He lived in Canton (now known as Guangzhou) as well as Macao for a total of almost ten years, doing trade for the company during the arrival of three Swedish ships.

He started out at the trading office of Kristian Holm, Swedish consul to France, in Montpellier where he worked for about six months.

Grill's letters to his family during those years indicates that he enjoyed his time in France and was interested in style and his own appearance.

[3] Claes had started out as a merchant in the European market, but he soon moved on to the more lucrative Canton trade and encouraged his nephew to do the same.

They managed to salvage about two-thirds of the silver, tin, iron, coral, lead and copper from the cargo, plus one cat and a dog.

Grills records of the Swedish factory are detailed and provide good insight into life in Canton at that time.

[10] He also started a successful private company in partnership with the older and more experienced Michael Grubb,[4] one of the directors of the SOIC and founder of the first Swedish trading office in Canton.

From Europe the ships brought objets d'art, corals from the Mediterranean Sea,[3] expensive clocks and other mechanical automatons known to the Chinese as sing-songs.

[15] The resident supercargo was responsible for buying goods such as tea, porcelain, silk, arrack, sago and miscellaneous for the next ship arriving from Sweden.

Even so, Hahr stayed behind in Canton, continued their business and was able to transfer Grill's share of the profit through international bank notes.

He owned a malmgård (suburban manor) at Ersta in the south part of Stockholm, where he established a crucible steel factory with the help of Bengt Andersson Qvist in 1770.

In doing so he followed the pattern of other supercargos who made their fortunes abroad during a short period of time in the East India trade and on their return invested their money in Swedish factories and farms.

[22] Aside from renovating the factories in Godegård (the largest ironworks in Östergötland) he also had an English park planned and built at his manor in Godergård.

[23] The Godegård estate also included Mariedamm with the Trehörnings blast furnace and the De Geersfors manufacturing house.

Grill also bought the Bona estate in Västra Ny, where he built a wrought iron factory and the Medevi seat farm in 1779, (sold the following year).

Before he became owner of the ironworks, the farmers around Godegård had refined the wrought iron from the factory into large quantities of nails using small trip hammers.

They are available online, including documentation, letters, cargo lists, provisions for the ships and accounts for the Swedish factory in Canton during Grill's time with the SOIC.