Electronic Version : 1.

1 (March 2023)
Table of contents
Foreword 6

Introduction 7

Family 7

The Founder period from 1875 23

A/S Norma Projektilfabrik, 1894-1975 29

Norma Amotfors AB, 1902-1994 60

Dansk Ammunitionsfabrik AS, 1911-1980 71

A/S Norma Projektilfabrik, 1976-1984 72

Trade/production/property, 1985-1994 77

Future prospects 83

Conclusion 84

5
Foreword
The board of Norma decided in autumn 1993 to publish a book in connection with Norma's 100th
anniversary. They first considered engaging an outsider but because the work that had to be completed
with respect to interviews of shareholders etc. and not least the examination of internal documents and
writings, it was chosen to use the undersigned for this task.

It has been a very interesting task and as we worked with interviews, searching for material etc., as we
progressed, I chose to place more emphasis on the family and especially the history of the three Enger
brothers, than originally envisaged. I think this could be interesting for the shareholders.

The book would not have been created without the help I have received from several people, especially
from my father-in-law Amund, especially for the "oldest" part of the book. Asmund Jr has also been very
helpful both with material and review of the first script. Per Victor has also been a good supporter of my
work and I thank these three in particular.

When it comes to editing, corrections, printing etc. I have also had good support from Tor S. Halvorsen.

Oslo, October 1994

Ragnar Lundquist

Foreword to the English Translation of this book

This English Translation of this book was carried out by Bernt Fjeldvær and Brad Dixon in 2023. This
was achieved by scanning the original document into images and then using OCR to convert the
text into digital form. Three Translating programs were then used (DeepL Translator, Microsoft Bing
and Google Translate) so that an optimum initial translation could be made. Then final
amendments were carried out to make the text as readable and understandable as possible

Some words were left in original Norwegian and these include companies, places and names as well
as some original quotes. Such expressions are generally followed by a (literal translation in English
in italic lettering with simple single parenthesis – as shown here).

[[Sometimes a short comment is added to help explain or correct the previous sentence. This often
shows the author of the comment, either ‘BMF’ (Bernt Fjeldvær) or ‘WBD’ (Brad Dixon). The
comment is contained in double parenthesis with square brackets – as shown here]].

[[Sometimes this same format is used to indicate that additional information, maybe even a small
article can be viewed in an Appendix to the book. This generally follows the format “see Appendix XX
for a short article/additional comments regarding the subject just discussed in the book.”]].

The Appendix for this book has been added to not only clarify content of the original book but also
to add related information and appropriate new “NORMA” articles.

6
Introduction
In late autumn 1894, 3 of 4 Enger brothers came together to air the idea of founding a company, "whose
purpose was the manufacture of jacketed rifle projectiles".

The 3 brothers were; Lars Amundsen Enger, Johan Amundsen Enger and Ivar Enger.

However, the company was only registered the following year, in 1895. The reason why A/S Norma
Projektilfabrik was established was mainly the shooting movement and the establishment of the Det
Frivillige Skyttervesen (DFS) (Voluntary Shooting Association) on 1 July 1893.

But before we get into Norma History, we must first tell a little about the brothers' family background and
then about the establishment and operation of the Enger brothers' various businesses.

Lars Amundsen Enger Johan Amundsen Enger Ivar Enger

(1850-1917) (1852-1925) (1863-1943)

Family
Ancestors

The Enger family and the Enger brothers can be put into a historical perspective, although the
documentation is limited as we go back in time. But there are stories that need to be mentioned, if only as
a curiosity. They are about the brothers' ancestors far back in time:

"The oldest, known male ancestor of the Enger family was probably Reier Øver Skiak, born around 1550,
who on behalf of himself and his wife, owned a noble estate in Valdres and a collection of estates in
Hallingdal and Nordre Land. This collection was probably an inheritance from Pål Eirikson, chancellor under
Håkon the 5th Magnusson and the ruler of Norway.

Eirikson is believed to have been connected to Reinsætten [[The Rein Family descendants]], where the most
famous figure was Skule Bårdsen. He was again descended "from the old Norwegian and Anglo-Saxon royal
houses" and was thus related to most of the reigning princely houses of the time, including the; English.
Danish, German and Polish.

Reinsætten's ancestor was Duke Godwin of Wessex, from there also came the Celtic name Skule.

The probable ancestor of the Norwegian branch, Countess Judith of Flanders, became in her second
marriage in the Bavarian princely house, an ancestor of the Hanoverians, which includes the English royal
house.

7
The widespread Garder family has probably also contributed to both the Frøysland and the Enger’s family. It
is said to belong to the Jämtland-Schanckers through Bishop Carl Jämte. Incidentally, the family has its coat
of arms in Riddarholmskyrkan [[BMF: a famous church in Stockholm, where the royal family is buried]] and
supposedly descends from a “hirdmann” [[BMF: Kings Guard – who form the core of the Army in times of
war]] who was sent to Jämtland as ruler of this county. This “Kings Man” was again married to one of
‘Magnus the Good's sisters.” [[BMF: King of Norway 1035 – 1047 and Denmark 1042 – 1047]].
The first mention of the Enger name in old documents is in a letter issued at Garder (ref. by the Garder
Family) in Ullensaker Parish 6 March 1337. This letter mentions a man, Koll Sigge and it is not unlikely that
he lived at Enger Farm. A long time later, in the bailiff's accounts for 1616-17, it is stated that Enger has
been used as a deserted farm [[BMF: After the Black Death where 60% of the Norwegian population died]]
under the lower Skiaker Farm (ref. by Reier Øver Skiak).
There is also mention of a stave church at Engjum in Øistre Sinnium in "Dietrichson's Norwegian Stave
Churches", which is said to date from 1319. The basis for the mention was that after a church service, such
a violent drinking party supposedly took place, that "someone" had lost their farm and property in
gambling. If this "someone" can be of distant Enger’s ancestry is still somewhat uncertain, as are other
stories from that time. [[BMF – Note that according to Johan Enger in a newspaper article in “Nationen” 29.
October 1919,, the farm had been in the Enger family since 1620]].
Otherwise, it appears that Gudmund Enger resided on the Enger farm because he was paying taxes until
1637. After that, there is little concrete information to find about Enger until after 1660. Then Ole
Gulbrandsen appears, later he called himself Ole Enger as owner of the farm Enger. He is probably the
"safest" ancestor of the Enger family, according to a notarised marriage document registered in Fluberg on
24 October 1664.
Except for Ole Gulbrandsen/Enger as the "safest" ancestor of the Enger family, the historical accounts and
somewhat verifiable stories about the family can only be supported by the nobility’s wandering and naming
throughout history. Thus, it cannot be verified as fact according to registered documents, church records,
etc. But is nonetheless interesting as even older ancestors than the above mentioned Ole
Gulbransen/Enger.
Grandfather and parents
The grandfather of the 4 brothers was Lars Amundsen Enger, born in 1788, died in 1839. Lars A. Enger was
a colourful person, nicknamed "Klåvå-helgja" (‘split weekend’). The reason was that he granted himself two
holidays a week. He was also master of all events in Nordre Land and as a result, the economy at Enger
farm, where he also died, became quite worrying over time.
The son of Lars Amundsen Enger, who was the father of the four brothers, was Amund Larsen Enger, born
in 1809, died in 1896. He was a quiet, frugal and hardworking fellow, who soon managed to correct the
finances of the farm.
He had very good help from his wife Anne Marie Johansdatter Brurud, who came from the farm Brurud
down by Dokka. Two sisters actually came from there, both of whom got married up in the hill farms in
Nordre Land, on Enger farm and the neighbouring Homb farm.
Anne Marie Enger was what one calls "ei drivendes kjerring" [[meaning a woman just as capable as a man]]
and was sharp and strict with the farm's people and her own children.
An anecdote about Ivar Enger says that when he was a little boy and presumably quite hard to deal with,
he was one day given a hard slap across his face by his mother Anne Marie. He rolled across the kitchen
floor, but quickly got back on his feet, went straight to Anne Marie, and said: "I’m still walking mother!"
[[BMF: Meaning he stands his ground]].
8
Amund Enger had five children, four boys and the daughter Berthe. She was born in 1858 and married Nils
Frøisland. The eldest son was Lars Amundsen Enger, born 1850, died 1917 and was unmarried. The next
was Johan Amundsen Enger, born 1852, died 1925; married Inger Marthea Frøisland.

