- Christian Salvesen
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Christian Salvesen 
Type Subsidiary Industry Transport
LogisticsFounded 1872 Key people Christian Salvesen (founder) Parent Norbert Dentressangle 
A Christian Salvesen lorry in 2009
Christian Salvesen was a European transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in the United Kingdom and western Europe. Since December 2007 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of French-listed transport group Norbert Dentressangle.[1]
Contents
Early history
Christian Frederik Salvesen (1827–1911) had been born in Mandal, Vest-Agder, Norway. Christian Salvesen was the son of Norwegian merchant shipowner, Thomas Salvesen (1787–1853). In 1846, his older brother Johan Theodor Salvesen (1820–1965) had gone into the partnership of Turnbull, Salvesen and Company with George W. Turnbull and established an affiliate office in Leith near Edinburgh, Scotland. Christian Salvesen joined the partnership after migrating from Mandal in 1851. In 1868 Christian Salvesen, together with Wilhelm Thams (1812–1884) founded the mining company Ørkedals Mining Company and bought a number of small mines around Løkken, Norway. In 1872, Christian Salvesen left the partnership and set up Christian Salvesen & Co., based in Leith. Initially the company operated as shipping and forwarding agents, shipbrokers and timber merchants. Christian Salvesen & Co. began buying steamers in the 1880s, and in 1886 started a line to Stavanger, with runs along the Norwegian coast.[2][3]
Salvesen harpoon on The Shore, LeithIn 1883 Christian Salvesen, delegated management of shipping operations to his eldest sons, Thomas and Frederick, who became partners in the firm. In the early 1900s, the company developed significant interests in whaling, initially in the Arctic, and then in the Antarctic. They established and operated from a base at Leith Harbour (named for Salvesen's base in Scotland) on the island of South Georgia, to the south west of the Falkland Islands. During 1908, in partnership with Christian Thams, Christian Salvesen also invested in the construction of the first electric railway from Løkken to Thamshavn in Norway in support of their mining interests.[4]
In the years 1950-1962 the whaling ships Southern Harvester and Southern Venturer belonged to the company. These ships were floating factories, and the core of a whaling expedition. Each expedition consisted of a floating factory as well as a team of whale-catchers which were equipped with an on board hangar which housed a Westland Whirlwind (helicopter) which was used for whale spotting. One of the company's whale-catchers, Southern Actor, now lies at the whaling museum in Sandefjord, Norway, and is preserved as a floating museum ship.
Salvesen grave in Rosebank CemeteryAs the boom in whaling ended after World War II, Salvesen moved into the commercial trawler business and also bought a cold store in Grimsby. It traded primarily in housebuilding, general food freezing and oil before moving back into the transport business by buying Swift Services.[5]
Christian Salvesen's house stood at Goldenacre in Edinburgh, on Ferry Road opposite Inverleith Row, and closing the vista along that road. A huge villa from around 1865 set in extensive gardens, it was demolished i the 1960s and replaced by a government tax office. This in turn was demolished in 2008 in expectation of residential redevelopment.
His offices were on the south side of Bernard Street, Leith, in a building that doubled as the Norwegian Consulate for Edinburgh. The building is now a Chinese restaurant.
He is buried in Rosebank Cemetery on Pilrig Street in Leith.
Post-whaling
Salvesens exited the whaling industry in 1963 and reinvented itself as a major European transport and logistics company. In 1985, the company went public as a diversified industrial group, with interests in shipping, brick manufacture, housebuilding, cold storage and distribution and generator hire. As a public company the business focussed on European logistics, buying Swift Transport Services in 1993. The non-logistics businesses were sold during this period.
Salvesen have had mixed fortunes since the early 1990s. A potential take-over by Hays plc in 1996 which could have valued the shares in the 350-400 pence range did not result in a formal offer. This did however lead to the spin-off of the generator hire business, Aggreko in 1997 and the arrival of a new Chief Executive, Edward Roderick, who led the business until his sacking in 2004. During this period a Swedish investor Custos discussed buying the company, and yet again no formal offer was issued to shareholders.
In 2004 a merger was proposed with TDG plc but this apparently failed because of the pre-merger positioning of key executives from both companies. On October 2, 2007 the board recommended a cash offer by Norbert Dentressangle for £254.4 million to buy Christian Salvesen. The takeover was completed on December 14 that year.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Christian Salvesen & Co. (TheShipsList)
- ^ Christian Salvesen(NBL-artikkel)
- ^ Christian Salvesen (Johnston Press Digital Publishing)
- ^ The Old Mine (Chr. Salvesen & Chr. Thams's Communications Aktieselskab)
- ^ A Brief History Of Christian Salvesen Shipping (Merchant Navy Nostalgia)
- ^ Christian Salvesen Plc Acquired by Norbert Dentressangle (Transport Intelligence)
Other sources
- Somner, Graeme (1984) From 70 North to 70 South: A history of the Christian Salvesen fleet (Christian Salvesen Ltd) ISBN 978-0950919904
- Elliot, Gerald (1998) Whaling Enterprise: Salvesen in the Antarctic (Michael Russell Publishing Ltd) ISBN 978-0859552417
- Salvesen, Edward Theodore (1949) Memoirs of Lord Salvesen (W. & R. Chambers)
- Watson, Nigel (1996) The story of Christian Salvesen, 1846-1996 (London: James & James Ltd.)
Categories:- Whaling
- Transport operators of the United Kingdom
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