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Eramet Norway Kvinesdal

Eramet Norway Kvinesdal is a modern, versatile processing plant and a key player in the local community.

The processing plant at Kvinesdal is an undisputed leader in energy recycling, flexibility, adherence to emissions requirements and, not least, customer satisfaction. The plant emits only 20 per cent of its licensed maximum, thanks to internal restrictions that are stricter than the limits permitted by the Norwegian Environment Agency.

A purpose-built plant

In the early 1970s, Tinfos, which had produced ferroalloys at Notodden since 1916, was looking to expand its manganese production. It was decided to build a new smelter at Kvinesdal. The Kvinesdal smelting plant was established in 1974 and is therefore a relatively new facility. In 2008, Tinfos’ industrial operations were acquired by the Eramet Group, and the Kvinesdal plant was incorporated into Eramet Norway.

Continuity throughout the chain

Today the plant has about 200 employees. What is unique about Eramet Norway’s Kvinesdal activity is that the plant still employs people who played a part in getting the smelter up and running in 1974. As a result, the employees have a unique feeling of ownership towards their workplace and an intimate knowledge of the smelter’s development. This is an integral part of the corporate culture. All employees share a genuine desire to contribute to developing the plant in a sustainable, future-oriented direction. Career opportunities at the plant are abundant. There are doctoral level engineers, chartered engineers, MBAs, skilled workers with certification in mechanical subjects, electronics, processing and automation, and carpenters responsible for maintaining the buildings. The Kvinesdal plant has high expectations of its employees and makes a point of maintaining diversity in its activities.

Tailored manufacturing and energy recycling

Eramet Norway Kvinesdal currently has an annual output of 180 000 tonnes of silicomanganese produced in three modern 30 MW smelting furnaces. Among the workforce, the plant is nicknamed “the tailoring plant”, because all production is tailored to the customer’s specifications. This flexibility in meeting customer requirements is the plant’s greatest strength.

Eramet Norway Kvinesdal’s clients are located mainly in Europe and North America. The main customers for the plant’s specialized products are producers of stainless steel.

The plant consumes 750 GWh (750 000 000 kWh) of electrical energy annually and is strongly committed to energy recycling. As long ago as 1981, a thermal power plant was built, which now supplies nearly 90 GWh annually to the grid, while the surplus water is used by the plant itself and by external customers.

The external customers include a turbot farm, which makes use of the hot water. The farm produces 250 tonnes of fish annually.

A district heating plant, built in 2007, supplies hot water to five external customers for heating off-site workshops.

Optimum operating conditions

The location of the Kvinesdal plant was chosen for its ample supplies of hydroelectric power. In addition, the location provides an ice-free harbour and a large open space, both of which made it possible to get the site’s logistics right from the very beginning.  

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Eramet Norway Kvinesdal is centrally located in the Lister region. Traffic congestion is non-existent here. Some 36 000 people inhabit the region, with the communities of Flekkefjord, Lyngdal, Farsund, Sirdal and Hægebostad only a half-hour’s drive away from Kvinesdal. Major airports in Stavanger and Kristiansand are about two hours away by car. Kvinesdal has 5800 permanent residents, 200 of whom work at Eramet Norway. This makes the company the area’s second largest employer, after the municipality of Kvinesdal. The processing plant is a cornerstone of the local economy and is actively involved in community development. Eramet Norway Kvinesdal has supported local initiatives to provide the community with a golf course, an ice-skating rink and an artificial grass field. The employees’ skills and know-how are an important contributory factor to the success of local clubs and associations. At the plant there is a company sports club offering cycling, golf, target shooting and bowling. And from the shores of the fjord to the mountains, there are cabins for the use of Eramet employees.

  • The Eyde Network brings together all industrial innovation expertise in southern Norway. The member companies, including Eramet Norway Kvinesdal, are all leaders in their field.
  • Pure Process is a digital magazine profiling the member companies in the Eyde network.
  • The Lister region.
  • Kvinesdal municipality’s website contains information on services, policies and administration, and facts about Kvinesdal.

Eramet Norway Kvinesdal AS Postal address: Øyesletta 61, 4484 Øyestranda, Norway Street address: Øyesletta 61, Øyestranda Telephone: +47 38 35 72 00 Fax: +47 38 35 11 28 Email: Business identification no.: 980 518 647