The story
Former motocross racer Kenth Öhlin founded the company in 1976, beginning working in his father's engineering workshop building exhaust pipes, engines and shock absorbers. Switching focus solely on suspension systems in the early 1980s.
In 1984, Öhlins developed their first mountain bike front suspension using telescopic forks. They progressed to producing a mountain bike rear suspensions. In 1986, Yamaha Motor Company became co-owner of Öhlins Racing AB but Öhlins continued to operate as an independent company within the Yamaha group. The company moved to its current headquarters in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm in 1990.
Öhlins USA opened a Subsidiary Sales & Distribution Centre in North Carolina, USA in 1997 with additional subsidiaries opening in 2007 (Öhlins Distribution & Test Center at Nürburgring), 2011 (Öhlins Auto Norden full service distributor for Nordic countries) and 2013 (Öhlins Asia Co., Ltd in Thailand).
In 1998, Öhlins became ISO 9001 certified and partnered with Tenneco Automotive for a continuously controlled Electronic System (CES). Mass production of the CES technology began in 2003 on the Volvo S60R.
2006 saw Öhlins launch its TTX system whilst in 2007 Kenth Öhlin reclaimed a 95% share of the company.
Noriyuki Haga became the first World Superbike race winner using Öhlins electronic suspension in 2008.
In 2015, Öhlins sold its five millionth CES valve and completed work on a new office building in Upplands Väsby. In November 2018, Tenneco bought a majority stake in Öhlins.
In October 2024, the Italian manufacturer of high-performance braking systems, Brembo, agreed to acquire Öhlins for $405 million. In January 2025, it was announced that the acquisition had been completed.
From Wikipedia’s article on Öhlins, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4