As a consequence of the stagnation in the telecom industry at the start of the new millennium many subcontractors found themselves in deep crisis. Numerous Swedish die casting corporations which had focused their production on telecom related products, suffered a severe blow after the mere collapse of this industry. Several firms were declared bankrupt, others were gravely minimized.In the central parts of Sweden, three die casting companies which were located geographically close to each other (Metallteknik Produktion AB i Kulltorp, Gjuteribolaget i Bredaryd AB and Värnamo Pressgjuteri AB) started a co-operation in order to try to overcome the down turn in the mar- ket. The companies later merged and became “ADC of Sweden” (“Associ- ated Die Casters of Sweden”), targeting a new demanding international cli- entele. The new corporation has a joined marketing plan and parts of their operations seem to be working well. At the same time these former rivals, which are now united in a new organisation, have encountered a series of problems which may be related to the fact that they were traditional family firms that used to operate independently.