ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how Falconbridge and its Norwegian subsidiary developed during the Second World War. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939 the British and the Canadian Government made an all-out effort to prevent the enemy from gaining access to raw materials and products. International Nickel Comapny (INCO) took over refining of the Falconbridge matte. During the years at the aluminium smelter at Vigeland, he had played a key role in testing the so-called Soderberg electrode, one of the most important development projects in Norwegian industrial history. The Kristiansand nickel refinery was not the only Norwegian company that focused on research and development during the war years. The differences between Norse Aluminium Company (NACO) and the Kristiansand refinery suggest that foreign or Allied ownership and German policies were not the only determinant of how a firm developed during the war: management strategies and the personal choices of the top managers also played a role.
