Sauda Smelteverk
A Norwegian manganese-alloy smelting plant in Sauda, founded in 1915.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Sauda Smelteverk is a Norwegian industrial smelting plant located in the town of Sauda in Sauda Municipality, Rogaland. Its industrial history is centered on the production of manganese alloys using electric-furnace technology. The plant was established in 1915, although production was not ready to begin until 1923, making its development part of the early twentieth-century expansion of energy-intensive metallurgy in western Norway. The facility's operations were closely connected with the local hydropower system. Sauda Smelteverk and Saudefaldene, the company responsible for supplying hydroelectric power, were together owned by Union Carbide. This relationship reflected the importance of dependable and relatively abundant electricity to electric-furnace alloy production. The plant was known as Electric Furnace Products Company until 1976, when it adopted the name Sauda Smelteverk. Ownership later changed hands through two significant corporate transactions. Norwegian industrial corporation Elkem acquired the plant in 1981. In 1999, the French corporation Eramet acquired it from Elkem. These changes placed the Sauda operation within increasingly international structures in the metals and specialty-alloys sector, although the available reference material does not provide a full account of its later production capacity, workforce, product grades, or current operating condition. The plant is also associated with the Sauda Strike of 1970, a labor dispute that made the facility a notable site in Norwegian industrial and labor history. The available material identifies the strike but does not specify its demands, duration, settlement terms, or broader economic consequences. Sauda Smelteverk should therefore be understood primarily as an industrial facility and historical production site rather than as a consumer-facing brand. Current status, present ownership arrangements, and ongoing production activity require further verification.
History
Sauda Smelteverk developed in the industrial environment of Sauda, a town whose economic history was strongly shaped by access to hydropower. The plant was founded in 1915 to manufacture manganese alloys, but construction and commissioning took several years; production was ready in 1923. Its reliance on electric furnaces linked the facility to the expansion of hydroelectric power as an energy source for heavy industry in Norway. The smelter was operated in an ownership structure associated with Union Carbide. Union Carbide owned Sauda Smelteverk together with Saudefaldene, the hydropower supplier serving the industrial operation. The connection between the smelting plant and its electricity provider was strategically important because alloy production required large and dependable quantities of power. The plant was called Electric Furnace Products Company until 1976, when it became known as Sauda Smelteverk. Labor relations formed another important part of the site's history. In 1970, the plant was the location of the Sauda Strike. The reference material records the strike as a notable event but does not provide enough detail to describe the workers' demands, the parties involved, its duration, or the final resolution without additional sources. A major ownership transition occurred in 1981, when Elkem, a Norwegian corporation, bought the smelter. Elkem's ownership placed the facility within one of Norway's major industrial groups. In 1999, Eramet, a French corporation active in metals and alloys, acquired the plant from Elkem. This transaction marked a further shift toward international ownership. The supplied historical material does not establish the plant's later production history, its current output, employment, environmental record, or whether it remains operational. Accordingly, the documented history supports a profile of Sauda Smelteverk as a historically important manganese-alloy smelter whose development was tied to hydropower, whose workforce participated in a significant 1970 strike, and whose ownership moved from Union Carbide to Elkem and then Eramet.
- 1999
Acquired by Eramet
[1]French corporation Eramet acquired Sauda Smelteverk from Elkem.
- 1981
Acquired by Elkem
[1]Norwegian corporation Elkem bought the smelting plant.
- 1976
Name changed from Electric Furnace Products Company
[1]The facility ceased using the name Electric Furnace Products Company and adopted the name Sauda Smelteverk.
- 1970
Sauda Strike
[1]The plant became the site of the Sauda Strike, a notable labor dispute in Norwegian industrial history.
- 1923
Production becomes ready
[1]The smelting plant was ready for production after its development period.
- 1915
Plant founded
[1]Sauda Smelteverk was founded in Sauda as a planned producer of manganese alloys.
Products and positioning
A power-intensive Norwegian metals facility historically focused on manganese-alloy production and associated with the industrial development of Sauda.
Metallurgical alloys · 1923
Manganese alloys
Manganese alloys were the plant's documented core product. They were manufactured through electric-furnace smelting, a process dependent on substantial and reliable power supplies. The available reference identifies the product category but does not specify individual alloy grades, customers, annual volumes, or end-use sectors.
Brand decisions
1999
Eramet acquisitionM&ABackground
Elkem owned the plant after its 1981 acquisition.
Action taken
French corporation Eramet acquired Sauda Smelteverk from Elkem.
Aftermath
The facility became part of an international metals and alloys group.
1981
Elkem acquisitionM&ABackground
Sauda Smelteverk had been associated with Union Carbide, together with the hydropower company Saudefaldene.
Action taken
Elkem acquired Sauda Smelteverk.
Aftermath
The plant entered Norwegian corporate ownership under Elkem.
1976
Adoption of the Sauda Smelteverk nameStrategyBackground
The facility had previously operated under the name Electric Furnace Products Company.
Action taken
The plant adopted the Sauda Smelteverk name.
Aftermath
The new name became the plant's documented identity in subsequent historical accounts.
Recent events
- 1999
Eramet acquires Sauda Smelteverk[1]
M&A
French corporation Eramet acquired the plant from Elkem, making the Sauda operation part of an international metals group.
- 1981
Elkem acquires Sauda Smelteverk[1]
M&A
Norwegian corporation Elkem bought Sauda Smelteverk, transferring the plant from its earlier Union Carbide ownership structure into Norwegian industrial ownership.
- 1970
Sauda Strike takes place at the smelting plant[1]
Other
Sauda Smelteverk was the site of the Sauda Strike, a labor dispute that became part of the plant's industrial and labor-history record. The available reference does not provide further details about the dispute's causes or outcome.
Sources1 sources
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