Aker Solutions ASA is a Norwegian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

ing firm headquartered in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. The firm's production is focused on

energy infrastructure Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include the production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and reu ...

, including systems and services required to de-carbonize oil and gas production, build wind-to-grid infrastructure and engineer capture and sequestration. Founded in 1841 as Akers Mekaniske Verksted, the company has been known as Aker, Aker Kvaerner and Aker Solutions (2008). Aker Kværner was founded in 2004 from the major restructuring of a complex "Aker Kværner" business unit formed in 2002 by the merger of Aker Maritime and Kværner Oil & Gas. The company was majority controlled by

Aker ASA Aker ASA is a Norway, Norwegian industrial investment company with ownership interests concentrated in oil and gas, renewable energy and green technologies, industrial software, seafood and marine biotechnology sectors. The company is listed on ...

until 2007. Then, via major ownership restructuring on 22 June 2007, Aker ASA gave up its holding in Aker Solutions and transferred a 40% stake to Aker Holding, which in turn was owned by

(60%), the

Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry () was a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. It was first created in 1916, as the Ministry of Trade (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Shipping and Industry). It ...

(30%),

SAAB Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft, aerospace and defence company, still known as SAAB, and together with subsidiaries as Saab Group ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab ...

(7.5%) and

Investor AB Investor AB is a Swedish investment and holding company, often considered a ''de facto'' conglomerate. One of Sweden's largest companies, Investor AB serves as the investment arm of the prominent Swedish Wallenberg family; the family's compani ...

(2.5%). On 3 April 2008, Aker Kværner was renamed Aker Solutions. In 2020, the company merged with Kværner ASA. As of 2023, the company trades on the Oslo stock exchange under the symbol 'AKSO'.

History

1841 to 2002: Evolution of Aker Kvaerner

Aker Solutions derives from a series of start-ups and mergers of Norwegian companies across the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. In 1841, Aker established its first workshop along the Aker river in Oslo, called Aker Mechanical Workshop ( Aker Mekaniske Verksted).

Kværner Brug Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. During its initial decades, the firm was involved in the manufacture of cast iron stoves and hydroelectric turbines. The turbine busin ...

was founded in Oslo in 1853. In 1943, Kværner Brug and partner

Myrens Verksted Myrens Verksted is an industrial area in Norway on the east side of the Akerselva river, situated between the bridges Bentsebrua and Vøyenbrua in the southwest part of Torshov, in what is today the Sagene Borough of Oslo. Production started in ...

jointly acquired a majority shareholding in

Thunes Mekaniske Verksted Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen. History Thune traced its roots to a workshop founded by An ...

. Joint holding company

Kværner Industries Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. During its initial decades, the firm was involved in the manufacture of cast iron stoves and hydroelectric turbines. The turbine busin ...

AS was established in December 1967, listing on the

Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange () (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, derivatives and fixed ...

. The Kværner Group entered the offshore oil and gas market from its base in Oslo, and

Kværner Engineering Kværner was a Norway, Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. During its initial decades, the firm was involved in the manufacture of cast iron Stove, stoves and Water turbine, hydroelectric ...

, an engineering and contracting company, was set-up in the late 1960s. In 1993, construction work began at the

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

through jointly owned subsidiary, Kværner Process Services Inc. (KPSI), initiating a business partnership with the

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

that lasted until 2006. In 1996, Kværner acquired UK-based conglomerate Trafalgar House, increasing its interests in shipbuilding, oil and gas, pulp and paper, engineering and construction. The company's international headquarters was moved to London. In 1999, the company initiated a major sell-off to raise money via divestment, but financial and operational problems persisted, and the company entered an acute liquidity crisis in August 2001. In July 2000, Aker Maritime ASA, a Norway-based offshore products, technology and services provider, bought 26% of the shares in Kværner ASA. In November 2001, Aker Maritime ASA and Kværner ASA reached an agreement, whereby Aker Maritime injected NOK 2.8 bn in net assets, raised another NOK 3.5 bn through two direct issues, and renegotiated NOK 8.6 bn of Kværner's debt. The following year the group adopt the Aker Kvaerner brand for the entire group.

2002 to 2008: Aker Kværner and Aker Solutions

Having resulted from a merger of Aker Maritime and Kværner Oil & Gas in 2002, a major business restructuring of Aker Kværner was launched in 2004. This led to the formation of two industrial groups: Aker Kværner, working with oil, gas, energy and process engineering, and shipbuilding

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 ...

. Aker Kværner also became a minor shareholder in the Finnish engineering company

Aker Arctic Aker Arctic Technology Oy (often shortened to Aker Arctic) is a Finnish engineering company that operates an ice model test basin in Helsinki. In addition to ship model testing, the company offers various design, engineering and consulting ser ...

in 2004. Aker Kvaerner started trading on the

under the ticker symbol 'AKVER' on 2 April 2004. In 2006, the company's pulp-and-paper and power businesses were sold to Finnish-based

Metso Metso Corporation (natively ) was a Finnish industrial machinery company focusing on providing technology and services for mining, and aggregates industries. On 30 June 2020, Metso's partial demerger and combination of Metso Minerals busines ...

for €335 million. On 7 June 2007, a deal was announced to sell a 40.1 percent stake of the company from Aker ASA to Aker Holding. The new company was owned by

(60%), the

(30%),

(7.5%) and

Investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

(2.5%). In 2007, the company was identified by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

as an accessory to torture and other human rights abuses for its collaboration in constructing and maintaining the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.

2008 to 2020: Aker Solutions

During the AGM held on 3 April 2008, Aker Kværner announced that it would rebrand as Aker Solutions. Between April 2010 and June 2010, the company won three contracts from

Noble Energy Noble Energy, Inc. was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration headquartered in Houston, Texas. In October 2020, the company was acquired by Chevron Corporation. The company was known as Noble Affiliates, Inc. until 2002. As of December ...

to supply steel tube umbilicals, a complete mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) reclamation unit, and subsea control equipment for the construction of offshore oil platforms in the

Tamar gas field The Tamar gas field is a natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. The field is located in Israel's exclusive economic zone, roughly west of Haifa in waters deep. The Tamar field is considered to have proven reserves ...

in Israel. Together, the contracts were worth NOK 1.1 billion. On 6 May 2011, Aker Solutions' EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) division was re-branded and spun off as a new company, Kværner ASA, listed on the

in the third-quarter of 2011. Aker Solutions' holding company — Aker Holdings AS — was renamed Aker Kværner Holding AS, and held around 40% of Kværner ASA. Aker ASA took over the 10% stake owned by

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft, aerospace and defence company, still known as SAAB, and together with subsidiaries as Saab Group ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab ...

and Investor AB, raising its stake in Aker Kværner Holdings AS to 70%. In 2014, Aker Solutions was further divided into two companies, Aker Solutions and Akastor, and in August Aker Solutions leased the entire first phase of the new

Aberdeen International Business Park Aberdeen International Business Park (AIBP) is a major commercial building project located on the south eastern edge of Aberdeen International Airport, at Dyce, with direct road links to the Scottish motorway network, and close to Dyce railway st ...

. On 18 February 2015, the company announced the loss of around 300 jobs in Norway as a response to falling oil prices and the decline in demand for drilling services. In November 2020, Aker Solutions merged with Kværner ASA.

References

External links