Henry Dunker

Henry was two years old when his father Johan Dunker, who was an engineer at the time, was asked to lead the work and building of property at the Port of Helsingborg.

[1][3] During a visit to Saint Petersburg, Russia, he did not find any new material, but in Riga, Latvia he met chemist Julius von Gerkan, who agreed to help him improve the rubber formula.

[5] Through a network of sales offices not only in Sweden but also in Copenhagen, Berlin and Vienna, Dunker gained better control over the distribution chain.

[6] With time, the rubber products produced by his company expanded to include tennis balls, shower caps and tires.

Upon his death, he willed his fortune to the Henry and Gerda Dunker Foundation which subsequently funded many improvements to Helsingborg.

Henry Dunker in the 1890s
The factory in 1901
Bust of Henry Dunker at Helsingborg's Civic Theatre
The Dunkers Kulturhus is a museum and art centre in Dunker's adopted city