In August 1887, Levin moved to America, working briefly as a carpenter before getting a job in 1888 at a guitar factory.

Three years later, Levin and two partners started small-scale production of instruments in New York City.

So with 4,000 kronas to invest, Levin opened Herman Carlssons Instrumentfabrik at Norra Larmgatan in Gothenburg.

With a workshop of seventy square meters and a staff of two, Levin started manufacturing guitars and mandolins.

In the late 1950s, a line of steel-stringed flat-tops were launched, furnished with adjustable truss rods and bolted necks.

The Goya distribution rights were sold in 1970 to amplifier manufacturer Kustom Electric of Chanute, Kansas.

In 1976, Dude sold the Goya brand to CF Martin, which had purchased the majority of the Levin Company a few years earlier.

Hans's son Lennart is still producing guitars for "Svenska Levin AB" in his father's workshop outside Mariestad, Sweden.