Christian Salvesen Ltd
Encyclopedia
Christian Salvesen was a European transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in the United Kingdom
and western Europe. Since December 2007 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of French
-listed transport group Norbert Dentressangle
.
, Vest-Agder
, Norway
. Christian Salvesen was the son of Norwegian merchant shipowner, Thomas Salvesen (1787–1853). In 1846, his older brother Johan Theodor Salvesen (1820–1965) had gone into the partnership of Turnbull, Salvesen and Company with George W. Turnbull and established an affiliate office in Leith
near Edinburgh
, Scotland
. Christian Salvesen joined the partnership after migrating from Mandal in 1851. In 1868 Christian Salvesen, together with Wilhelm Thams (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
, with runs along the Norwegian coast.
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
. They established and operated from a base at Leith Harbour
(named for Salvesen's base in Scotland) on the island of South Georgia, to the south west of the Falkland Islands
. During 1908, in partnership with Christian Thams
, Christian Salvesen also invested in the construction of the first electric railway from Løkken
to Thamshavn
in Norway in support of their mining interests.
In the years 1950-1962 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 on board hangar which housed a Westland Whirlwind (helicopter) which was used for whale spotting. One of the company's whale-catchers, Southern Actor
, now lies at the whaling museum
in Sandefjord
, Norway, and is preserved as a floating museum ship
.
As the boom in whaling ended after World War II
, Salvesen moved into the commercial trawler business and also bought a cold store 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
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 i the 1960s and replaced by a government tax office. This in turn was demolished in 2008 in expectation of residential redevelopment.
His offices were on the south side of Bernard Street, Leith, in a building that doubled as the Norwegian Consulate for Edinburgh. The building is now a Chinese restaurant.
He is buried in Rosebank Cemetery on Pilrig Street in Leith.
Salvesen have had mixed fortunes since the early 1990s. A potential take-over by Hays plc
in 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
hire business, Aggreko
in 1997 and the arrival of a new Chief Executive, Edward Roderick, who led the business until his sacking in 2004. During this period a Swedish investor Custos
discussed buying the company, and yet again no formal offer was issued to shareholder
s.
In 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 October 2, 2007 the board recommended a cash offer by Norbert Dentressangle
for £254.4 million to buy Christian Salvesen. The takeover was completed on December 14 that year.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and western Europe. Since December 2007 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-listed transport group Norbert Dentressangle
Norbert Dentressangle
Norbert Dentressangle is a major European transport, logistics, and freight forwarding company. It was founded in London in 1979, initially concentrating on cross-channel transport between France and the United Kingdom....
.
Early history
Christian Frederik Salvesen (1827–1911) had been born in MandalMandal
is a town and municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Mandal.The town of Mandal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
, Vest-Agder
Vest-Agder
In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Christian Salvesen was the son of Norwegian merchant shipowner, Thomas Salvesen (1787–1853). In 1846, his older brother Johan Theodor Salvesen (1820–1965) had gone into the partnership of Turnbull, Salvesen and Company with George W. Turnbull and established an affiliate office in Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Christian Salvesen joined the partnership after migrating from Mandal in 1851. In 1868 Christian Salvesen, together with Wilhelm Thams (1812–1884) founded the mining company Ørkedals Mining Company and bought a number of small mines around Løkken
Løkken
Løkken may refer to the following locations:*Løkken-Vrå, a former municipality in Denmark, Now part of Hjørring.*Løkken a small sea side town in that municipality*Løkken Verk, a village in Norway....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. 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
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
, with runs along the Norwegian coast.
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
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
, initially in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, and then in the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
. They established and operated from a base at Leith Harbour
Leith Harbour
Leith Harbour , also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station up 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 of seven whaling stations, situated near the mouth of...
(named for Salvesen's base in Scotland) on the island of South Georgia, to the south west of the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
. During 1908, in partnership with Christian Thams
Christian Thams
Christian Thams was a Norwegian architect, industrialist, businessman and diplomat.-Background:Christian Marius Thams was born in Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. His parens were Marentius Thams and Emilie Christine Ullitz...
, Christian Salvesen also invested in the construction of the first electric railway from Løkken
Løkken
Løkken may refer to the following locations:*Løkken-Vrå, a former municipality in Denmark, Now part of Hjørring.*Løkken a small sea side town in that municipality*Løkken Verk, a village in Norway....
to Thamshavn
Thamshavn
Thamshavn is a small port village in the municipality of Orkdal in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is the site of the port for Orkanger and the ferrosilicon plant Elkem Thamshavn...
in Norway in support of their mining interests.
In the years 1950-1962 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 on board hangar which housed a Westland Whirlwind (helicopter) which was used for whale spotting. One of the company's whale-catchers, Southern Actor
Southern Actor
Southern Actor is a former whale catcher, currently a museum ship based in Sandefjord, Norway and owned by Sandefjord Museum.Southern Actor was built in 1950 for the whaling company Christian Salvesen Ltd in Leith, Scotland. Many of Salvesen's employees were Norwegian mostly from Vestfold...
, now lies at the whaling museum
Sandefjord Museum
Sandefjordmuseene is a museum dedicated to the Whaling Industry located in Sandefjord, Norway. It is the only specialized museum on the subject of whales and whaling in Europe.-History:...
in Sandefjord
Sandefjord
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandefjord. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838...
, Norway, and is preserved as a floating museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
.
As the boom in whaling ended after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Salvesen moved into the commercial trawler business and also bought a cold store in Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
. 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
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...
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 i the 1960s and replaced by a government tax office. This in turn was demolished in 2008 in expectation of residential redevelopment.
His offices were on the south side of Bernard Street, Leith, in a building that doubled as the Norwegian Consulate for Edinburgh. The building is now a Chinese restaurant.
He is buried in Rosebank Cemetery on Pilrig Street in Leith.
Post-whaling
Salvesens exited the whaling industry in 1963 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 and generator hire. As a public company the business focussed on European logistics, buying Swift Transport Services in 1993. The non-logistics businesses were sold during this period.Salvesen have had mixed fortunes since the early 1990s. A potential take-over by Hays plc
Hays plc
Hays plc is a British company providing recruitment and human resources services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
in 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
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
hire business, Aggreko
Aggreko
Aggreko plc is the world's largest temporary power generation company, and a major supplier of temperature control equipment. It is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom....
in 1997 and the arrival of a new Chief Executive, Edward Roderick, who led the business until his sacking in 2004. During this period a Swedish investor Custos
Custos
Custos is the Latin word for guard. It occurs in titles such as* Custos rotulorum, keeper of the rolls* Custos * Custos...
discussed buying the company, and yet again no formal offer was issued to shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
s.
In 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 October 2, 2007 the board recommended a cash offer by Norbert Dentressangle
Norbert Dentressangle
Norbert Dentressangle is a major European transport, logistics, and freight forwarding company. It was founded in London in 1979, initially concentrating on cross-channel transport between France and the United Kingdom....
for £254.4 million to buy Christian Salvesen. The takeover was completed on December 14 that year.
Other sources
- Somner, Graeme (1984) From 70 North to 70 South: A history of the Christian Salvesen fleet (Christian Salvesen Ltd) ISBN 978-0950919904
- Elliot, Gerald (1998) Whaling Enterprise: Salvesen in the Antarctic (Michael Russell Publishing Ltd) ISBN 978-0859552417
- 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.)