Bruno Victor Nordberg was born on April 11, 1857 in Bjorneborg, Finland. He was the son of Captain Carl Victor and Dores (Hinze) Nordberg. His father, a prominent and successful shipbuilder, died while Bruno was still at the preparatory school.
Nordberg studied theology, history, and languages. When he entered the University of Helsingfors and discovered that his inclination was toward technical subjects, he found that his early schooling had given him little of value for his later career. Close association with Professor Rudolf Kolster, a physicist at the University, confirmed his desire to become an engineer, but it required his greatest efforts to build up the foundation in science and mathematics which had previously been neglected and at the same time to progress in his studies.
In 1879 Nordberg came to the United States and obtained work in Buffalo. Four months later he pushed westward to Milwaukee, and there came upon the works of the E. P. Allis Company, where he found employment detailing Corliss engine parts. Soon thereafter he seized upon an opportunity to design a blowing engine, an achievement which revealed his unusual skill as a designer and engineer and resulted in his further advancement.
In an endeavor to improve the economy of slide-valve engines, he designed a poppet valve cut-off governor, and in 1886, with the financial aid of friends, organized the Bruno Nordberg Company for the manufacture of such governors. The first shop was in small rented quarters. Increased demand for Corliss engines led Nordberg to design such units, the first of which was built at the Wilkins Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee.
In 1890 the need for enlarged quarters was felt and the Nordberg Manufacturing Company was organized, of which, during the years which followed, Nordberg served as president and chief engineer. An existing building was equipped with machinery, where governors, Corliss-valve, and poppet-valve engines were built. There followed the building of compressors, pumps, blowing engines, hoists, condensers, and heaters. The reputation of the Company grew rapidly and to it were referred all manner of difficult engineering problems.
The economy of Nordberg's steam engines was soon recognized, and what became known as the Nordberg generative cycle was developed. This cycle is used at the present time (1934) in modern turbine plants. Among the works of the company were the Champion Copper Company's compressor at Painesdale, Michigan, and the pumps built for the Wildwood Water Works, Wildwood, both still known as record-holding plants. Nordberg's compound steam stamps were epoch-making in the milling operation of Northern Michigan Copper Mines. Hoists were improved with such rapid strides that the demand for them came from all metal mines. He designed the hoist for the Tamarack Mining Company, which remarkable piece of work was followed some years later by the famous hoist built for the No. 2 Shaft at the Quincy Mining Company, Hancock, Michigan, the largest one so far built. The chemical industry profited by a great variety of special vacuum pumps and gas compressors which he devised. The company built the largest uniflow engine in the country for rolling-mill work, as well as some of the largest compressors for mining work.
He had taken out some seventy United States patents before his death. In his private laboratory he was active in electrical and chemical experiments, and developed many new ideas.
His genius attracted to the Nordberg Manufacturing Company a class of men notable for their ability, and as his enormous capacity for work diminished, these men gradually took responsibilities from his shoulders. His hobby was sailing his yacht.
On September 24, 1882, Nordberg married Helena Hinze, and his married life was an inspiration to all with whom he came in contact. He had two sons, one of whom died at the age of thirty-four.
