The first Norwegian industrial company in a modern sense was the spinning and weaving mill Haldens Bomuldsspinderi & Væveri, established by Mads Wiel in 1813 by Tistedalsfossen. The machines were acquired through the Danish company C.A. Nordberg.¹ The cotton was imported from England. The local assets were capital, water power, available labour and a Scandinavian market.²

Industrial development in Norway in the 1800s built on what started with innovations in textile production in England in the 1700s. The flying shuttle that made the weaving more efficient marked the beginning of what would become the Industrial Revolution in 1733. The development of textile production followed the dramatic technological breakthroughs in the latter half of the 18th century, in iron, steel and energy. The steam engine was developed in the 1760s, the same decade as spinning - the most time-consuming part of textile production - was revolutionised by the invention of Spinning Jenny, which was water powered and spun more than one yarn at a time.³ In 1784, the first textile company with these spinning machines was established outside of Manchester. This is considered to be the first modern industrial company.⁴ The first water-powered loom was patented in 1785.⁵

Norway entered the process of industrialisation relatively late. But there were a few precursors - the mill in Halden was one, and Solberg Spinderi, established in 1818 along Drammenselven, was another.⁶ It was in the 1840s that the great breakthrough came, largely because in 1843 England lifted its export ban on textile machines and the knowledge of running them.⁷ This led to a significant increase in the textile industry during a short period of time. In 1840, 138 tonnes of cotton were imported to Norway, while in 1860 it was 2,053 tonnes.⁸

The best-known companies, which became the largest employers in the country, were Nydalens Compagnie, established in 1845 by Adam Hjorth, and Vøien Spinneri, established in 1845 by Knud Graah, both along the river Akerselven in Christiania - the official name for Oslo from 1624 to 1925. Arne Fabrikker was established not far from Bergen in 1846 by Peter Jebsen. The large Hjula Veveri factory was built next to Vøien Spinneri in 1855 by a key figure in the industry, the entrepreneur Halvor Schou, after he had operated at a smaller scale at the Brenneriveien Veveri from 1849.⁹ Christiania Seildugsfabrik, where the Oslo National Academy of the Arts is now located, opened in 1856.¹⁰

Production was established through the import of both equipment and technical knowledge, in the first phase from England after 1843, and later from other countries, primarily Germany. The mills I have worked with were established towards the end of a period that began in the mid-1860s. The reason for the establishment of woollen mills was that cotton as a raw material, which the first industrial establishments relied on, became more difficult to source because of the civil war in the United States. It was an obvious turn then to use local raw materials as a replacement. Mills based on the use of wool were established in larger cities and districts characterised by agriculture and shepherding, with good conditions for utilising water power.

The weaving mills were part of a textile and clothing industry that developed to become the largest industry in the country. Spinning mills, weaving mills and clothing manufacturers delivered high quality products that were often entirely local, including the raw materials.

After a generally positive period in the 1950s with growth in the industry, it became increasingly difficult to compete with foreign production in the 1960s. The wage levels in Norway gradually increased, and the most laborious part of the industry, the manufacturing of garments, experienced problems first. Closures in this part of the industry also led to closures of the weaving mills that had supplied fabric for clothing production. Ever-increasing international competition and changes in tax and customs systems led to further challenges. The companies survived by collaborating in various combinations.

But today, from a historical perspective, very few mills remain in Norway. There are two major companies in the market, Gudbrandsdalens Woollen Mill and Innvik, two medium-sized firms, Røros Tweed and Krivi, and one smaller business, Grinakervev. Sjølingstad Woollen Mill still has some production, but is primarily a museum.