Valves and fittings for 130 years!

Kongsberg Esco AS is the only Norwegian manufacturer of valves, fittings and pipe sections used in the supply of water, and one of the largest in the Nordic countries. The company was established in 1877, under the name E. Sunde & Co. (from which the name “Esco” is derived). From the very outset, the company provided a wide range of products, in addition to fittings for water. The company was relocated to Kongsberg in 1964, where it focused on manufacturing water supply products. Our quality system received ISO 9001 certification already in 1994, and in 2000 we followed this up by certifying our environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001. More than a 100 years experience in the market ensures our customers both an excellent service and products of the highest quality. 

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The company’s manufacturing division was turned into a separate limited liability company in 1947, and was named Esco Armaturfabrikk AS. Production was expanded continuously and the company supplied products to virtually every line of business in Norway. Besides serving the water and sewage industries, which were our main customers then as they are now, we supplied wood pulp factories, hospitals and sanatoriums, the canning industry and abattoirs, dairies, the navy, civil defence forces and fire brigades, as well as the agricultural industry, the oil industry and the shipping industry.

Relocation of the factory to Kongsberg in 1964
Downtown Oslo was however not a practical location for a modern industrial company. Gateways and passageways were originally built for horse-drawn vehicles, and reversing in and out of these with fully loaded lorries became quite a test of skill. This, together with increasing production levels, a lack of expansion opportunities and a lack of labour, resulted in Esco Armaturfabrikk AS building a new factory in Kongsberg in 1964. Gunnar Gran-Jansen, who was then Esco’s managing director, came from Kongsberg, and knew of a vacant plot after a rockwool factory had burned down on the east side of Fabrikkfossen. He also knew about the Silver Mines Fund, which the Norwegian state had established after the silver mines were closed in 1957. This fund offered loans at very favourable terms to companies wishing to establish a presence in Kongsberg. In addition to building a new factory, housing was built for the company’s employees. A total of 20 employees followed on with the factory from Oslo, and one of these people are still working at the company today!

Via TA-Esco and Danfoss Esco AS
to Kongsberg Esco AS
A very exciting time followed after the company moved to Kongsberg. Enormous technological bounds were made in the industry, and during the course of 1967 we began supplying the first butterfly valves. In 1969, a new hall was installed – “Machine Street” – which was then Europe’s most modern machine for valve production, at a cost of NOK 1.5 million. This hall enabled us to manufacture valves for export. In the 1980s, a full 50 per cent of the valves Esco produced were exported, and without “Machine Street” this would have been impossible. In 1979, Esco Armaturfabrikk was sold to Tour & Anderson AB in Sweden, and the company was renamed TA-Esco AS. This was the beginning of a new era, which included the installation of advanced robots. In 1997 the company was acquired by Danfoss AS in Denmark, and our name was changed to Danfoss Esco AS. On January 1st. 2007, the company was bought from Danfoss by the company's management. The name was then changed to Kongsberg Esco AS.