DK - The state buys back the arms factory in North Jutland

[Saithan]

At the weapons factory in Elling in North Jutland, ammunition is to be produced. More will be told on Saturday.

An ammunition factory in North Jutland is now in state hands again. Gunpowder must be produced for use in the war in Ukraine. (Archive photo).
Photo: Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix



Friday 06 October 2023, at 11.46
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Updated on Friday 06 October 2023, at 11.46

The Ministry of Defense confirms that the state has entered into an agreement for the purchase of an ammunition factory in North Jutland - specifically the town of Elling in Frederikshavn Municipality.

The price has not been disclosed, and the detailed conditions for the purchase have not yet been fully determined either.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V) has had his eye on the factory since March this year as an opportunity to produce gunpowder. In September, he announced that a purchase could be on the way.

So it has now happened.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has now lasted a year and a half, has put ammunition production in Europe under severe pressure."

"The critical situation in every way has made clear to me as Minister of Defense the need for us to re-establish ammunition production in Denmark."

"We are now taking the first step towards that with the acquisition of the facilities in Elling. Ammunition supply is of national security interest,' says Troels Lund Poulsen in a press release.

Together with defense chief Flemming Lentfer, he will tell more about the purchase at a press conference on Saturday.

So far, Troels Lund Poulsen does not wish to comment further.

Since the beginning of 2022, the ammunition factory has been owned by local investors under the company Krudten Erhvervspark.

Until then, the factory had been empty since April 2020, when the production of ammunition was stopped by the Spanish group Expal after several years of losses.

According to TV 2 Nord, 63 people were fired here. A gain over ammunition production is that the resumed ammunition production is expected to create a number of jobs, points out Lise Bech, defense spokesperson for the Danish Democrats.

"Our rural areas are under pressure, and in North Jutland 800 people recently lost their jobs when the Danish Crown factory closed in Sæby."

Expal bought the factory in 2008 from the Danish defence, which in 1976 started the production of ammunition in the now 50 buildings with a total of 18,000 square metres.

/ritzau/

Staten køber våbenfabrik i Nordjylland tilbage

Læs mere her.

www.berlingske.dk

 

[Saithan]

The state has bought an ammunition factory - now production is being postponed​

It will be at least another two years before the production of shells and cartridges at the state's ammunition factory in North Jutland starts.

Tour for the press at the ammunition factory 'Krudten' on Wednesday 9 October 2024. The factory was reacquired by the Danish state in 2023 with the aim of producing ammunition for both Denmark and Europe.
Photo: Claus Bjoern Larsen/Ritzau Scanpix

In October last year, the Ministry of Defense announced that it had bought a 400-year-old and otherwise decommissioned ammunition factory - colloquially known as "Krudten" - in the small town of Elling north of Frederikshavn.

At the time, it was announced by Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V) that production of grenades and cartridges should begin within two years. Now there are indications that the schedule will be difficult to keep. It is written by DR.

Yesterday, the head of the Defense Material and Procurement Agency, FMI, Per Pugholm Olsen, met with the three companies that are in the running to restart the production of ammunition at the factory. The three companies are Danammo Aps, Nammo and Ama Group Aps.

From Per Pugholm Olsen it was said that they will not be ready to start production by October next year anyway, and that they "cannot say exactly when production can start, but it is closer to two years than ten years".

Ukraine, NATO and the Armed Forces themselves are screaming for gunpowder and bullets​

It is not unknown that the NATO countries – including Denmark – are desperate to establish a larger production of special artillery shells.
Berlingske was able to clarify this via a larger access to documents in November last year.

From the file inspection, it appeared that the Ministry of Defence's Material and Procurement Agency (FMI) sees a real "critical situation" in the area, which cannot be solved by market forces, but requires a "forced and significant expansion of production".

It is Ukraine in particular that lacks ammunition, which Denmark and other western countries would like to be able to deliver more quickly.
While Russia is capable of launching more than 10,000 shells a day, Ukraine can respond with a few thousand. That mismatch has led to the term " grenade hunger ", which refers to Ukraine's desperate hunger for more grenades.

In Denmark, the stocks were first emptied as a result of savings and disarmament. And then the donations to Ukraine made a big dent, while NATO increased the minimum requirement for how many grenades each country must keep inside.

The result is that Denmark cannot perform nearly as many days of war as we have promised the alliance.

It could potentially cost up to DKK 200 million to refurbish the ammunition factory "Krudten" in Elling, which the state reacquired last year for just over DKK 20 million.

This was revealed at the beginning of the year by a document sent to the Danish Parliament's Finance Committee from Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V).

Staten har købt en ammunitionsfabrik – nu bliver produktionen udskudt

Læs mere her.

www.berlingske.dk

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If interested there are some local news about "Krudten" in:

Efter brøler: Kommune gør det dyrere at sende børn i dagpleje

Det bliver 594 kroner dyrere per barn.

www.tv2nord.dk

Bought by Spanish company and closing of production:

https://www.tv2nord.dk/frederikshavn/denex-lukker-63-mand-mister-deres-arbejde

Google translate to english does a fairly good job.

EDIT: I just looked up these companies in Danish company register that is managed by the TAX department and 2 of them were established little over 12 months ago, and the last one was established since february.

It seems anyone who has the connections could establish a company and bid on the production granted that they can fulfill the conditions. so a shell company that has the knowhow backing could work just as well.