Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe. In December 2007, it was acquired by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

listed transport group

Norbert Dentressangle Norbert Dentressangle () was a major European transport, logistics and freight forwarder. It was founded in 1979, initially concentrating on cross channel transport between France and the United Kingdom. In December 2007, Norbert Dentressangle do ...

History

Salve Christian Frederik Salvesen (1827–1911) was born in

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...

, Norway. Christian Salvesen was the son of Norwegian merchant shipowner, Thomas Salvesen (1787–1853). In 1846, his older brother Johan Theodor Salvesen (1820–1865) had gone into the partnership of Turnbull, Salvesen and Company with George W. Turnbull and established an affiliate office in Leith near Edinburgh, Scotland. The oldest brother, Carl Emil Salvesen (1816–1877) also moved to Leith but his role in the company is unclear. Christian Salvesen joined the partnership after migrating from Mandal in 1851. He lived and operated from 20 Charlotte Street in Leith (now known as Queen Charlotte Street). In 1868, Christian Salvesen, together with

Wilhelm August Thams Wilhelm August Thams (June 22, 1812 – July 4, 1884) was a Norwegian merchant, land owner and lumber mill owner. Biography Wilhelm Thams was the son of Jacob Thullin Thams (1770–1826), who was a bailiff in Ringerike. He was married to Ida Olava ...

(1812–1884) founded the mining company Ørkedals Mining Company and bought a number of small mines around Løkken, Norway. In 1872, Christian Salvesen left the partnership and set up Christian Salvesen & Co., based in Leith. Initially, the company operated as shipping and forwarding agents, shipbrokers and timber merchants. Christian Salvesen & Co. began buying steamers in the 1880s, and in 1886 started a line to

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

, with runs along the Norwegian coast. Salvesen harpoon, The Shore, Leith

In 1883, Christian Salvesen, delegated management of shipping operations to his eldest sons, Thomas and Frederick, who became partners in the firm. In the early 1900s, the company developed significant interests in whaling, initially in the Arctic, and then in the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

. They established and operated from a base at

Leith Harbour Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest ...

(named for Salvesen's base in Scotland) on the island of

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

, to the south east of the Falkland Islands. During 1908, in partnership with

Christian Thams Christian Thams (9 September 1867 – 22 May 1948) was a Norwegian architect, industrialist, businessman and diplomat. Thams was also a founder and major shareholder of Société du Madal, a Norwegian company which operated coconut oil plantations ...

, Christian Salvesen also invested in the construction of the first electric railway from Løkken to

Thamshavn Thamshavn or Thamshamn is a small port village in the municipality of Orkland in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is the site of the port for the town of Orkanger and the ferrosilicon plant Elkem Thamshavn. It is located right along European route ...

in Norway in support of their mining interests. In the years 1950 to 1962, the whaling ships ''Southern Harvester'' and ''Southern Venturer'' belonged to the company. These ships were floating factories, and the core of a whaling expedition. Each expedition consisted of a floating factory as well as a team of whale catchers which were equipped with an onboard hangar which housed a Westland Whirlwind (helicopter) which was used for whale spotting. One of the company's whale catchers, ''

Southern Actor ''Southern Actor'' is a former whale catcher, currently a museum ship based in Sandefjord, Norway and owned by Sandefjord Museum. It is the only whale catcher from the Modern Whaling Epoch still to be in its original working order. Over 100,000 ...

'', now lies at the whaling museum in Sandefjord, Norway, and is preserved as a floating

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

. They ceased whaling in 1963 and ceased shipping in 1990, thereafter concentrating on road haulage. Grave of Christian Salvesen, Rosebank Cemetery

Grave of Christian Salvesen, Rosebank Cemetery

As the boom in whaling ended after World War II, Salvesen moved into the commercial trawler business and also bought a

cold store A cool store or cold store is a large refrigerated room or building designed for storage of goods in an environment below the outdoor temperature. Products needing refrigeration include fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. Cold stores are often loc ...

in Grimsby. It traded primarily in housebuilding, general food freezing and oil before moving back into the transport business by buying ''Swift Services''. Christian Salvesen's house stood at

Goldenacre Goldenacre is an area in Edinburgh, Scotland, lying on and to the south of the Ferry Road, and south of Trinity. Transport links The area is well-served for local transport, with six bus services provided by Lothian Buses. Destinations include ...

in Edinburgh, on Ferry Road opposite Inverleith Row, and closing the vista along that road. A huge villa from around 1865 set in extensive gardens, it was demolished in the 1960s and replaced by Edinburgh's tax office, that in turn was demolished in the early 21st century, and is now a housing site. His offices were on the south side of Bernard Street, Leith, in a building that doubled as the Norwegian Consulate for Edinburgh (now a Chinese restaurant). He is buried in Rosebank Cemetery on Pilrig Street in Leith.

