In 1961, Gustaf Mattsson Optisk Ritbyrå, later to become FKAB, was established in Uddevalla in the western part of Sweden. The basic business concept was to sell production drawings and production data for the small and medium sized shipyards in Sweden.

During the late sixties and the seventies the business grew rapidly with daughter companies established in several countries in Europe as well as in UAE and the US. During this period FKAB became a trusted partner for ship design both for ship-owners and shipyards. At the peak in the late seventies FKAB occupied more than 80 engineers in Sweden and elsewhere. At the same time FKAB:s parent company The Mattsson Group grew investing in shipyards both in Sweden and in other Scandinavian countries.

The general decline within the shipping industry during the late seventies and the eighties also influenced FKAB and the other company within the Mattsson group. Several companies was sold or liquidated and in the beginning of the nineties the only FKAB office left was the one in Uddevalla. In 1993 the bottom was reached and at that time only 22 people was occupied by FKAB.

During the rest of the nineties the business slowly turned to the better and in the mid nineties FKAB started to grow again. One important milestone for FKAB was when the Swedish ship-owner Donsötank made an order for two 18 200 DWT product/chemical tankers at the Chinese Shipyard Shanghai Edwards. FKAB, who had made the concept for these two tankers, then got the order for the basic design. This was the start of a long and prosperous cooperation between FKAB and the Chinese Shipbuilding industry.

In the beginning of the 21:st century FKAB business in China had grown to such extent that a decision was made to establish a daughter company in China. After the decision the process was short and in late 2001 Dalian FKAB Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. or DF-Marine was established in Dalian as a joint venture between FKAB, DASTEC (Dalian Shipbuilding Technology Research Centre Co., Ltd) and FSIGC “Fuijian Shipbuilding Industrial Group Corporation. A branch office in Shanghai opened beginning of 2005. In 2006 FKAB bought out FSIGC and today FKAB own 66% and DASTEC the remaining 34%. In end of 2007 DF-Marine occupied more than 70 engineers.

To be able to grow also in Sweden a new branch office was established in Gothenburg in 2007 and in end of 2007 FKAB occupied more than 40 engineers.

In the spring 2008 another big step in the development of FKAB was made when it was decided that both FKAB and DF-Marine should use a common brand name FKAB Marine Design. The main reason for this is to strengthen the international presence and to build a strong common brand for the future.

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