Kværner

Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005.

During its initial decades, the firm was involved in the manufacture of cast iron stoves and hydroelectric turbines. The turbine business was Kværner's leading product throughout the first half of the twentieth century, although it had also branched out into the production of bridges, cranes, and pumps. Kværner underwent a spree of international acquisitions during the 1990s, which included Govan Shipbuilders, Götaverken, Trafalgar House, Vyborg Shipyard; its headquarters were also relocated from Oslo to London during this decade. The heavy debt burden built up by acquiring these businesses, some of which were actually unprofitable, jeopardised the company's continued existence by the start of the twenty-first century.