A nationally renowned municipality with strong ties to Japan.
For Swedes interested in sports, Leksand is strongly tied to the history-rich ice hockey team Leksands IF, and the sport is important for the municipality. Besides ice hockey, Leksand also has strong ties to Japan and has collaborated with its twin town Tobetsu since the 1980s. This has had an impact on both business and culture in the municipality.
“Many companies in the municipality export a large part of their production to Japan.”
Since 1987, Leksand Municipality has had a twin town, Tobetsu, on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The exchange of experiences between the municipality and companies has been significant over the years. Many companies in the municipality export a large part of their production to Japan. Tomoku Hus, which is Japanese owned, exports around 1,500 prefabricated wood homes per year. LeksandsDörren and Bergkvist-Insjön export a significant part of their production of doors and sawn timber to Japan. Around 400 jobs in the municipality are related to the Japanese market.
The collaboration also takes place outside of business. Students in Leksand get the chance to learn Japanese in school and a Japanese-inspired park has also been established to manifest the cooperation.
Ice hockey put the town on the world map.
Leksands If is a sports association in Leksand most known for ice hockey. The blue and white team has indeed yoyoed between the divisions in the past 20 years, but nonetheless has a given place among Sweden’s hockey stars. Leksand has also fostered many players who have gone on to the NHL in the US.
Its nature, hotels and Leksand Resort attract tourists to Leksand.
On Lake Siljan’s southern shore, a pleasant walking distance to Leksands Centrum, lies Leksand Strand. With a naturally beautiful location on the slope down to Siljan, the facility offers cabins, camping, a shop, a swimming beach, outdoor pool, restaurant and activities. The park is a veritable Eldorado for families with children during the summer months. Here, water slides, a pirate island with a pirate ship, a zipline, go-carts, carousels, adventure path, silly cycles and much, much more await.
In Tällberg, one of Sweden’s most well-known tourist destinations, there are eight conference hotels with a total of around 1,000 beds. In total, there are some 20 hotels,youth hostels, camping sites and cabin villages throughout the municipality, which are a part of the significant tourism industry.
Close cooperation between the municipality and business.
Leksand Municipality has a strong business community with more than a thousand small companies and some ten large companies. Every year, around 100 new companies are started. Together, they employ more than 1,000 people in the municipality and have sales of SEK 8 billion. For more than 20 years, the companies, trade associations and the municipality have collaborated. Every month, municipal leaders and the business administration meet representatives of the business community in so-called Consultation Group Meetings. The aim of the meetings is to improve the situation for entrepreneurship.
