In 1840, Frans Henric Kockum founded Kockum's Mechanical Workshop, and the workshops were then at Davidhallstorg in Malmö. The company consisted of a foundry and a mechanical workshop that initially manufactured agricultural equipment, burners, stoves and ovens. From 1850 the production of railway wagons also began. In 1870, the business expanded to include shipbuilding as well as the establishment of Kockum Shipyard in Västra Hamnen, Malmö. Kockum's workshops came to dominate the harbor area.