Kværner was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
and
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. In 2004, it was amalgamated to the newly formed subsidiary of
Aker ASA
Aker ASA is a Norwegian industrial investment company with ownership interests concentrated in oil and gas, renewable energy and green technologies, maritime assets, marine biotechnology, and industrial software. The company is listed on Oslo St ...
- Aker Kværner, which was renamed
Aker Solutions
Aker Solutions ASA, an engineering company based in Oslo, provides the products, systems and services required to unlock energy from sources such as oil, gas, offshore wind and capture. The company, founded in 1841, was known as Aker Kværner u ...
on 3 April 2008. Kværner re-emerged on 6 May 2011, when the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) part of Aker Solutions took the Kværner name. The new Kværner company was listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange
Oslo Stock Exchange ( no, Oslo Børs) (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway’s only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, deriv ...
on 8 July 2011.
History
Kvaerner Brug was founded in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
in 1853 by industrialist Oluf A. Onsum (1820-1899). The company became principally involved in the production of cast iron stoves. In 1870, Kvaerner built its first hydroelectric turbine.
During the early 1900s, Kvaerner power turbines remained the principal product line which also included bridges, cranes, and pumps. Kvaerner was listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange
Oslo Stock Exchange ( no, Oslo Børs) (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway’s only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, deriv ...
in 1967. By the 1990s, the company assembled a collection of engineering and industrial businesses, including
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
, construction of offshore
oil and gas platforms, production of
pulping
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw mate ...
and
paper manufacturing
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
equipment, and operation of
shipping fleet.
Directors-general of Kværner after the stock exchange listing were
Kjell B. Langballe
Kjell is a Scandinavian male given name. In Denmark, the cognate is Kjeld or Keld. The name comes from the Old Norse word ''kętill'', which means " kettle" and probably also "helmet" or perhaps "cauldron". Examples of old spellings or forms are ...
(1960–1976),
Carl Røtjer (1976–1986) and
Mikal H. Grønner (1986–1989). Chairmen were
Frithjof A. Lind (–1982),
Johan B. Holte
Johan Berthin Holte (19 February 1915 – 1 April 2002) was a Norwegian businessperson.
He was born in Notodden as a son of chief administrative officer Peder Olaus Holte (1875–1943) and Lorentze Indorff (1890–19). In 1944 he married artist ...
(1982–1985),
Emil Eriksrud (1985–1986), Carl Røtjer (1986–1989),
Kaspar Kielland (1989-1996), and then Christian Bjelland (1996-2001). Since 2011, the CEO has been Jan Arve Haugan.
Erik Tønseth became director-general of Kværner in 1989, and under his leadership the company underwent large-scale international expansion, acquiring the state-owned
Govan Shipbuilders from
British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders (BS) was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in Great Britain from 1977 through the 1980s. Its head office was at Benton House in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
History
The corporation was ...
. In 1992 Kværner acquired the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
company
Götaverken
Götaverken was a shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. During the 1930s it was the world's biggest shipyard by launched gross registered tonnage. It was founded in 1841, and went bankrupt in 1989.
History
The company w ...
. In 1996, Kværner acquired the UK conglomerate
Trafalgar House, and moved its international headquarters from Oslo to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In January 1996, Kvaerner purchased a stake in the
Vyborg Shipyard (russian: Выборгский судостроительный завод) and renamed it Kverner-Vyborg Shipyard (russian: ОАО "Квернер-Выборг Верфь") which was the largest manufacturer of
offshore installations
Offshore may refer to:
Science and technology
* Offshore (hydrocarbons)
* Offshore construction, construction out at sea
* Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well
* O ...
in Russia.
The company's expansive acquisitions brought economic hardship to the company.
Kjell Almskog became CEO in 1998, and implemented various plans to streamline the company. This included the sale of the
Cunard Line
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...
(a division of Trafalgar House) to
Carnival Corporation
Carnival is a Catholic Church, Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgy, liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (o ...
