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 ...
engineering
Engineering is the use of 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 range of more speciali ...
and
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, 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 Pr ...
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 Sto ...
- 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 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 ...
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 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 befo ...
, construction of offshore
oil and gas platforms, production of
pulping
Pulp is a Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rags. Mixed with water and other chemica ...
and
paper manufacturing 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 Carl Røtjer (1924–2006) was a Norwegian businessperson.
During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Røtjer participated in the resistance as a member of Milorg's Group 131134. After the war he studied at the Norwegian Institute of Technol ...
(1976–1986) and
Mikal H. Grønner (1986–1989). Chairmen were
Frithjof A. Lind (–1982),
Johan B. Holte (1982–1985),
Emil Eriksrud Emil Harboe Eriksrud (27 January 1926 – 8 March 1990) was a Norwegian businessperson and judge.
He graduated with the Candidate of Law degree in 1949, and also took the average adjuster examination. He was a deputy judge in Tromsø, lecturer in ...
(1985–1986), Carl Røtjer (1986–1989),
Kaspar Kielland
Kaspar is a given name and surname which may refer to:
Given name:
* Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1459 – c. 1527)
* Kaspar Albrecht (1889–1970), Austrian architect and sculptor
* Kaspar Amort (1612–1675), German painter
* Caspa ...
(1989-1996), and then Christian Bjelland (1996-2001). Since 2011, the CEO has been Jan Arve Haugan.
Erik Tønseth
Erik Tønseth (7 August 1946 – 12 December 2022) was a Norwegian jurist and industrialist.
Tønseth was born in Drøbak and held the cand.jur. degree. He headed the agricultural branch of Norsk Hydro from 1979. He was CEO of Kværner Industri ...
became director-general of Kværner in 1989, and under his leadership the company underwent large-scale international expansion, acquiring the state-owned
Govan Shipbuilders
Govan Shipbuilders Ltd (GSL) was a British shipbuilding company based on the River Clyde at Glasgow in Scotland. It operated the former Fairfield Shipyard and took its name from the Govan area in which it was located.
History
The company wa ...
from
British Shipbuilders. 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. In 1996, Kværner acquired the UK conglomerate
Trafalgar House, and moved its international headquarters from Oslo to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
. In January 1996, Kvaerner purchased a stake in the
Vyborg Shipyard
Vyborg Shipyard PJSC (russian: ПАО «Выборгский судостроительный завод») is a shipbuilding company located in Vyborg, Russia. The company has a focus on icebreakers and other icegoing vessels for arctic conditions ...
(russian: Выборгский судостроительный завод) and renamed it Kverner-Vyborg Shipyard (russian: ОАО "Квернер-Выборг Верфь") which was the largest manufacturer of
offshore installations in Russia.
The company's expansive acquisitions brought economic hardship to the company.
Kjell Almskog
Kjell Erik Almskog (born 5 January 1941) is a Norwegian businessman. He is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of several companies, including the Norwegian division of the ABB Group and Kværner.
Personal life and education
He was born in O ...
became CEO in 1998, and implemented various plans to streamline the company. This included the sale of the
Cunard Line (a division of Trafalgar House) to
Carnival Corporation, the sale of
Kvaerner Govan
Kvaerner Govan Ltd (KGL), located at Govan in Glasgow on the River Clyde, was a shipyard subsidiary formed in 1988 when the Norwegian group Kværner Industrier purchased the Govan Shipbuilders division of the nationalised British Shipbuilders co ...
to
BAE Systems and the sale of
Chemrec 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 (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, 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 Sto ...
, a Norwegian oil services group controlled by
Kjell Inge Røkke. Røkke scuppered the solution preferred by Kværner's management, a rescue by Russia's oil giant
Yukos. Kværner's international headquarters returned to Oslo and Kværner was restructured to become a holding company, with operating activities concentrated in
Aker Kværner and
Aker Yards. 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