Today, Guideline Geo is a global leader in geophysics, serving customers in more than 100 countries. The history of pioneering and developing solutions to geophysical challenges stretches over 100 years.
The historical roots of Guideline Geo AB are long and winding. The two predecessor companies, ABEM and MALÅ Geoscience, have merged and separated several times since their founding in 1923, when Aktiebolaget Elektrisk Malmletning (ABEM) was founded to produce electrical equipment for mineral prospecting. Shortly afterwards, the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU), the company that developed the first EM loop for mineral and metal detection, established an office in Malå, in northern Sweden.
The success story grew from there. By the 1950s, ABEM was Europe’s largest geophysical consulting company, while parts of SGU eventually evolved into MALÅ GeoScience AB with a proud heritage of technical development and innovation, eventually giving rise to today’s pre-eminence in ground penetrating radar (GPR).
ABEM and MALÅ joined forces in the early 1990´s and were incorporated into Guideline Technology AB between 2007 and 2011. The groups consolidated to Guideline Geo in 2012, as the world´s premier provider of technological solutions for mapping and visualizing the subsurface through GPR, Resistivity, Seismics and TEM.
Welcome to the historical journey of your guide to the subsurface!
Up until 1923 two different research groups were working on developing electrical methods to map mineral, oil and water resources in Sweden (Svenska Diamant Bergborrnings AB and four rock- and civil engineers).
These two groups merged and signed a company registration on November 6, 1923. On November 9, the company was registered by the Swedish Intellectual Property Office (today PRV, then Kungliga Patent- och Registreringsverket) and 19th November the company Aktiebolaget Elektrisk Malmletning (ABEM) was officially announced in Swedish newspapers with the founders Lorens Carlson, Hans Lundberg, Sven Lundberg and Carl M. Matton.
The company’s primary activities included mineral exploration, patent trading, and the sale of machinery and equipment, along with other related operations.
From start ABEM was only working with mineral exploration with rather primitive geoelectrical methods, together with magnetometry, another Swedish speciality. Within some years development was made on new electromagnetic methods, also for investigations of oil fields.
One of developers was Helmer Hedström, who worked with the Turam method as well as stratigraphic investigations in bore holes.
Contracting work was from start made around the world, e.g., in South Africa and Rhodesia.
During the early years the company formed a subsidiary company, the Swedish American Prospecting Corporation, together with a reputable consulting mining engineering firm, Rogers, Mayer & Ball, and the well-known banking firm Brown Brothers. This company soon extended its operations to include Canada as well.
In 1929 ABEM was sold to investors in USA. This was a short period of foreign ownership, in 1934, ABEM was again Swedish.
The mining engineer Karl Sundberg started his career as chief engineer at ABEM in 1924. In 1930 he became the CEO of the company.
Karl Sundberg was a pioneer of electrical mineral exploration techniques. In 1921 he introduced an electromagnetic method to map minerals, the so called Sundbergska method, which was also used to map oil and gas deposits.
He also worked together with Axel Lindblad, Hans Lundberg and the Dutch radio technician Mauritz Vos, to finalize the so called tvåram-method (two-frame method, later called Turam). This was a simple and very efficient method to compare the strength of magnetic fields between points 10-20 meters apart, used for mineral prospection.
Karl Sundberg also introduced airborne measurements for mineral exploration in the 1930s together with Geological Air Surveys LTD in London.
In 1934, ABEM was acquired by Svenska Diamantbergborrnings AB, and the company became a co-owner of the Swedish American Prospecting Corporation. Karl Sundberg is appointed CEO for Svenska Diamant Borrnings AB as well as its subsidiaries.
During this year a seismic division was formed at ABEM. The focus was to develop and improve the classic seismic technique used mainly for the oil industry. ABEM improved the resolution, and the seismic method could now be used also for more detailed ground investigations for infrastructure projects. During the 1930’s the gravimetric measurements were also being developed.
One ABEM employee at this time was Folke Kihlsted (1901–1956), who, after graduating in 1924 was employed as a surveying engineer and teamleader. The work took him around Sweden and to Norway, Germany, Austria, Poland and USA. At the end of his career he was the manager of the Swedish-American Prospecting Co and ABEM for gold prospecting in both Canada, the Balkans and the Gold Coast.
The Slingram was developed by Sture Werner and Alfred Holm, both working at SGU (Swedish Geological Surveys in Norsjö and Stockholm, Sweden). The Slingram was built and developed in the Malå workshop which later was incorporated with SGAB (Sveriges Geologiska AB) and then MALÅ Geoscience.
SGU (Geological Surveys of Sweden) established an office for geophysical investigations in Malå (then called Malåträsk). The office was most likely situated south-east of Skolgatan, where our MALÅ production has been located since 1992 and from 2011 also the ABEM production.
After the war ABEM started to produce instruments for radiometric prospection and industrial research such as automatic recorders and vibrographs. In 1946 the first seismograph was exported to Portugal.
