Kværner
Encyclopedia
Kværner was a Norway
-based engineering
and construction
services company in existence between 1853 and 2005 when it was merged with Aker ASA
. The Kværner name was used in the subsidiary Aker Kværner until April 3, 2008 when it changed name to Aker Solutions. Kværner re-emerged on 6. May 2011, when the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) part of Aker Solutions took the Kværner name. The new Kværner company will be spun off and listed on Oslo Stock Exchange
in 3rd quarter of 2011.
in 1853 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange
in 1967. By the 1990s, Kværner assembled a collection of engineering and industrial businesses, including shipbuilding
, construction of offshore oil and gas platforms
, production of pulp
and paper
manufacturing equipment and operation of shipping fleet
.
Erik Tønseth
became CEO of Kværner in 1989, and under his leadership the company underwent large-scale international expansion, acquring the state-owned Govan Shipbuilders
from British Shipbuilders
. In 1992 Kværner acquired the Swedish
company Götaverken
. In 1996, Kværner acquired the UK conglomerate Trafalgar House
and moved its international headquarters from Oslo to London
. The company's expansive acquisitions brought economic hardship to the company. Kjell Almskog
became CEO in 1998, and implemented various plans to streamline the company. This included the sale of the Cunard Line
(a division of Trafalgar House) to Carnival Corporation, the sale of Kvaerner Govan
to BAE Systems
and the sale of Chemrec
to Babcock Borsig
. The economic slowdown in 2001 and a series of management missteps brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. In November 2000, Kværner sold its Construction Division to the Swedish company Skanska
.
In November 2001, Kværner was forced to merge with its rival Aker ASA
, a Norwegian oil services group controlled by Kjell Inge Røkke
. Røkke scuppered the solution preferred by Kværner's management, a rescue by Russia's oil giant Yukos
. Kværner's international headquarters returned to Oslo and Kværner was restructured to become a holding company, with operating activities concentrated in Aker Kværner
and Aker Yards
. As of 2005 Kværner ASA was merged with Aker Martitime Finance AS, a wholly owned company of Aker ASA and the Kværner corporation ceased to exist.
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...
-based engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
services company in existence between 1853 and 2005 when it was merged with Aker ASA
Aker ASA
Aker ASA is a Norwegian holding company engaged in offshore fishing, construction and engineering. The company is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange and is controlled by Kjell Inge Røkke with 66.66% ownership through TRG Holding...
. The Kværner name was used in the subsidiary Aker Kværner until April 3, 2008 when it changed name to Aker Solutions. Kværner re-emerged on 6. May 2011, when the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) part of Aker Solutions took the Kværner name. The new Kværner company will be spun off and listed on Oslo Stock Exchange
Oslo Stock Exchange
The Oslo Stock Exchange serves as the main market for trading in the shares of Norwegian companies. It opens at 9:00am and closes 5:30pm local time...
in 3rd quarter of 2011.
History
Kværner was founded in OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
in 1853 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange
Oslo Stock Exchange
The Oslo Stock Exchange serves as the main market for trading in the shares of Norwegian companies. It opens at 9:00am and closes 5:30pm local time...
in 1967. By the 1990s, Kværner assembled a collection of engineering and industrial businesses, including shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
, construction of offshore oil and gas platforms
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
, production of pulp
Wood pulp
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:...
and paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
manufacturing equipment and operation of shipping fleet
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
.
Erik Tønseth
Erik Tønseth
Erik Tønseth is a Norwegian jurist and industrialist.He was born in Drøbak and holds the cand.jur. degree. He headed the agricultural branch of Norsk Hydro from 1979. He was CEO of Kværner Industrier from 1989 to 1998.-References:...
became CEO of Kværner in 1989, and under his leadership the company underwent large-scale international expansion, acquring the state-owned Govan Shipbuilders
Govan Shipbuilders
Govan Shipbuilders Ltd was a British shipbuilding company based on the River Clyde at Glasgow in Scotland. It operated the former Fairfield Shipyard and took its name from the Govan area in which it was located.-History:...
from British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders Corporation was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in England and Scotland from 1977 and through the 1980s...
. In 1992 Kværner acquired the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
company Götaverken
Götaverken
Götaverken was a shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. It was founded in 1841, and went bankrupt in 1989.The company was founded in 1841 by a Scottish businessman called Alexander Keiller under the name Keillers Werkstad i Göteborg, and was aimed at industrial production...
. In 1996, Kværner acquired the UK conglomerate Trafalgar House
Trafalgar House (company)
Trafalgar House Public Limited Company was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment, property development, engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing...
and moved its international headquarters from Oslo to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The company's expansive acquisitions brought economic hardship to the company. Kjell Almskog
Kjell Almskog
Kjell Erik Almskog is a Norwegian businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of several companies, including the Norwegian division of the ABB Group and Kværner.-Personal life and education:...
became CEO in 1998, and implemented various plans to streamline the company. This included the sale of the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
(a division of Trafalgar House) to Carnival Corporation, the sale of Kvaerner Govan
Kvaerner Govan
Kvaerner Govan Ltd, located at Govan in Glasgow on the River Clyde, was a shipyard subsidiary formed in 1988 when the Norwegian group Kvaerner Industrier purchased the Govan Shipbuilders division of the nationalised British Shipbuilders corporation...
to BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
and the sale of Chemrec
Chemrec
Chemrec is a Stockholm, Sweden corporation that develops technology for entrained flow gasification of black liquor and certain types brown liquor for production of biofuels from the resulting syngas....
to Babcock Borsig
Deutsche Babcock
Deutsche Babcock AG was a German manufacturing company based in Oberhausen in the Ruhr District, the center of the German economy. The company was established in 1898 as a German subsidiary of the British boilermaking company Babcock and Wilcox, Limited...
. The economic slowdown in 2001 and a series of management missteps brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. In November 2000, Kværner sold its Construction Division to the Swedish company Skanska
Skanska
Skanska AB, is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, where it also is the largest construction company. The company's head office is in Solna, north of Stockholm.-History:...
.
In November 2001, Kværner was forced to merge with its rival Aker ASA
Aker ASA
Aker ASA is a Norwegian holding company engaged in offshore fishing, construction and engineering. The company is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange and is controlled by Kjell Inge Røkke with 66.66% ownership through TRG Holding...
, a Norwegian oil services group controlled by Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke is a Norwegian businessman and among the richest people in Norway, controlling the Norwegian company Aker Solutions...
. Røkke scuppered the solution preferred by Kværner's management, a rescue by Russia's oil giant Yukos
YUKOS
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" was a petroleum company in Russia which, until 2003, was controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other prominent Russian businessmen. After Yukos was bankrupted, Khodorkovsky was convicted and sent to prison.Yukos headquarters was located in...
. Kværner's international headquarters returned to Oslo and Kværner was restructured to become a holding company, with operating activities concentrated in Aker Kværner
Aker Kværner
Aker Solutions ASA is a Norwegian multinational provider of services related to engineering, construction, maintenance, modification and operation of both large and small industrial facilities. The company, with roots back to 1841, has its headquarters in Oslo and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange...
and Aker Yards
Aker Yards
STX Europe AS, formerly Aker Yards ASA, a subsidiary of the South Korean industrial chaebol STX Corporation, is the largest shipbuilding group in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. With headquarters in Oslo, Norway, STX Europe operates 15 shipyards in Brazil, Finland, France, Norway,...
. As of 2005 Kværner ASA was merged with Aker Martitime Finance AS, a wholly owned company of Aker ASA and the Kværner corporation ceased to exist.