, the sale of
Kvaerner Govan to
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
and the sale of
Chemrec
Chemrec AB (Chemrec) is a Stockholm, Sweden-based company with comprehensive experience of pioneering the development of black liquor gasification (BLG) technology for energy and chemicals recovery at pulp mills.
The Chemrec process for gasifica ...
to
Babcock Borsig. On 10 March 2000, Kvaerner sold the Vyborg Shipyard, which was losing money and faced closure during 1999, to the Sergey Zavyalov (russian: Сергей Завьялов) associated early 1990s established Ako Barss Group (russian: "Ако Барсс Груп") which sold the shipyard to
Rossiya Bank
The Rossiya Bank (Bank Rossiya (russian: Банк «Росси́я»), in Russian: Акционерный коммерческий банк Россия, АКБ Россия) is a Russian joint stock bank founded on June 27, 1990. The company's h ...
owners who placed the shipyard in the
United Shipbuilding Corporation
, romanized_name =
, former_name =
, type = State owned enterprise
, traded_as =
, industry = Shipbuilding, Defense industry
, genre =
, fate =
, predecessor =
, successor =
, founded =
, founder =
, defunct ...
(USC) in 2012. In August 2000, Kværner sold its Construction Division to the Swedish company
Skanska
Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...
.
The economic slowdown in 2001 coupled with the heavy debt burden and a series of management missteps brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. Hugo Erikssen, a director of public relations at
Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (russian: ОАО Нефтяна́я Компа́ния Ю́КОС, links=no, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovs ...
, and Oleg Sheiko (russian: links=no, Олег Шейко), Yukos' vice president for finance, and Alexey Golubovich (russian: links=no, Алексей Голубович), who was Yukos' "director of corporate finance" until 2001, supported Kværner with mergers and financing.; born June 1957) graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University in 1981 and the Academy of Foreign Trade in 1992 Following graduation he became a banker with NM Rothschild and Sons Limited in London and later created the Moscow branch and became its manager. He joined Yukos in 1996.
In November 2001, Kværner was forced to merge with its rival
Aker ASA
Aker ASA is a Norwegian industrial investment company with ownership interests concentrated in oil and gas, renewable energy and green technologies, maritime assets, marine biotechnology, and industrial software. The company is listed on Oslo St ...
, a Norwegian oil services group controlled by
Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke (born 25 October 1958) is a Norwegian billionaire businessman.
Røkke launched his business career with the purchase of a trawler in the United States in 1982, and gradually built a leading worldwide fisheries business. In 1 ...
. Røkke scuppered the solution preferred by Kværner's management, a rescue by Russia's oil giant
Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (russian: ОАО Нефтяна́я Компа́ния Ю́КОС, links=no, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovs ...
. Kværner's international headquarters returned to Oslo and Kværner was restructured to become a holding company, with operating activities concentrated in
Aker Kværner
Aker may refer to:
Places
* Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway
* Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Aker Br ...
and
Aker Yards
Aker may refer to:
Places
* Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway
* Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Aker Br ...
. As of 2005 Kværner ASA was merged with Aker Maritime Finance AS, a wholly owned company of Aker ASA and the Kværner corporation ceased to exist.
In 2008, Aker Kvaerner changed its name to Aker Solutions ASA. In December 2010, Aker Solutions announced a decision to cultivate its core businesses. Kvaerner was established, through a demerger, as a specialised EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) company addressing the global market. On 6 May 2011, the shareholders' annual general meeting approved the establishing of Kvaerner as a separate company.
In September 2019 the company announced their plans to target renewable growth and they are looking to expand their operations in renewable energy to help boost this growth by around 40% in the coming years.
Notes
References
External links
Kvaerner website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvaerner
Shipbuilding companies of Norway
Engineering companies of Norway
Oil companies of Norway
Shipping companies of Norway
Aker ASA
Conglomerate companies of Norway
Defunct companies of Norway
Defunct manufacturing companies of Norway
Companies based in Oslo
Manufacturing companies established in 1853
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1853
Transport companies established in 1853
Companies established in 1853
Companies disestablished in 2011
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2011
Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 2011
1853 establishments in Norway
2011 disestablishments in Norway
Companies formerly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange