Kvaerner Brug was founded in
Oslo in 1853 by industrialist
Oluf A. Onsum (1820-1899). Early on, the primary activity of the business was its involvement in the production of
cast iron stoves. In 1870, Kvaerner built its first
hydroelectric turbine. During the early 1900s, Kvaerner power turbines remained the principal product line, which also included bridges, cranes, and pumps. Kvaerner was
listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange in 1967. By the 1990s, the company assembled a collection of engineering and industrial businesses, including
shipbuilding, construction of offshore
oil and gas platforms, production of
pulping and
paper manufacturing equipment, and operation of a
shipping fleet. Directors-general of Kværner after the stock exchange listing were
Kjell B. Langballe (1960–1976),
Carl Røtjer (1976–1986) and
Mikal H. Grønner (1986–1989). Chairmen were
Frithjof A. Lind (–1982),
Johan B. Holte (1982–1985),
Emil Eriksrud (1985–1986), Carl Røtjer (1986–1989),
Kaspar Kielland (1989-1996), and then Christian Bjelland (1996-2001). Since 2011, the CEO has been Jan Arve Haugan.
Erik Tønseth became director-general of Kværner in 1989, and under his leadership the company underwent large-scale international expansion, acquiring the state-owned
Govan Shipbuilders from
British Shipbuilders. During 1992, Kværner acquired the
Swedish company
Götaverken. In 1996, Kværner acquired the British conglomerate
Trafalgar House, after which it moved its international headquarters from Oslo to
London. During January 1996, Kvaerner purchased a stake in the
Vyborg Shipyard () and renamed it Kverner-Vyborg Shipyard () which was the largest manufacturer of
offshore installations in Russia. Also during the mid 1990s, Kvaerner expanded its footprint in the
Indonesian market, including through the formation of Kvaerner Bakrie Engineering in late 1995. The company's expansive acquisitions quickly brought economic hardship to the company.
Kjell Almskog became Kværner's 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. On 10 March 2000, Kvaerner sold the Vyborg Shipyard, which was losing money and faced closure during 1999, to the Sergey Zavyalov () associated with early 1990s established Ako Barss Group () which sold the shipyard to
Rossiya Bank owners who placed the shipyard in the
United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) in 2012. In August 2000, Kværner sold its Construction Division to the Swedish company
Skanska. The
economic slowdown in 2001 coupled with the firm's heavy debt burden and a series of management missteps brought the company to the brink of
bankruptcy. Hugo Erikssen, a director of public relations at
Yukos, and Oleg Sheiko (), Yukos' vice president for finance, and Alexey Golubovich (), who was Yukos' "director of corporate finance" until 2001, supported Kværner with mergers and financing. During the early 2000s, Kværner was approached multiple times by its long time rival
Aker ASA, a Norwegian oil services group controlled by
Kjell Inge Røkke. During November 2001, in order to avoid bankruptcy, Kværner was compelled to merge with Aker. Røkke scuppered the solution preferred by Kværner's management, which was a rescue by 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. During 2005, Kværner ASA was merged with Aker Maritime Finance AS, a wholly owned company of Aker ASA, as a result of which the Kværner corporation ceased to exist. During 2008, Aker Kvaerner changed its name to
Aker Solutions ASA. In December 2010, Aker Solutions announced a decision to cultivate its core businesses; consequently, Kvaerner was established, through a
demerger, as a specialised EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) company addressing the global market. On 6 May 2011, the shareholders' annual general meeting approved the establishment of Kvaerner as a separate company. In 2015, it commenced fabrication of a 26,500 tonne steel jacket, the largest in Europe, for the
Johan Sverdrup partnership. Subsequently, Kvarner was awarded additional work on this scheme. In September 2019, the company announced their plans to target
renewable growth and that it was looking to expand its operations in renewable energy to help boost this growth by around 40% in the coming years. One month later, it signed a contract valued at NOK 1.5 billion for
Hywind Tampen, the world's largest floating offshore wind farm. Separately, the company entered into a strategic collaboration with
Nel ASA on
green hydrogen projects, including the prospective development of large scale hydrogen production plants. During July 2020, Aker Solutions announced major restructuring plans, centering on its merger with Kvaerner and the
spinning off of its wind development and carbon capture and storage businesses into two separate Oslo listed entities. ==Notes==