Kongsberg Gruppen

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Kongsberg Gruppen ASA

Type	Public
Founded	1814
Headquarters	Kongsberg, Norway
Key people	Jan Erik Korssjøen (CEO)
Area served	Global
Industry	Military and maritime systems
Revenue	NOK 5,705 million (2005)
Net income	NOK 311 million (2005)
Employees	3,372 (2005)
Subsidiaries	Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Kongsberg Maritime
Website	http://www.kongsberg.com

Kongsberg Gruppen (OSE: KOG) (lit.: "The Kongsberg Group", Norwegian: "Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk") is Norway's major defence contractor and maritime automation supplier, located in and named after former mining town Kongsberg. The Group employed 3,372 people as of December 31, 2005.

KOG is divided into two operating companies, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) and Kongsberg Maritime (KM). KDA develops and produces defence and space systems, while KM makes advanced maritime electronic equipment for seagoing vessels from small fishing boats and cabin cruisers to large oil tankers.

[edit] History

The company was established in 1814 as Kongsberg Vaabenfabrik (KV) (lit.: "Kongsberg Weapons Factory"), a name which remained virtually unchanged until 1987, when it took the name Norsk Forsvarsteknologi (NFT) (lit.: "Norwegian Defence Technology") after restructuring due to the sale of all civilian activity and financial troubles. The name changed again in 1995 to the present Kongsberg Gruppen following its listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 1993.

In 1987 , the company was part of the Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal, which involved a subsidiary of Toshiba and the Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. The two provided the Soviet Union with American technology to produce quiet submarine propellers. The US always relied on the fact that the Soviets had noisy boats. Providing the USSR with technology that would make their subs harder to find and track was a significant threat to America's security. Senator John Heinz, the late former husband of Teresa Heinz-Kerry said "What Toshiba and Kongsberg did was ransom the security of the United States for $517 million."

In 1974, a Canadian subsidiary known as Kongsberg Mesotech Ltd was established for the development and manufacturing of underwater surveillance systems.