Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Kalmar AB
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Kalmar Drives Process Efficiency and Business Innovation with M-Files
Highlights
- Eliminated document duplication and manual data entry across key workflows, streamlining key workflows for faster execution.
- Full visibility and control over engineering project lifecycles.
- Removed reliance on disconnected legacy systems and manual approvals with seamless, connected processes.
- Increased efficiency in prototype and sample management.
- Improved compliance and traceability through metadata-driven workflows.
Use Case
Compliance Management
Customer Information Management
Quality Management
Industry
Machinery Manufacturing
Country
Sweden
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Company Introduction
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Kalmar AB (Trelleborg) is a global supplier of polymer-based noise and vibration damping solutions for the automotive industry. The company specializes in brake shims and other multilayer components for light vehicles, supplying original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket customers across Europe, Asia, and North America. Trelleborg is headquartered in Kalmar, Sweden, and supports global automotive programs with approximately 300 employees and a strong engineering focus, delivered through its technical centers, testing facilities, and regional offices in Detroit and Shanghai.
Trelleborg faced mounting operational inefficiencies stemming from its aging Lotus Notes-based system landscape. The company relied on multiple disconnected applications to manage product development, prototype handling, engineering requests, and customer onboarding. Trelleborg struggled with fragmented data, duplicated documents, and inconsistent workflows as these applications aged and became increasingly difficult to maintain. The company partnered with M-Files partner Svensk Dokumenthantering AB (Svedok) to modernize its information infrastructure and implement M-Files as a unified platform for structured business processes and secure document management.
Trelleborg replaced its legacy applications with a metadata-driven architecture that supports consistent data models, real-time visibility, and audit-ready compliance by consolidating critical workflows within M-Files. The company built and deployed core processes simultaneously, covering everything from engineering projects and sample requests to quality management and customer approvals, to streamline operations across departments without adding IT complexity. Trelleborg has adopted M-Files as a key platform to enhance collaboration, ensure traceability, and drive future innovation across its operations. The platform is widely used, with strong user adoption and increasing internal demand for new workflows.
Key Challenges Before M-Files
Legacy Systems Limited Integration and Scalability
Trelleborg relied heavily on a suite of custom-built Lotus Notes applications to manage key business processes, including product development, prototype tracking, and customer onboarding. These tools became increasingly difficult to maintain over time and failed to support the organization’s growing operational needs. Each application functioned independently, leading to frequent duplicate entries—especially for customer records—which caused inefficiencies and inconsistencies throughout workflows.
Trelleborg’s IT team faced mounting pressure to maintain performance after corporate systems were migrated away from Lotus Notes. Employees encountered delays in retrieving information and managing basic tasks with degraded speed, poor user experience, and limited flexibility. The lack of integration between applications and systems prevented teams from sharing data easily or building consistent reporting structures.
Håkan Sandberg, IT Manager, Trelleborg, said, “There were maybe three different customer masters in Lotus Notes, each for different workflows. That created real inefficiencies, especially as the business scaled. The applications couldn’t talk to each other, and the team constantly worked around system limitations to keep operations moving.”
Disconnected Documents and Poor Version Control Impacted Traceability
Trelleborg’s prototype and sample development processes involved high volumes of engineering documentation, including technical drawings, drawing exchange format (DXF) files, and customer-specific configurations. Employees stored and shared files inconsistently without a centralized system to manage them, leading to confusion over which versions were current and introducing risk into downstream manufacturing processes.
"M-Files lets the team control document versions, manage approvals, and maintain a centralized audit trail. Teams can now access up-to-date drawings, customer records, and project activities through shared views, removing the need for disconnected email threads or duplicate files."
Håkan Sandberg, IT Manager, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Kalmar AB
The team also lacked reliable methods to track document history or control access across departments. Project teams often reused outdated files or attached the same drawing to different records. Quality management, compliance tracking, and document approvals were handled manually, increasing administrative workload and exposing the business to errors.
Håkan said, “Sometimes, the same drawing existed in 50 different places. There was no version control and no way to track which one was the official production reference. This made it hard to maintain consistency and slowed down every stage of the development cycle.”
"One of the biggest advantages has been the consistency of how everything works. The interface feels the same whether someone is managing a prototype, raising a change request, or logging a customer complaint. That familiarity builds confidence and reduces onboarding time. Users already know how to create objects, manage workflows, and navigate views. That consistency makes every new rollout faster and more effective."