Next was Amund Enger, born 1860. He married Petra Mjølstad, and ran the farm Snarturn in Snertingdal.
Ivar Enger was the youngest, born in 1863, died in 1943 and married to Eugenie Meidell.

It is a bit strange that the family at Enger had been on the farm for many generations, perhaps for more
than 300 years and it was only when the "grinder" Anne Marie came to Enger farm that the sons were
seized by a desire to work and a desire for adventure. So there is probably more than we think in the saying
that "it takes a woman" for things to happen -.

The Enger Brothers

The Enger brothers received little education along the way, except for the eldest Lars A. Enger but
everyone had now been to the "Grøndalsskolen" (Grøndals School) in Fluberg. Therefore, the school of life
became the most important basis for, among other things, all the businesses the brothers initiated and in
all the engagements and organisations that they were involved in.

Apart from Amund, the other three brothers had in common that they became "entrepreneurs" in several
contexts. The three complemented each other very well, for all had their own distinctive characteristics.
The eldest Lars was probably the foremost "entrepreneur" of them, besides being a merchant and
shopkeeper. Johan's distinctive character was mostly as a forestry and organizational man, while Ivar was
mostly an industrialist and operations man.

Lars Amundsen Enger

Lars A. was the eldest of the brothers and left the farm early, which his brother Johan took over in 1878.
Lars borrowed Johan's watch and that was about all he owned when he left, except "what he walked and
stood in" [[BMF: Meaning he owned only what he was wearing]].

Lars A. first came to Hadelands Glassverk (Glass works) at Jevnaker, then the Biri plant in the 2nd half of the
1860s. He also received 1½ years of schooling in 1870-71, with a focus on commercial accounting and
bookkeeping at the Trade Institute in Christiania. He was trained as a so-called commercial clerk (see
facsimile of school certificate from 2 Jan. 1872.) This education provided a good foundation for his diverse
activities later on.

Lars A. worked in Christiania for periods in the years 1869 to 1873, with the firm Johs. Lunde, only
interrupted by schooling (see facsimile of certificate in English and French).

It is said that during this period Lars lived with the Berg family as a "good relative", as they were distant
relatives from Land, and that Lars thus also worked in the Christiania Glass Warehouse, which the family
owned in addition to the Hadelands Glassverk.

After schooling he went to England and then to France. Already by the age of 22, he had mastered English,
German and French. In 1872, Lars A. Enger worked for a time for a firm in Paris, "Dun & Company",
probably the forerunner of "Dun & Broadstreet”.

9
 L. A. Enger’s school certificate from 2. January 1872.
Translated the offer says:

"Herr L. A. Enger
15 Rue de Babylone
We understand from your visit to our office that you also speak German. If this is the case and you
are still unavailable, we ask you to come in tomorrow at 10.00, noon (12.00), or between 2 and 5.
We need a staff member who knows the language. If we come to an agreement, we can offer you
employment with us.
With our best regards"
R.G. Dun & Co.

L.A. Enger & Co.

Lars A. returned to Christiania as a 25-year-old after some time abroad, where in 1875 he "applied for
citizenship as a commercial citizen in Christiania" (See facsimile of granted citizenship from 4 November
1875. The same year, in August 1875, he founded the firm Thisted & Enger together with Christian Thisted
(see facsimile of the foundation).

The firm ran a wholesale and agency business alongside industrial activities but was dissolved in November
1880 (see facsimile of dissolution). Thisted then withdrew completely, and the company L.A. Enger & Co.
was started. [[See Appendix 1-8 for a brief 1939 newspaper article on L.A. Enger & Co]]

10
 L. A. Enger's certificate from Johs. Lunde.

Lars A. was the sole owner of L. A. Enger & Co. until his brother Ivar, who had worked in the firm since
1878, was admitted as a partner in October 1898. After L. A. Enger died childless at the end of 1917, Ivar
Enger was the sole owner of the company. L.A. Enger & Co was also the managing company for A/S Norma
Projektilfabrik until December 1959, when the new Companies Act stipulated that all companies had to
have a daily, personal director.

