Mustad & Son

Mustad & Son produce nails, and hardware, and from 1916 to 1937 automobiles.

History 

Mustad & Son is one of the oldest Norwegian industrial companies founded in 1832 in Gjøvik. Amongst other things, Mustad used to produce nails, and hardware, but today is known as the world's largest manufacturer of fishing hooks, which are exported to more than 160 countries.

Originally the company was founded as Brusveen Spiger Staaltraadfabrik , by Hans Skikkelstad in Vardal near Gjøvik. His son-in-law, Ole Mustad, took over the factory in 1843 and changed his name to O. Mustad. Mustad's son, Hans Mustad, became a co-owner in 1874, so the name was changed again to O. Mustad & Son. In 1877, the company started producing fishhooks.

In the period between 1890 and 1930 was marked by a large expansion with purchase and start-up of more than 300 companies in most European countries. The main production were nails for horseshoes, The company began in 1916 with the production of automobiles. In 1937 the production was stopped. The main reason for the expansion were the protective tariffs now introduced in most countries and the lower transport costs that could be achieved with local production.

After the Second World War, Mustad's factories were nationalized in Eastern Europe, and the company lost about half of its manufacturing facilities and about 8,000 workers. However, the decentralized company structure allowed the rest of the company to continue working unhindered and, like most other industries, enjoyed a boom in the 1950s and 1960s.

The oil crisis of the 1970s halted this growth and, like many other companies, Mustad was restructured. In 1970, the company was converted into a public company and in 1977 divided into the two companies Mustad Industries AS and Mustad International Group BV, the former was later renamed Mustad AS.

The first car models by Clarin Mustad was offered between 1916 and 1917. It was a big vehicle called the Giganten (Giant) with six wheels, two in the front and four in the back. Initially an arrived four-cylinder engine used in 1917 by a six-cylinder engine with 7000 cc capacity and 85 PS was replaced performance. There were the bodywork sedan and torpedo all four rear wheels are powered, with differential axles and a centre differential that enables different speeds on all drive wheels.the later cars could now seat upto12 people.

In 1935 the next model was introduced. It was a small coupe in the style of the Fiat 500 Topolino.