Lerum is a Norwegian company, which produces food and drinks. , the company was considered to be Norway's top manufacturer of
fruit drinks, and manufactured many
supermarket store brands.
History
It was founded in 1907 by Nils Hansson Lerum and his wife Kari Hansdotter Ørbech as a small store in Sørheim,
Luster.
Since many in the rural community paid with
raspberries, they started production of
juice in a small factory in 1909.
By 1918, the factory was producing tens of thousands of liters of juice and kilograms of jam.
In 1919, production was moved to
Sogndal
Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...
.
Coincident with this move, a company was formed as A/S NH Lerums Saftfabrikk.
Lerum, which still is family-owned, now consists of two subdivisions, Lerum Konserves and Lerum Fabrikker.
Lerum had an arrangement which ended in 1998 to produce
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
products, thereafter opting to produce their own products.
In 2006, Lerum joined other drink manufacturers who were adding sugar-free alternatives, in their case opting for
sucralose
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so it is noncaloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of ...
as a sugar alternative.
, the company's products were sold almost exclusively in Norway.
Management
, the
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) (Administrative Director) was Trine Lerum Hjellhaug (who was also the founders'
great-granddaughter),
the Deputy Director was Jan Petter Vadheim, and the
chief financial officer
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
was Bernt Bergheim. Also, the
chairman of the board
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
was Sverre S. Tysland, while board members included Kristine Aasheim,
Jon Terje Øverland
Jon Terje Øverland (born December 14, 1944) is a Norwegian alpine skier. He was born in Rjukan. He participated at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, where he competed in downhill, slalom and giant slalom. He also participated at the 1968 W ...
, Jørn Stenehjem, and Erik Asbjørn Thue; several members of the Lerum family were also board members: Kurt Lerum, Gro Lerum Bondevik, Bente Lerum Lund,
Kåre Lerum
Kåre Norvald Lerum (born 4 December 1939) is a Norwegian businessperson and politician.
He was born in Vik and took an education in Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipalit ...
, Grethe Kristin Lerum.
Prior to Hjellhaug's tenure as CEO, the position was held by Kåre Lerum until 2004 (board member as of 2010), then held by Jan Petter Vadheim (Deputy Director as of 2010).
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Food and drink companies of Norway
Food and drink companies established in 1907
Companies based in Sogn og Fjordane