Kistefos Træsliberi is a former pulp mill

Pulp mill

A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...

 and hydroelectric power plant

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 in Jevnaker

Jevnaker

Jevnaker is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302.The parish of Jævnaker was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

, 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...

. It was founded by Kistefos

Kistefos

Kistefos is a privately owned holding company that pursues investments within venture capital, private equity, offshore, shipping and other sectors. It is owned by Christen Sveaas and led by CEO Åge Korsvold....

 at the river Randselva

Ranelva

Ranelva is a 130 km long river in the municipality of Rana, and is one of the longest rivers in the county of Nordland, Norway. The river begins on Saltfjellet, in the borders between Norway and Sweden, and flows northwestwards under the name Randalselv . Ranelva begins where Randalselva and the...

 in 1889.

History

The mill was founded on June 27, 1889 by councilor Anders Sveaas

Anders Sveaas

Anders Sveaas was a Norwegian businessperson and consulate. He was involved in a number of foreign ventures before founding the pulp mill Kistefos Træsliberi in Jevnaker, Norway in 1889. He had bought the waterfall the year before and production at the plant started in 1890. The succession of the...

 and was in operation from the following year until 1955 when an agreement was made with Follum Fabrikker

Norske Skog Follum

Norske Skog Follum is a paper mill located in Follum in Norway. The mill is part of the Norske Skog Corporation and opened in 1873 with the name Follum Fabrikker...

 (now Norske Skog Follum) who took over the operation. Kistefos agreed to deliver power and lumber to the plant at Follum, being paid market price and a premium for the processing. After an internal disagreement in the family the company was sold to the neighbor company Viul Tresliperi in 1983, but was bought back by Christen Sveaas

Christen Sveaas

Christen Sveaas is a Norwegian businessperson.He was born in Oslo, and has a degree from the University of St. Gallen in 1981. His paternal great-grandfather Anders Sveaas , who founded the company Kistefos Træsliberi in 1889. The company was sold by the family to Viul Tresliperi in 1983, against...

 in 1993 and transformed into the holding company

Holding company

A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...

 Kistefos

Kistefos

Kistefos is a privately owned holding company that pursues investments within venture capital, private equity, offshore, shipping and other sectors. It is owned by Christen Sveaas and led by CEO Åge Korsvold....

.

Operation

At the plant pulp

Pulp (paper)

Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...

 was created by hydraulic pressure transferred from turbines. Kistefos was early with electricity, and both the factory and the housing was supplied with it. The power came directly from the water fall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 and was transformed mechanically. After the closing of the factory the fall was converted to a hydroelectric power plant. The lumber came mill owned forests in Land

Land, Norway

Land is a traditional district in Oppland, Norway consisting of the municipalities Nordre Land and Søndre Land. Land was a formannskapsdistrikt from 1837, and split into Nordre- and Søndre Land in 1847. By the time of partition Land had a population of 9,199....

, pulled across Randsfjorden

Randsfjorden

Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth largest lake with an area of . Its volume is estimated at just over , and its greatest depth is . The lake is above sea level....

 and floated down Randselva to Kistefoss.

Museum

In 1991, the power plant was sold to the municipal power company Viul Kraft. In 1995, 85% of the company was sold to Christen Sveaas, the grandson of Anders Sveaas. The company remains owner of large amounts of forest and the estate of the mill. The company is responsible for all renovation of the buildings to create it into a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

. Since 1996 the foundation Stiftelsen Kistefos-Museet has been responsible for the old factory and retaining an operational museum, and was created after donations from Jevnaker

Jevnaker

Jevnaker is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302.The parish of Jævnaker was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

municipality and Sveaas.