E. A. Smith AS is a Norwegian

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...

company which owns other companies in the Smith Group (''Smith-gruppen''). It has its headquarters in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. It owns Bygger'n, a nationwide building materials chain of approximately 100 stores. The firm was founded in 1869 by

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

r Elias Anton Smith (1842–1912). One of the sons of Elias Anton Smith was

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

, chemical engineer

Elias Anton Cappelen Smith Elias Anton Cappelen Smith (6 November 1873 – 25 June 1949) was a Norwegian American chemical engineer, civil engineer and metallurgist. He pioneered copper production in the early 20th century. Among his achievements were the and the Guggenh ...

who was a partner in Guggenheim Brothers of New York City, and gave large donations to Norway. ''Elias Anton Cappelen Smith'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> From the start, the company dealt with trade on iron and hardware, oil and derivatives, as well as

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

and coal. These products would be the company's main interest in the following years. Elias Anton Smith's company flourished, and became well known both by the town's public, and in the larger districts of

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

and Northern Norway. The Smith group is today established in large parts of the country, and is Norway's only complete supplier of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, metals, building materials,

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

, reinforcement and tools with customer service and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

. The headquarters are in Trondheim, where E. A. Smith AS deals with central finance, accounting and IT services for the whole Smith group. It is today one of the country's oldest active trading companies. The company is still owned by descendants of Elias Anton Smith, with

Trond Reinertsen Trond R. Reinertsen (born December 12, 1945) is a Norway, Norwegian economist and business leader. He has a Ph.D from the University of Utah. From 1978 to 1997 he was chief director of the Norwegian Bank Association. Reinertsen chaired the State O ...

as President.

References

External links

Smith Stål Official siteBygger'n Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, E. A. Wholesalers of Norway Companies based in Trondheim Retail companies established in 1869 Retail companies of Norway Norwegian companies established in 1869