The Terrameter series of resistivity instruments was introduced in 1949.
During the 1950s, ABEM was the largest geophysical consultancy in Europe, with around 300 employees.
ABEM has, in addition to instrument production and research laboratories for new instruments, a geophysical subsidiary for prospecting under contract both in Sweden and abroad. ABEM was in 1958 able to send out as many as twenty parties of field workers simultaneously and had carried out prospecting in more than 50 countries.
1955 ABEM launched an air-borne EM system with one transmitter and one receiver airplane, called the Rotary Field Two Plane system.
In 1955 SGU has a grand opening of new workshops, office building and drill core storage at Skolgatan in Malå for the employees in Malå and Norsjö. These facilities will further on be transferred to SGAB and then MALÅ Geoscience.
In 1960 Svenska Diamant bergborrnings AB is aquired by Atlas Copco, who gets ABEM in the bargain. ABEM was split into three companies: Atlas Copco ABEM (geophysics and electronics), Craelius (diamond drilling rigs), and a contracting division, later renamed Terratest.
The same year ABEM Modell 3 and MZ-4 Magnetometer were launched.
During 1960’s ABEM export products to around 70 countries.
By this point, more than 86 000 bedrock level determinations have been made by the ABEM seismic field group. This equals around 2500 km of profile, a distance as far as from Greenland in the North to Chile in the South.
ABEM was said to be able to provide experienced field groups, in short time, all over the world. For instance: In 1965 ABEM had a local office in Honiara, Solomon Island, with 4 employees (1 geophysicist, 1 geologist for data interpretation, 1 map drawer and 1 student to fixate light sensitive paper and develop photos).
In the late 1960’s (and early 1970’s) the Craelius Terratest TRIO 68 portable refraction seismic equipment and ABEM Hetona HBM3 fluxgate drill-hole magnetometer was launched, as well as different types of TURAM EM-equipments.
A long list of ABEM equipment are introduced during the 70’s:
• Geomac, different types of portable digital data collection units.
• Ultagraph, a 14 channel oscillograph with visible recording, for the study of processes of brief duration.
• Ultralette, an improved Ultragraph with 24 channels, a wider velocity range and many auxiliary accessories
• Demigun and EMgun, dual-frequency electromagnetic equipment.
• Minigun, horizontal loop electromagnetic equipment
• Vibrapet, for measurements of different kinds of vibrations, characterized by a broad range of frequencies.
• Shot boxes, amplifiers etc.
Terratest (ABEM’s consulting and contracting division) was considered the market leader in seismic investigations for engineering purposes. But Terratest also worked with Slingrams and gammaspectrometers for helicopter use. The company got contracted for work in countries such as Norway, Turkey, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Libya to search for copper, molybdenum, uranium and groundwater.
The ABEM colour, orange and black, is settled.
In 1976 ABEM had two departments, one for geophysical instruments (DC och AC Terrameter, Trioseismograph, and later on Terraloc, Wadi, SAS Terrameter) and one for instruments for industrial measurements (Ultralett printers and vibration equipment).
Launch of the first ABEM Terrameter SAS300 resistivity equipment.
The long row of new equipment launches from ABEM continues during the 1980ies. For example, the world’s first digitized VLF instrument, to map especially vertical fracture zone, the so-called ABEM WADI was presented to the world. The WADI instrument was discontinued in the early 21st century, but are still in use around the world.
Further on ABEM Terrameter SAS 300B, ABEM Terraloc-24, ABEM Gamma-Geomac, ABEM Miniloc and ABEM UVS was launched.
On the MALÅ side, borehole GPR equipment is launched, both the MALÅ RAMAC borehole radar and the MALÅ RAMAC directional borehole radar. During this period, 1982-1988 the development of GPR for ground measurements was started by SGAB in Malå.
In 1983 the Swedish government decided that a large part of the function of SGU, especially the work in the mineral office (the so called Malmbyrån) should be privatized. The SGU employees in Luleå and Malå became a part of the new formed company, the Swedish Geological AB (SGAB), with the head-office in Luleå and around 500 employees in Sweden. SGAB was meant to be responsible for the mineral prospection in Sweden as well as for other customers.
It will take some more years before the close-down and sell out is completely carried out.
Atlas Copco sells its subsidiary ABEM to SGAB in Luleå. ABEM and the geophysical department of SGAB forms the new subsidiary ABEM GeoScience AB.
In 1991 the Swedish government decides to stop prospection in governmental regime altogether. Among others, SGAB was then closed down. The parts of SGAB that had other customers than the Swedish state were be turned into corporations and sold. Companies with roots in SGU and then SGAB from this time are for instance Geosigma AB, Conterra AB, BD-Stem AB, Drillcon AB, Malå Mineral AB, SGAB Analys AB, MRM AB, Geovista AB, Mira AB, Geomanagemnt AB, Byggsten HB and Naturstensprospektören AB. And of course, MALÅ Geoscience AB, a very important part of Guideline Geo.
