The idea of digital production did not come after we had learned to build domes by hand.
It had been there from the beginning.
When we built the mathematical model and then our three-dimensional CAD model, we envisaged a day when that digital information could be used directly in manufacturing. If Scandinavian Domes was to grow, we would eventually need a production process combining craftsmanship with industrial precision and repeatability.
But we did not want to automate a process we did not yet understand.
So two journeys ran in parallel. While building small and full-scale prototypes by hand, we also began learning about CNC technology and talking to machine suppliers.
About a year before the new machinery was due to arrive, we began describing our processes to prospective suppliers in earnest. In Teams meetings, we went through the steps we had started to document: which timber components had to be made, the angles and machining operations required, and how we expected production to develop.
Initially, we spoke with five suppliers.
We soon narrowed the options to two main candidates: one supplier in northern Italy and one in Austria.
Then a much more thorough evaluation began.
We asked both suppliers for customer references and travelled to Umeå and Åre, among other places, to meet woodworking businesses already using this type of equipment. We wanted to see the machines, of course, but also to speak with the people who worked with them every day. How precise were they? How reliable? What was the support like? Would they make the same choice again?
In one sense, their answers made the decision harder.
The reference customers were very satisfied. Both machine solutions were of a high standard. We realised that we could probably succeed with either one.
Meanwhile, we had developed an intensive and constructive dialogue with the Austrian supplier. We visited its showroom in Malmö, and it also held a demonstration in Austria, producing our own dome components on the machine.
In the end, our overall assessment favoured the Austrian solution.
But the decision was about more than a five-axis CNC machine.
We decided to take a broader approach to the whole workshop and invest in an integrated set of modern machinery: CNC, modern saws, a jointer and thickness planer, and an advanced central dust extraction system. When a machine starts, the system can automatically open the appropriate damper and remove chips and dust from that workstation.
The equipment arrived at Granberget in early May, and installation began.
It was a special feeling.
Where we had once stood with older manual machines, digital angle gauges and test pieces, a modern digital woodworking workshop was now taking shape.
But the machines had not replaced what we had learned.
Quite the opposite.
The whole point was that we could now begin to build that knowledge into a production system.
We had learned the craft by hand.
Now we would teach it to the machines.
During the summer of 2026, we selected three pilot partners from almost 100 applications from Sweden and abroad. The pilot year has now begun with installations in Hemavan, Åre and Borgafjäll.
Under sommaren 2026 valde vi ut tre pilotkunder bland närmare 100 intresseanmälningar från Sverige och andra länder. Pilotåret har nu inletts med installationer i Hemavan, Åre och Borgafjäll.
Tillsammans med våra pilotkunder kommer vi under det kommande året att vidareutveckla varje del av Scandinavian Domes – från materialval och hantverk till logistik, installation och långsiktig hållbarhet – inför den bredare marknadslanseringen 2027.