Geonor markets and sells its products worldwide and has exported equipment to over 100 countries. The company is the only geotechnical company in the Nordic region with more than 60 years of continuous operations. The company is located in pleasant surroundings in Grini Næringspark in Østerås in Bærum.
Geonor was established in 1957 by NGI (Norwegian Geotechnical Institute) and the then Norwegian Technical and Scientific Research Council (NTNF). The basic idea was that Geonor would be responsible for the production and sale of equipment for geotechnical field and laboratory investigations developed at NGI, which had been established four years earlier. Both NGI and Geonor were established as part of NTNF's long-standing efforts to solve practical and technical problems in the reconstruction of Norway after World War II.
NGI's first director, Danish-born Laurits Bjerrum (1918-1973), was the driving force behind the establishment of Geonor and the company's first chairman. Bjerrum was a charismatic personality who achieved a unique position in the Norwegian and international professional community.
His importance for both NGI, Geonor and the geotechnical engineering profession in general was very great. From the very beginning, Geonor has emphasized the production and sale of reliable and advanced equipment of high quality.
Quality and innovation were key values that were implemented by Geonor's first general manager Arild Andresen (1926-2010). Arild Andresen was the general manager of Geonor from the start in 1957 until 1984.
NGI was a part owner of Geonor from 1957 to 1997. Norsk Hydro became a part owner in 1960, and was the main shareholder from 1989 to 1997. Øyvind Klevar was appointed general manager in 1993, and has been the owner until 2021. The new owner from November 2021 is Lagercrantz Group (publ), see World-leading, value-creating technology | Lagercrantz.
Geonor has been a pioneer in the development of geotechnical field equipment (wing drills and samplers), ground drilling rigs, geotechnical laboratory equipment (triaxial, direct shear and cone apparatus), and especially geotechnical and meteorological instrumentation based on vibrating string. Key partners in this development have been NGI, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
Our proven solutions are constantly being further developed by combining new sensors, wireless communication and internet-based solutions, such as remote reading via IoT
2023 Geonor
