ironworks was founded in 1829 by the silversmith and industrialist Adolf Zethelius. The mill village of Nyby Bruk grew up around the ironworks, forming a symbiotic relationship with the neighbouring town. Several small tool making and mechanical industries were established in Torshälla during the mid- to late 19th century, using the available water power around the river; Johan Termaenius' mechanical works (1846), F O Nyström's tin vessel factory (1854), Ali Andersson's Torshälla saw blade factory (1881) and Holmens' foundry & mechanical works (1888). In 1895 the Northern Södermanland Railway was connected to Nyby Bruk, bypassing Torshälla town centre. Passenger traffic on the line was discontinued in 1933 after which the tracks were exclusively used for freight to Nyby. During the years between 1900 and 1940, Torshälla experienced dwindling population numbers with recession hitting the local manufacturing industry hard. 1940 - present day During the decades of economic growth leading up to the 1970s the Nyby Bruk steel mill attracted large numbers of workers from other parts of Sweden and from abroad. A significant part of the immigrant workforce was Finnish, which accounts for the high proportion of Sweden Finnish Torshälla inhabitants today. As part of the local government reform of 1971 Torshälla became part of neighbouring Eskilstuna Municipality with Eskilstuna as the municipal centre. Due to the close proximity of and loss of business to the larger neighbour Eskilstuna, Torshälla has in recent years gradually acquired the character of a picturesque commuter town, while still retaining a significant stainless steel industry. In a referendum concurrent with the elections of 2006, the inhabitants of Eskilstuna Municipality turned down a proposed split of the municipality into two parts, which would have made Torshälla an independent municipality. The result was a 67.5% majority for the status quo. However, Torshälla remains an own administrative division within the municipality, with certain local government duties delegated to the town administration. Economy The main industry and private employer in Torshälla is Outokumpu, producing cold rolled stainless steel products at Nyby Bruk. Sports Torshälla Nyby Idrottsällskap (TNIS) is the local soccer team, founded on February 12, 1914, when the existing local teams Torshälla Guif, Nyby Bruk IF and IF Östermalms merged and formed Torshälla-Nyby Idrottsällskap; TNIS. Soon thereafter Torshälla AIK choose to join the club and March 7 of that year four cooperating sports clubs became TNIS. Initially the club had Guif's red shirts and black pants. Nowadays