”๐๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ญ ๐ด๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ต๐ค๐ฉ.” – Marcus Weibull, CEO at Sigma Lundinova AB.
In our last post we met the entrepreneur who enabled the idea. In this episode we tell the love story between the entrepreneur and the engineers, through the eyes of Marcus Weibull, CEO at Sigma Lundinova.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐?
โI actually remember that meeting very clearly, because it was such a bizarre story. Although now itโs filtered through a romantic haze in my mind.
John explained the idea of an ozone generator that would handle humid air, and he showed us a rough pencil sketch from a bar in Thailand. It made a very strong impression, you could say.โ
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ?
โOur team has a soft spot for engineering products that bring real-world value. That, plus Johnโs fantastic personality made it very compelling.โ
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ?
โOne of the first and biggest milestones was when we managed to test and verify the idea. For a while we were quite unsure if it really would work, because no one had done it before, in that way.โ
Whatโs truly unique is PBSโs patented ozone cell, completely isolating the gas stream from all electronics. Everything else was custom-designed around that core, including the transformer creating a 30 kV high voltage field where ozone is generated from the oxygen in the air.
โThat was our major challenge. At those voltages you have some interesting phenomenon happening with the air. We just couldnโt have surrounding air without the machine catching fire. We tried a lot, nothing worked, until we came up with the idea to use oil as the surrounding medium. That worked and was our second big milestone.โ
๐๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฌ?
โA common situation with startups is technical immaturity. Founders often donโt understand technical requirements, why it takes so long or costs so much. But working with John has been fantastic! He has unconditional faith in what we do, and has always been very supportive of our progress.โ
Marcus closes with some heartfelt encouragement:
โWe really hope that John gets the big breakthrough heโs been waiting for and so richly deserves. When it happens, it will bring great joy. Not just to John and us, but to all the people who will benefit from his product.โ
In the next episode we meet Magnus Tรฅngring at Volvo CE who tells the success story of using PBS’s system in their water treatment.
Text and interview: Johanna Swartling
Picture: The evolution of the H-unit (ozone generator) 2016-2025


