IKEA making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector. Most of IKEA's stores and factories were previously owned by INGKA, a holding company controlled by the Stichting INGKA Foundation, one of the 40 wealthiest foundations in the world. Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943 as a mostly mail-order sales business. It began to sell furniture five years later. The first Möbel-IKÉA store was opened in Älmhult, Småland, in 1958 (Möbel means "furniture" in Swedish). The first stores outside Sweden were opened in Norway (1963) and Denmark (1969). The stores spread to other parts of Europe in
International Safety Products International Safety Products International Safety Products (ISP) is a company based in Merseyside, UK that manufactures inflatable marine lifejackets and is an official importer, supplier and distributor of other marine survival products. The firm has a turnover in excess of £7m and employs more than 100 staff at its headquarters in Bootle and in Birkenhead. ISP began trading in 1981. It was bought out by its management team John Rogers and Geoff Billington in 2008. Funding was provided by Alliance Fund Managers through the MSIF (Merseyside Special Investment Fund) and the Co-operative Bank. ISP manufactures more than 170,000 products a