During the 1990s, a number of new geophysical solutions were released, both on the ABEM and MALÅ side:
• ABEM Terraloc Mk3 and Mk6
• ABEM SAS400
• ABEM SAS 4-32 Multimac
• MALÅ RAMAC GPR for ground measurements
• MALÅ 1 GHz, 850 MHz, 500 MHz, 250 MHz and 100 MHz shielded antennas
• MALÅ Multi-channel MC4
• MALÅ GroundVision, a Windows based data collection software
When SGAB was closed-down, ABEM was acquired by the Norwegian company Dyno Industries AS (with the Swedish subsidiary Nitro Consult AB). This gave Nitro Consult the possibility to develop and produce vibration instrumentation in-house.
The parts of SGAB working with air-geophysics was returned to SGU (Swedish Geological Survey).
ABEM launches both the ABEM Terraloc Mk6 seismic equipment and the ABEM SAS 4000 resistivity equipment.
The employees of ABEM GeoScience AB in the Malå division acquires this division and forms MALÅ GeoScience AB. The same year MALÅ RAMAC GPR for ground measurements is launched.
MALÅ Geoscience USA Inc is established, with the office in Charleston, South Carolina.
Dyno Industries sells ABEM in 2004, to a small owner group consisting of both ABEM emplyees and others. In 2007 Guideline Technology AB acquires the personnel owned MALÅ Geoscience AB.
During the 2000’s ABEM and MALÅ released:
• ABEM Vibraloc
• ABEM Terrameter LS
• MALÅ CUII and shielded antennas
• MALÅ X3M and X3M Corder
• MALÅ EasyLocator
• MALÅ XV Monitor
• MAL RTA Antennas
• MALÅ MIRA
• Among others
In 2001 the Swedish province of Västerbotten (where village of Malå is located) made a donation to create a 3D underground feature map for New York City´s Department of Design and Construction after 9/11, to aid in the re-building process. MALÅ Geoscience provided the hardware in collaboration with Witten Technologies, Boston. The donation was handed over by the Swedish Prime Minister at that time, Göran Persson, to the governor of New York.
In 2008, the MIRA (MALÅ Imaging Radar Array) became available to the public, and its use spread rapidly, particularly in the archaeological community. The MIRA system was the world’s first multichannel GPR designed for commercial use. This first-generation MIRA featured a channel spacing of 8 cm and was capable of surveying more than 10,000 m² per day.
The first major archaeological investigation using MIRA took place at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Birka, a Viking-age trading town located on the island of Björkö in Lake Mälaren, Sweden. The survey revealed sections of the town’s wall and housing areas, identifying new areas for future excavations.
Since 2008, MIRA systems have been used in countless investigations worldwide, with a primary focus on archaeology, as well as extensive road surveys and utility mapping projects. Some of the key achievements include:
• The complete mapping of the Roman town Carnuntum, Austria (The gladiator training camp, Forum area etc)
• Surveying and mapping of the Stonehenge area in England as part of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project
• The complete internal mapping of settlement remains of several Iron age Ring forts on the island of Öland, Sweden
• Extensive surveys at the Viking Age town Birka, Sweden
• The mapping of the Iron Age settlement site Uppåkra, Sweden
• Discovery of two Viking Ship burials in Norway (Gjellerstad and Edøy)
• The mapping of Roman fort Branodunum in Brancaster, UK
• Mapping of graves and monastery buildings at Fountains Abbey, UK
• MIRA Surveys at the well-known Anglo Saxon site Sutton Hoo, UK
• Mapping of buried utilities and heating infrastructure at Celtic Park Football stadium, Scotland
• The mapping of the buried English landscape gardens at Rosendal royal castle in Sweden
In 2011, Guideline Technology AB acquired ABEM, bringing it into the Guideline group. In 2013 the Guideline Technology group is consolidated to Guideline Geo AB, with the two strong trademarks of ABEM and MALÅ.
The row of product release is continuing to grow:
• ABEM Terraloc Pro and Terraloc Pro 2
• ABEM WalkTEM and WalkTEM 2
• ABEM Terrameter LS2
• MALÅ GX
• MALÅ EL WideRange
• Among others
In 2017 Investment AB Spiltan and Investment AB Chiffonjen, bought the shares from Code Right thus becoming the main owners of Guideline Geo. A new board as well as a new management team was appointed.
This present decade, with a 100-year Birthday the 9th of November 2023. Guideline Geo AB is investing, growing, and developing at a fast pace to be your guide to the subsurface also in the future.
Since 2020, the following products have been launched:
• MALÅ MIRA HDR
• MALÅ GeoDrone 80 and 600
• MALÅ Controller App and MIRA Controller
• MALÅ Vision Web and Desktop
• MALÅ Easy Locator Core
• MALÅ MIRA Compact
• ABEM Active Guidance
• ABEM Terraloc Wireless trigger link
• ABEM Terrameter VES and VES Max
• ABEM GroundTEM
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