Levahn Mek. Verksted

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Coordinates: 59 ° 55 '  N , 10 ° 47'  O Levahn Mek. Versted A / S , or Levahn for short, was originally an engine factory in Oslo thatmanufacturedsmall marine engines. The name still exists today for rail vehicles . In its 90-year history, the company has built between 400 and 500 locomotives .

Levahn Motor Co.

The company was founded in 1906 by the two owners Levanger and Rahn as Levahn Motor Co. and had its first manufacturing facility in Pilestredet. In 1917 the company bought the building of the Ensjø Teglverk brickworks at Hedmarksgata 25 (today Rolf Hofmos gate 20 ), which was built between 1886 and 1900 . The brickworks, which had been in operation since 1855, had supplied stones for the Storting and the Nationaltheatret .

Levahn Mekaniske Verksted Aktieselskap

A restructuring took place on October 16, 1929, when the name of the company was changed to Levahn Mekaniske Verksted Aktieselskap . The engine factory went bankrupt in 1933 . They were taken over by the engineer Wiig, who expanded them into a mechanical workshop. From that time on, the main product was mainly railway material. After a fire in the production facility in 1946, a new factory was built in Ensjø , but the old workshop was repaired.

Construction locomotives were manufactured for Holmekollbanen , Vestlige forstadsbaner , Ekebergbanen and U-Bahn ( Oslo T-bane ). The company's small locomotives were used on many Norwegian railway lines. Levahn vehicles are still in daily use at Jernbaneverket .

Levahn Industrier AS

In 1985 a subsidiary, Levahn Industrier AS, was founded, which took over all manufacturing activities from that point on. Products for the oil industry were also developed in order to get another mainstay. In 1990 the company still had just under 50 employees. In the 1990s the competition got tougher. Norges Statsbaner changed the procurement policy and awarded more and more orders to foreign competitors. As a result, the company went bankrupt again in 1996 and 17 employees lost their jobs. As a result, production activities were discontinued in 1996 and the building was sold to a car repair shop.

The last managing director of the company was Erling Johan Wiig (* 1947) from 1977 to 1996.

Parliamentary question

On May 22, 1996 Levahn was the subject of a parliamentary question from Erling Folkvord, the only member of the parliament of the communist party Arbeidernes kommunistparti . He suspected that the industrial company went bankrupt as a result of the procurement policy of the Norges Statsbaner (NSB) because wagons for which Levahn had made offers were obtained from a German supplier. Industry Minister Jens Stoltenberg replied that the NSB have to make their own decisions about their purchases.

Successor company

On May 1st, 1996 the company Sivilingeniør EJ Wiig AS was founded, which continues the activities of products for the oil industry as well as crane construction. This company was run by Erling Johan Wiig.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Levahn mekaniske sold on Ensjø har kommet on Gul list! In: Ensjø-aktuell informasjon. Retrieved March 13, 2014 (Norwegian).
  2. ↑ a b Levahn Mekaniske Verksted Aktieselskap . Sivilingeniør EJWiig AS, accessed on April 25, 2019 .
  3. ^ Levahn Mekaniske Verksted Aktieselskap. purehelp.no, accessed March 13, 2014 (Norwegian).
  4. ↑ Levahn Mek. Versted A / S. Norsk Teknisk Museum, accessed March 13, 2014 (Norwegian).
  5. ↑ Sivilingeniør EJ Wiig AS. Company presentation. Purehelp.no AS, accessed March 13, 2014 (Norwegian).