Nammo’s Elling factory edges from controversy to capability

The Danish national flag, Dannebrog, fluttered in the wind during the topping-out ceremony at Nammo’s future factory in Elling on Wednesday.

The ceremony marked a milestone in a project previously overshadowed by controversy, but now back on track to produce ammunition for Denmark and other Nordic countries.

The factory is being built by Nammo, the Norwegian ammunition company that last summer signed a contract with Denmark to re-establish domestic production after almost 20 years of absence.

- We have even started supporting the local handball team, said Øystein Håkonsløkken, director of strategic projects at Nammo.

He was speaking at the Danish-Norwegian Defence Industry Seminar on Thursday in Copenhagen. He noted that Nammo will continue developing the site in the coming months, with the organisation set to scale up from eight employees today to around 120.

- From the last quarter of next year, we will be producing and delivering ammunition for Denmark.

Criticised

Earlier this week, Nammo declined to provide an in-depth interview with Defence Nordic on the Danish project, Nordic cooperation and market outlook. As such, the company’s seminar presentation represents the latest available information.

In Denmark, Nammo is building on a long Nordic tradition of ammunition production.

The company plans to produce 155 mm artillery shells, 81 mm and 120 mm mortar ammunition, as well as small-arms ammunition.

- We have been criticised for establishing an assembly-only facility. That is not the case, said Håkonsløkken, referring to negative media coverage in Denmark following the contract award.

The site in northern Jutland, known as "Krudten", was built in 1954 and produced ammunition until 2008. In recent years, however, the buildings have stood unused.

Three years ago, the Danish state repurchased the site amid a political agreement to resume domestic ammunition production. The project has since faced delays, rising refurbishment costs and uncertainty over production responsibility.

In April, Morten Maj Rasmussen was appointed chief executive of Nammo Danmark. He joined from DALO, where he was responsible for ammunition procurement - a move that has also attracted negative media coverage.

During the presentation in Copenhagen, Håkonsløkken stressed that Elling will form an integrated part of a Nordic industrial capacity for ammunition, with components and products moving between sites in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden.

- Elling will be the most modern and effective production facility we have, he said.

- We need the factory for national security in Denmark, for a market that is developing at pace, and for Nammo to remain competitive.

Håkonsløkken added that Nammo builds on expertise from its home market in Norway. The company is partly owned by the Norwegian state and Finland’s Patria, which is in turn jointly owned by the Finnish state and Norwegian defence prime Kongsberg.

Elling will form part of Nammo’s network of 27 sites. 

The company says it is developing the supply chain in Denmark not only for the national factory, but for its wider industrial ecosystem.

- The Elling factory must be commercially viable, Håkonsløkken said.

DKK 90 million and rising

Nammo says it has signed industrial cooperation agreements with approximately 60 Danish companies, with a value exceeding DKK 90 million and rising. 

The company says it is using industrial cooperation to increase activity at Elling. As part of this effort, Nammo will host an industry seminar in August, inviting Danish companies to present potential solutions, Håkonsløkken said.

According to the latest data from the Danish Business Authority, Nammo currently has a surplus of DKK 20 million in offsets.

With 4,200 employees across the 27 production sites in 12 countries, Nammo is one of the world’s leading providers of specialty ammunition and rocket motors for military and civilian customers.

The group was founded in 1998 through a government-led consolidation of Nordic ammunition and propulsion businesses in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

In 2025, the group’s turnover amounted to NOK 14.4 billion, of which NOK 4.9 billion was derived from its home market.