Digging deep Leonhard Nilsen and Sonner

DIGGING DEEP

Leonhard Nilsen and Sonner (LNS) is involved in activities ranging from road and tunnel construction to mining operations. Abigail Saltmarsh finds out more.

Within the next few years Norwegian Leonhard Nilsen and Sonner (LNS) is expecting to see significant expansion, particularly in its operations in the Arctic region. Managing director Frode Michal Nilsen says the industry is strengthening and LNS is in a strong position to make the most of that.

“I think world mining operations will grow a lot more in the future,” he says. “We will see expansion along with this, and all our activities will grow, especially in Greenland and the Arctic.”

LNS was established back in 1961 by Malvin Nilsen and his father, Leonhard Nilsen. Since then, it has expanded to include 15 companies, and is still run by the third generation of Nilsens. In the early days, the company’s fleet of machinery was very modest, comprising a truck, a bus, and a taxicab, operating in the local community only. Today, LNS has a large and highly advanced fleet of machinery, and the group is at the forefront of developing and adopting new technology.

The group’s main office is situated in Risøyhamn, in Vesterålen, Norway. It has activities throughout Norway, as well as on Svalbard, in the Antarctic, Hong Kong and in Chile, and the group recently completed projects in Russia, Greenland and Iceland.

“We are also in China,” says Mr Nilsen. “Our aim is to build our business in all these areas; to look into mining operations and infrastructure tunnels. We also believe that there could be great potential in Canada.” Prestigious projects

The group’s operations range from tunnels, roads and bulk transport through to mining operations and rock caverns. It is also just starting up construction of a hydropower station in the middle of Norway. This should be completed by late 2014.

“We are very specialised at taking on projects that involve working in tough conditions,” he explains. “Whether it involves drilling, mining or pre-investigation for mining companies, we are highly experienced at working in the extreme cold.”

Past projects include the creation of a coast guard base on Sortland and the Stagnes base in Harstad. Arnesfjellet in Ballangen marked the beginning of LNS mining operations, in

1983, and the Steigen tunnel, in 1986, was the first ever tunnel project for LNS. The group was also responsible for the Almannaskard tunnel in Iceland.

Other projects have included the construction of the UN Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen, the building of the Salten road, which comprised three different road projects, and the modernisation of the Vestfold line. This consisted of four projects altogether and saw LNS, in cooperation with Reinertsen Anlegg AS, build the new double track between Barkåker and Tønsberg as part of the Jarlsberg contract.

Blasting ahead

In mining, LNS is the operating contractor for several Norwegian mining companies, such as Elkem Tana and Store Norske Spitsbergen Grubekompani. In addition, Rana Gruber and Skarland Graphite are wholly owned subsidiaries of LNS Eiendom AS and are part of the LNS group. In this field, LNS is regarded as a highly flexible and solution-oriented collaborative partner that has yielded long-term contracts with the various mining companies.

In tunnels, the group is the Norwegian contractor that blasted the most rock in 2008. More than one million cubic metres of rock were blasted in various tunnel projects and other underground projects. Tunnelling through

The group has also built several of Norway’s longest tunnels. Transport and communications tunnel projects primarily involve road tunnels, but LNS also has experience in constructing tunnels for hydroelectric power plants. Projects in this industry are often interdisciplinary in nature, and LNS has specialists on staff from several different fields, including plant engineering, underground operations and engineering geology. The group’s expertise is unique and in high demand, even from international clients.

LNS takes on all kinds of projects related to underground operations, including the construction of rock caverns and underground silos. The last, and so far also the largest, project in this area was the establishment of the SILA plant in Narvik.

Here, LNS constructed 12 underground silos with a depth of 60m and a diameter of 37m. The project is the only one of its kind

in the world. LNS was also involved in the construction of the UN Global Seed Vault in Spitsbergen and Grottebadet, a waterpark inside a huge rock cavern, in Harstad.

Steady growth

Mr Nilsen says as the group moves forward it is looking for opportunities across all its fields, in all its key geographical locations. The group currently employs some 850 people and sees an annual turnover of approximately €230 million.

“Current profit is €40 million but we are looking for a steady increase,” he says. “We expect growth to come mainly from the Arctic area but it could be anywhere with potential, especially where conditions are extreme. We are looking to start up new mining and drilling operations but we are also looking for growth via acquisition.” n