Markus Tornberg and Victor Borén began their journey at LEAD as Entrepreneurs in Residence in 2019. Entrepreneurs in Residence is a six-month trainee program where a carefully selected group of future entrepreneurs gets the unique opportunity to work on and develop innovative ideas from a portfolio with great potential but lacks someone actively working to take the solution to market. Markus and Victor found an idea they were passionate about and together developed it into a company: MicroDri AB.
During the trainee program, the trainees are educated and coached by LEAD’s experienced business coaches with a focus on providing tools and methods for successful company building. The goal of the program is to create more companies in the region, which not only generates value and contributes to the development of products and services but also leads to new, attractive job opportunities in the future.
MicroDri develops a flexible, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly microwave-based solution for large-scale timber drying, promoting a global accelerated transition to fossil-free timber production. The boards are transported through the timber dryer on a conveyor belt where, unlike conventional hot air drying, the timber isn’t dried in large batches but individually in a constant flow—ensuring high production speeds. As the timber passes through the dryer, sensors measure the unique characteristics of the boards and control how the drying process should be adapted for each individual board, ensuring the highest possible quality.
“Being Entrepreneurs in Residence taught us the fundamentals deeply, and it has been a fantastic foundation as we formed our own companies after the program and are now running MicroDri, which is a startup rooted in advanced technology,” says Markus and Victor.
In collaboration with SAAB, whose technology is utilized, MicroDri has become a company Markus and Victor are driving. LEAD accompanied them for a day to witness the transition from trainees to running a company.
