Our History
In the 1970s, people had all sorts of clever solutions for transporting skis and luggage to the mountains for Easter. Skis were fastened to the roof with ropes, bungee cords, and tarps. Not exactly an optimal solution—neither in terms of safety, wear and tear, nor appearance. At the same time, the first roof boxes appeared. The Swedes were early adopters of different versions of roof boxes, but few saw them as real alternatives. They weren’t particularly practical, and they weren’t very nice to look at either.
An Innovative Collaboration
Skiguard originated from a collaboration between two innovative men — Arne Aasland, founder of Norsk Bildelsenter (bildeler.no), and Dagfinn Holm, general manager and owner of Thor Holm Plastvarefabrikk. Each of them had developed different solutions for roof boxes, but it wasn’t until they began working together in 1989 that the magic happened. Dagfinn’s expertise in industrial design and production, combined with Arne’s market savvy and ability to spot opportunities, turned out to be a recipe for something truly unique. Together, they built five different models. Even back then, they had the idea of painted roof boxes matching the car’s color and tunnels for the roof rack, allowing the box to sit as low as possible on the roof.
German Tour
Every founder’s story contains a dose of adversity. After a very positive reception in the Norwegian market, Skiguard decided to go international. Germany was chosen as the first target. In the autumn of 1990, they headed to the Frankfurt trade fair. With them, they brought a Mercedes E-Class fitted with a low‑profile Skiguard 900 on the roof, painted in the car’s color. Behind it, they towed a box trailer with a painted Skiguard 800 mounted on top. The plan was to go on a sales tour in Germany after the fair and promote the boxes. They wouldn’t return home until they had succeeded. Unfortunately, the German market responded lukewarmly, and by Christmas the sales team had to return to Norway, crestfallen and with barely a single roof box sold.
A Fairytale
When the international expansion was put on hold, the Skiguard team could fully focus on the Norwegian market. Since then, Skiguard has been nothing short of a long-running success story. Premium brands like Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Volvo were the first dealerships to offer Skiguard roof boxes to their customers. Not long after, the other car brands followed. The reason was simple: they could finally offer a roof box that enhanced the car’s appearance rather than detracting from it. In many ways, you could say that Skiguard created the Norwegian market for the modern roof box. Even roof‑rack manufacturers had to adapt to Skiguard’s principles of low‑profile designs.
Design at the Forefront
Skiguard roof boxes are considered by many to be the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing on the market. It’s not uncommon for Skiguard boxes to stay on the car year‑round, precisely because of their appearance. From day one, design has been one of our main priorities. In the 2000s, Dagfinn drew inspiration from industrial designer Chris Bangle, then the head of design at BMW. Bangle introduced an interaction between concave and convex surfaces in BMW’s car designs — a design language that guided airflow around the car in a more aerodynamic way. Dagfinn believed it was only natural for Skiguard roof boxes to follow the same principles, so that the same lines could be found on the roof box itself. The result was double‑curved roof boxes with a clean and modern expression.
