 when the S-plough was introduced to the market. This was a ground-breaking plough system, where the frame consisted of a tubular section, with adjustable working widths and hydraulic stone release system. Överum has since 1998 been owned by Kongskilde Industries A /S. Överum manufactures ploughs, seed drills and fertilizer spreaders.