NCE Raufoss
100 years of industrial development
More than one hundred years of experience with international industrial development forms the background for the Raufoss industrial cluster, an outgrowth of Raufoss ASA. The cluster’s core area of activity is the manufacturing of products in lightweight materials by automated production. Today, the main markets are automotive and defence, and the goal is to develop a na-tional resource centre for manufacturing. The industrial cluster at Raufoss consists of nearly 40 companies with more than 4,000 employees. The group’s total turnover amounts to roughly NOK 5 billion, of which exports comprise some 85%.
SINTEF Raufoss Manufacturing AS (SRM) heads NCE Raufoss. SRM is a joint R&D company, acting as a resource centre and development partner for companies in the group and Norwegian manufacturing industry. SRM will also play the role of integrator through its well-established networks both inside and outside the cluster.
Photo: Siv Nerø/Innovation Norway
Background
With expertise originating in Raufoss ASA, the Raufoss cluster serves an extensive, global network of customers. Several of the companies are owned by international interests. The brand Raufoss is well established within their market segments globally.
Initiatives & Projects
The projects at Raufoss are grouped into five main areas of activity:
- Development of the cluster and its networks
- New business
- Technology and infrastructure
- Linking education and practice
- Commercialization of R&D findings
Strategy & Objective
The core areas of activity to be developed are lightweight materials and automated production. These also comprise the core areas of expertise for all the companies in the cluster, as well as the area in which the cluster is on the international cutting edge. NCE Raufoss seeks to become a national resource centre in these areas. One objective is for the cooperating companies to maintain and strengthen their current market positions. Specifically, this will involve the re-creation of 150 jobs annually in existing companies.
In addition, new companies employing 250 persons with a total turnover of NOK 1 billion per year will be established and devel-oped during this period.
By collaborating on targeted R&D projects, the comp-anies will maintain and strengthen their market positions. Cooperation with educational institutions and expert circles at the regional, national and inter-national levels will be crucial. As one example of this, the group has signed agreements with Gjøvik
Uni-versity College and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
Contact:
NCE RAUFOSS
PO Box 163 • NO-2831 Raufoss, Norway
Project Manager: Mr. Sverre Narvesen
Tel: +47 91 54 01 22
E-mail: sverre.narvesen@sintef.no
Website: www.manufacturing.no