Kongsberg: Entering the supply chain is extremely difficult

As the second-largest defence company in the Nordic region, Kongsberg attracts sustained interest from subcontractors.

However, according to Kyrre Lohne, vice-president for international relations at Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, becoming a supplier to the Norwegian group is far from straightforward.

- We are a project-driven company, while also maintaining substantial serial production, Lohne said, citing missile systems as an example:

- This is highly standardised, meaning we work with a defined set of suppliers, and replacing them can be complex.

Defined set of suppliers

Defence Nordic spoke with Lohne at the EDF Info Day in Copenhagen, where he appeared as a panellist.

Earlier that day, Kongsberg published a record-breaking annual report, positioning the Norwegian company among the fastest-growing in Europe.

Kyrre Lohne is a highly experienced defence industry professional who has worked at Kongsberg for more than 30 years, establishing production and value chains across multiple countries.

Speaking to Defence Nordic, Kyrre Lohne emphasised that maintaining identical configurations across production lines is critical, even when manufacturing is distributed across multiple countries.

- Once production is underway, it is extremely difficult to become a supplier. That is something we try to communicate clearly to companies seeking to participate.

Opportunities to enter the supply chain may emerge over time, he noted, but these are limited and should not be relied upon.

Openings are more likely in development programmes, strategic initiatives or offset requirements, where Kongsberg may be obliged to engage subcontractors from Denmark, Finland or Sweden.

- With offsets, we are obliged. But in general, it is extremely difficult to enter existing programmes and products, said Lohne.

Global actor

Kongsberg is a global actor with significant interests in the United States. Nevertheless, Lohne said the company continues to look to the Nordic region for cooperation.

- There is very limited cross-border cooperation today. Apart from Sweden, we are all import nations, he said, noting that Norway imports between 80 and 90 percent of its materiel.

Denmark and Finland also import most of their defence equipment, reflecting relatively small industrial bases with a high proportion of SMEs.

Within the Nordics, Sweden stands out as a supplier of major platforms such as vehicles, submarines and fighter aircraft, with its industrial base concentrated in these segments.

Lohne argued that Norwegian and Danish industry instead offer a much broader technological depth and specialised competencies.

- My personal view is that industry here is more fragmented than in Sweden, which is one reason why cross-border cooperation has been less effective, he said.

- In fact, I believe the greatest potential for cooperation lies between Norway and Denmark.