Family

Salvesen was married to Amalie Georgine Salome Andorsen (1828 to 1901), and their children included

Edward Theodore Salvesen The Hon. Edward Theodore Salvesen, Lord Salvesen (20 July 1857 – 23 February 1942) was a Scottish lawyer, politician and judge who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. Life Edward Theodore Salvesen was the son of Christian Frede ...

(Lord Salvesen) and

Theodore Salvesen Colonel Theodore Emile Salvesen of Culrain (aka Ted Salvesen) (1863–1942) was a 19th-century Scottish soldier and businessman. The Theodore Salvesen Memorial Trust caring for training and financial hardship of the Merchant Navy was named ...

. Their grandchildren included Harold Salvesen. He was uncle to

Henry Adolph Salvesen Henry Adolph Salvesen FRSE DL JP (5 June 1860–13 May 1924) was a 19th-century Scottish mechanical engineer and naval architect of Norwegian descent. Life He was born at Weedingshall in Polmont near Falkirk on 5 June 1860 one of at least ...

Philanthropy

Christian Salvesen's whaling ships brought the first penguins back to Edinburgh and donated them to

Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo, formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The land lies on the south facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, from which it provides extensive v ...

. Edinburgh therefore became the first zoo in the world to house and breed penguins. The Salvesen family lost many sons and nephews during World War I. Partly as a result of this they built several memorial housing developments, most on Scottish Veterans' Garden City principles: * 29 Earl Haig Gardens inscription

Earl Haig Gardens (1925) off East Trinity Road in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. For injured and retired army personnel. with memorial tablets over the doors to Salvesen family members and others killed in the conflict such as 2nd Lt Edward Maxwell Salvesen and 2nd Lt Eric Thomas Somervell Salveson. *Salvesen Gardens (1948) in Muirhouse, Edinburgh, for army personnel. *Salvesen Crescent also in Muirhouse, for retired

lighthouse keepers A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

(who played a big part in the survival of their fleet).

Post whaling

Salvesens left the whaling industry in 1963, thus ending

whaling in Scotland The first evidence for whaling in Scotland is from Bronze Age settlements where whalebones were used for constructing and decorating dwelling places. Commercial whaling started in the Middle Ages, and by the 1750s most Scottish ports were whaling ...

, and reinvented itself as a major European transport and logistics company. In 1985, the company went public as a diversified industrial group, with interests in shipping, brick manufacture, housebuilding, cold storage and distribution, rock and roll lighting hire (Light and Sound Design Ltd, now part of PRG inc.), theatre and television lighting manufacture (Lumo Lighting, was part of Lee Colortran International ) and generator hire. As a public company, the business focussed on European logistics, buying Swift Transport Services in October 1993. The non logistics businesses were sold during this period. Salvesen have had mixed fortunes since the beginning of the 1990s. A potential takeover by

Hays plc Hays plc is a British multinational company providing recruitment and human resources services across 33 countries globally. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was found ...

in August 1996, which could have valued the shares in the 350–400 pence range, did not result in a formal offer. This did however lead to the spin off of the

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

hire business, Aggreko in March 1997, and the arrival of a new Chief Executive, Edward Roderick, who led the business until his sacking in May 2004. During this period, a Swedish investor AB Custos discussed buying the company, and yet again no formal offer was issued to

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

s. This was in July 2000. In October 2004, a merger was proposed with TDG plc, but this apparently failed because of the pre merger positioning of key executives from both companies. On 2 October 2007, the board recommended a cash offer by

for £254.4 million to buy Christian Salvesen. The takeover was completed on 14 December that year.''Christian Salvesen Plc Acquired by Norbert Dentressangle'' (Transport Intelligence)
/ref>

References

Other sources

* Somner, Graeme (1984) ''From 70 North to 70 South: A history of the Christian Salvesen fleet'' (Christian Salvesen Ltd) *Elliot, Gerald (1998) ''Whaling Enterprise: Salvesen in the Antarctic'' (Michael Russell Publishing Ltd) * Salvesen, Edward Theodore (1949) ''Memoirs of Lord Salvesen'' (W. & R. Chambers) *Watson, Nigel (1996) ''The story of Christian Salvesen, 1846-1996'' (London: James & James Ltd.) *Vamplew, Wray (1975) ''Salvesen of Leith'' (Scottish Academic Press) {{ISBN, 0-7011-2037-1 Transport operators of Scotland Whaling in Scotland 1872 establishments in Scotland 2007 disestablishments in Scotland British companies established in 1872 British companies disestablished in 2007 Companies based in Edinburgh Leith Whaling firms Multinational companies Logistics companies of the United Kingdom Construction and civil engineering companies of Scotland Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1872 British people in whaling

History

Family

Philanthropy

Post whaling

See also

References

Other sources