Instead brass was one of the main products from Holmens Bruk until the end of the 18th century. Textiles in the form of woollen and cotton fabrics were also an important part of the business all the way until 1970.In the beginning of the 19th century, demand for paper rose rapidly. The ability to read increased among the general population, creating a greater market for books and newspapers. As a consequence, paper manufacture was resumed at Holmen when a new hand paper mill was built in 1806. The mill produced writing and printing paper and the product range consisted of a whole 24 different types of paper.
In 1836, Holmen bought the first mechanical paper machine from the British machine company Bryan Donkin & Co. The mechanization of the production process had miraculous effects on efficiency. The production output tripled in the first year and after two more years production had increased more than fivefold.
