# Norsk Jernverk opens at Mo i Rana (19 April 1955)

URL: https://allhistories.com/norway/timeline/1955-norsk-jernverk-opens-at-mo-i-rana
Location: Mo i Rana, Nordland
Themes: Key Events

The state-owned ironworks Norsk Jernverk began production in Mo i Rana in Nordland on 19 April 1955. Founded by a Storting decision in 1946, it produced pig iron and steel using local iron ore and hydroelectric power. Construction had taken nine years instead of the planned three, and costs rose from 207 million kroner to more than 500 million. It became one of Norway's largest industrial workplaces. The ironworks was a flagship of the Labour Party's post-war industrial policy, intended to reduce dependence on imported steel, save scarce foreign currency and create jobs in northern Norway. Mo i Rana grew rapidly around it. After the 1970s steel crisis the company ran large deficits; state ownership was wound up in 1988–1990, and ore-based production ended in 1989.

## Why it matters
Norsk Jernverk embodied the post-war belief in state-led industrialisation and regional development, and its later decline marked the limits of that model.

Ruler at the Time: [Haakon VII](https://allhistories.com/norway/rulers/haakon-vii)

Prime Minister of Norway: Einar Gerhardsen (Labour Party)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Norsk Jernverk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norsk_Jernverk)
- [Wikipedia — Mo i Rana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_i_Rana)
- [Store norske leksikon — Norsk Jernverk](https://snl.no/Norsk_Jernverk)
- [Wikipedia — Reconstruction & Welfare State (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Norway)