Veidekke

Veidekke's roots go back to 1863 in Denmark and in 1896 in Norway . As a company, Veidekke was founded 6 February 1936 by Nico S. Beer and Gustav Piene. In its founding years, Veidekke was a company constructing roads and laying cobblestone. When the Second World War broke out in 1940, the company fulfilled all signed contracts and shut down all operations until after the war.

In 1948, the small and virtually unknown company, Veidekke, won the contract for construction of runways at Stavanger Airport, Sola. This was the first of a number of major airport contracts for Veidekke.

In the middle of the 1950s, Veidekke was engaged in airport construction in Ethiopia. This was a very important contract for the future development of the company. In the 1960s the company's main activity was road construction. From 1969 until the beginning of the 1980s, Veidekke was once again active in Africa, this time performing various contracts for NORAD . The beginning of the 1970s was also the beginning of a new period for Veidekke. The company needed to focus on new product areas.

In 1972, Veidekke was awarded the contract for construction of the Heggmoen Dam in Northern Norway, and what followed for Veidekke, was a period of nationwide dam construction.

At the beginning of the 1980s, a structural development of the building and construction industry started in Norway. This resulted in the amalgamation of many companies into a few major players. Veidekke, however, decided on a different course, choosing instead to develop itself into a nationwide contracting company. Consequently, through take-overs, mergers and establishment of new companies, more than 60 companies have become part of Veidekke. Veidekke has grown from being the ninth largest construction company at the beginning of the 1980s to its present position as the largest Norwegian owned construction company.

On June 23, 1986 Veidekke was quoted on the Oslo Stock Exchange's main list. Since the end of the 1960s Veidekke's employees have owned shares in the company, and Veidekke still encourages its employees to buy shares through well renowned share programs.