Eramet Norway is founded on long-standing industrial traditions. The three Norwegian processing plants are located between the fjords and mountains of Rogaland, Aust-Agder and Telemark. The company is part of ERAMET, the French multinational industrial group.
Manganese alloy
The ERAMET group is the world’s second largest producer of manganese ore and manganese alloys, and the world’s leading producer of refined manganese alloys. The group is focused on mining and the metallurgical industry, and is a major global player in three business areas: special steel, manganese and nickel.
Eramet Norway is part of ERAMET’s Manganese Division, with processing plants at Sauda, Kvinesdal and Porsgrunn, and an R&D group in Trondheim.
Eramet Norway employs 530 people, and its operations make the ERAMET Group the world’s second largest producer of manganese ore and manganese alloys.
The processing plant at Sauda
The processing plant at Porsgrunn
The processing plant at Kvinesdal
Like calcium in the human body
Iron and steel are vital construction materials in modern society. The effect of manganese on steel can be compared with that of calcium on the human skeleton: It makes steel structures stronger, harder and more durable. Steel is used in the construction of everything from bicycles to motor vehicles and large buildings.
Just as the body’s bone structure needs calcium for strength, manganese is necessary to make steel ductile and durable. For one tonne of steel, about 10 kilograms of manganese alloy is needed.
World-class Norwegian metallurgical expertise
Metallurgy is a broad field with a long tradition in the ferroalloy industry, in which Norway enjoys high international standing.
Metallurgy is metal technology. The employees working in this specialized field range from apprentices and process operators to doctoral level researchers. Modern metal technology has become increasingly more sustainable over recent years.
From smelter to modern processing plant
The Norwegian processing plants maintain the traditions and expertise that the ferroalloy industry has built up since industrialization accelerated in Norway in the early 20th century. Today, Eramet Norway supplies manganese alloys to the international steel industry market.
Nearly 90 per cent of the world’s total manganese alloy production goes into the production of stainless steel: steel for the construction, energy and transport sectors, and the tool industry, and special steel produced for the aeronautics and aerospace industries.