Håkan Sandberg, IT Manager, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Kalmar AB
The M-Files Solution
Centralized Deployment and Structured Process Design
Trelleborg selected M-Files to replace its fragmented Lotus Notes environment and centralize core business processes after attending a user group event where M-Files was presented as a flexible solution with strong integration and workflow capabilities. The team reviewed M-Files’ integration capabilities and metadata-driven architecture, then launched a proof of concept (PoC) to test key workflows, including project management, prototype handling, and customer onboarding.
Trelleborg worked with Svedok to deploy M-Files with all major processes simultaneously for consistency across interdependent workflows. These included customer and material creation, engineering project management, sample and prototype tracking, and change control. The team used a shared object model and structured metadata to define relationships between records and eliminate duplicate data handling.
Håkan said, “The processes were too interconnected for a phased rollout. Instead, the core workflows launched all at once with a consistent structure from day one. That approach provided a stable foundation to expand on, so Trelleborg can now introduce new processes quickly because the logic is already familiar. Everything connects cleanly, and that makes the system more powerful with every new use case.”
Customized Workflows and Extended Business Access
Svedok helped configure M-Files to reflect Trelleborg’s operational structure, internal standards, and security controls. The Svedok team created custom templates and object classes to match business needs and embedded role-based permissions to manage access across departments.
Håkan said, “One of the biggest advantages has been the consistency of how everything works. The interface feels the same whether someone is managing a prototype, raising a change request, or logging a customer complaint. That familiarity builds confidence and reduces onboarding time. Users already know how to create objects, manage workflows, and navigate views. That consistency makes every new rollout faster and more effective.”
The rollout included all employees in engineering, quality, warehouse, and administrative functions. The consistent user interface and workflow logic meant new processes could be introduced with minimal training. Production staff also accessed M-Files through integrated quality management workflows, while knowledge workers use it to manage structured data and related documentation.
The Results
Streamlined Operations and Strengthened Data Control
Trelleborg eliminated legacy inefficiencies by replacing Lotus Notes with a single, scalable M-Files platform. The team linked structured metadata across projects, prototypes, and drawings to unify master data and reduce document duplication. This gave employees visibility into real-time workflows for faster decisions and more accurate tracking of engineering activities.
“M-Files lets the team control document versions, manage approvals, and maintain a centralized audit trail. Teams can now access up-to-date drawings, customer records, and project activities through shared views, removing the need for disconnected email threads or duplicate files," Håkan said.
“People are happy using M-Files. They understand how objects connect, how to find information, and how to track workflows. It’s given Trelleborg greater control, clarity, and confidence in the data.”
Laying The Foundation for Future Innovation
Trelleborg continues to expand M-Files usage across departments, often building and deploying new objects and workflows in a matter of hours. Employees regularly propose new use cases, confident that the consistent interface and logic will support additional needs without increasing complexity.
The company is also exploring artificial intelligence (AI) integrations to enhance search and reporting. Early investigations into semantic indexing and Microsoft Copilot signal long-term plans to leverage AI for deeper insights across structured business data, though this is not yet in full use.
“Trelleborg won’t have a shared folder on the server in ten years; everything will be in M-Files. It’s already one of the most strategically important systems for Trelleborg, and the team is just getting started," Håkan concluded.
"People are happy using M-Files. They understand how objects connect, how to find information, and how to track workflows. It’s given Trelleborg greater control, clarity, and confidence in the data."
Håkan Sandberg, IT Manager, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Kalmar AB
Partner
Svedok
Svedok has been helping companies with intelligent information management for ten years, helping to streamline and make heroes out of administrators in different types of organizations. Svedok was founded by Jonas Jonsson, Jesper Johansson, and Elisabeth Aronsson, and has helped deliver M-Files to thousands of users all over Sweden since 2015.
Contact
Svedok
info@svedok.se
+46 (0)480 275 20
Why M-Files?
M-Files is the leading platform for knowledge work automation. With the M-Files platform, knowledge workers can find information faster, work smarter, and achieve more. M-Files features an innovative metadata-driven architecture, embedded workflow engine, and advanced artificial intelligence. This enables customers to eliminate information chaos, improve process efficiency, and automate security and compliance.
