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Ammonia production began at Rjukan (1928). Plants established at Porsgrunn (1929). New industrial products like heavy water, CO2 developed. Yara Sluiskil (NSM) opened (1929).
Herøya, near Porgsrunn is where the Tinnelv river that flows through Rjukan and Notodden meets the Oslo fjord. At the beginning of 1928 there were just a few small farms here and many hares, which probably gave Herøya its name. The farms have yielded to rising industry, but you still see hares skipping around what has become Norways largest industrial facility.
The distance from Rjukan in Upper Telemark to Herøya in Lower Telemark is just under 160 kilometres as the crow flies. The railway connection from Rjukan to Notodden and then on to Herøya had to be longer. And it lived up to its name the lifeline in Norsk Hydro.
The twenties were difficult years, and the thirties were even harder. But to understand how Hydro managed to manoeuvre through the great depression, we first have to take some steps back to the 1920s.
The 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s were fraught with political tension and at times serious labour conflicts. The low point came in 1931, during the depression, when companies were forced to reduce production costs. In Norway, this led to what became known as the great lock-out from April to September of 1931.
In 1939 Hydro acquired land by the sea in Lower Telemark to provide its employees with opportunities for open-air recreation. The area is now known as Hydrostrand Hydro beach and has 80 cabins.
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