Clas Ohlson company was founded in 1918 by the technically minded Clas Ohlson (1895–1979), as a mail order business based in the Swedish village of Insjön, Dalarna. Initially, only manuals and technical literature were sold, thus allowing people who lived in rural communities to obtain literature that would otherwise be unavailable. He opened his first shop in Insjön in 1926, but it was not until 1989, when the company opened a store in a shopping centre in central Stockholm, that it expanded into the retail business. The first store outside Sweden was opened 1991 in Oslo in Norway and in 1999, the
Ohlson 38 5.5 M race circuit. The Ohlson 38 was GRP-produced, in contrast to the 36s, which were built from wood. The GRP hulls for the Ohlson 38 were laminated by the Tyler Boat Company Ltd. in Tonbridge, Kent in the United Kingdom and so were decks including the coachroof. The Ohlson Brothers (Bröderna Ohlson AB) in Västra Frolunda near Gothenburg finished boats primarily for the US market. Other yards finished these boats, including Malö in Henån, Matthiessen und Paulsen in Arnis/Germany, and Alexander Robertsons & Sons in Sandbank, Argyll, Scotland. Einar Ohlson’s work has been recognized by "The Encyclopedia of Yacht