The Kværner Group evolved as a result of close co-operation between several Norwegian companies that were major contributors to the industrial revolution of the mid-19th century. Kværner Brug was founded in Oslo in 1853.
Kværner Brug began a cooperation with Myrens Verksted in 1922, when the two companies divided the hydropower and the pulping product areas between them. Kværner Brug concentrated on hydropower, while Myrens Verksted became the Norwegian partner in Kamyr, a Norwegian/Swedish/Finnish joint venture that was the predecessor of the present day Pulp & Paper activities of the Group. Kværner and Myren jointly acquired the majority shareholding in Thunes Mekaniske Verksted in 1943. In 1960, Kværner Brug’s President, Kjell Langballe, was appointed President of all companies within the ‘Kværner Group’ and a joint holding company Kværner Industries a.s. was established in December 1967. From these beginnings, the Kværner Group comprised ten Norwegian companies with 3,200 employees and operating revenues of NOK 385 million.
In April 1999, the Group announced a radical restructuring of its global operations. A decision was made to make a complete exit from Shipbuilding and to refocus the core activities of the ‘new’ Kværner in three areas: E&C (Engineering & Construction); Oil & Gas; and Construction.