Lars A. soon entered the circle of leading figures of the time, including Johan Sverdrup, O. Thommesen and
Finance Minister Sunde among his friends. The Left Party made sure to elect him to the Board of the
Hypotek Bank, where he served as long as his health held. Unfortunately, he developed paralysis in both
legs at an early age and soon became severely disabled. In order for him to move, he hired a powerful guy
to carry him on his back when required. The man was Halvard Angaard. He later became sales manager for
Norma and served in this position well into the 1960s.

11
"Dun & Company", is probably the forerunner of "Dun & Broadstreet", was one of the firms L.A. Enger
worked for before he started his own businesses. L.A. Enger's Citizenship Letter (bottom)

12
 Lars A. Enger

Lars A. had an apartment next to the office until his death. He paid close attention to everything that
happened, gave ideas and directives until the very end both in relation to L.A. Enger & Co. and later Norma
Oslo. Norma-Åmotfors, the forest properties, etc. It is said that Lars A. had the family's "longest" head and
the widest overview of everything that happened inside and outside the family activities. He was strongly
interested in politics, which also explains much of his strong friendship with the legendary Johan Sverdrup.
He was also very musical and showed great interest in this art form. This is probably why it is believed that
it was precisely he who came up with the name Norma, after the opera "Norma" by Bellini, which had its
Oslo premiere in the mid-1890s. But it is also said that the fourth brother, Amund, was active in coming up
with names for various businesses the brothers established, such as Norma, Hunton, Agra etc. Another
explanation for the creation of the name “Norma” is that it is a corruption of "Norsk Ammunisjon".

[[See Appendix 1-1 for a short article discussing the various explanations for the name “Norma”.]]

13
 Excerpt from the establishment papers in connection with Thisted & Enger

Lars A's legacy

In 1912 he established L.A. Enger's scholarship of NOK 50,000, which was a very significant sum of money
at the time. The grant was created to promote technical inventions. It still exists and is administered by the
Polytechnic Association in Oslo and currently has a capital of approx. NOK 250,000. The current board
consists of the secretary of Polyteknisk Forening (Polytechnic Association), former head of research at
Raufoss with Nils Chr. Tømmeraas, as chairman. Also the CEO of the Norwegian Research Council for
Science and Technology. Also, one of the descendants of Ivar Enger, who took over L.A. Enger & Co is a
member of the board.

The legacy was more or less forgotten until Polyteknisk Forening dusted it off 4-5 years ago. Portions of the
annual return are now distributed each year. L.A. Enger also established an endowment for the benefit of
agriculture in Oppland County and also donated a significant sum to the Det Norske Skogselskap
(Norwegian Forest Society).

Johan Amundsen Enger

Johan A. also did not want to stay at Enger farm, even though he was the one who took over the farm
when Lars A. did not want it. He went to the high school at Sagatun after the Grøndals School and his stay
there would mean a lot to him later in life.

Little is known about his ability at school but his Norwegian teacher said at the time that: "Johan will learn
to write, as long as he gets something to write about." This later came true in Johan. A. Enger’s quite
diverse works in the years that followed.

Johan A. was energetic and imaginative. He soon moved to Gjøvik and got deeply involved in the issue of
railways. In addition, he became a politician, founded and owned the newspaper "Samhold" (Unity), and
was the newspaper's editor from the late 1880s.

14
Since Johan also had to take care of the farm alongside his engagements in Gjøvik, he often spent the night
walking between Enger and Gjøvik. He also built a separate electricity plant for the farm, before it was
connected to a public grid.

Johan was one of the founders of the magazine "Norsk Skyttertidende" (Norwegian Shooters Times) and
was editor for a period [[BMF: 1885-1925]]. His son Asmund Enger snr. (See later section - page 45) took
over editorial responsibility in 1925 and edited the magazine until 1945.

With "Samhold”, Johan Enger had taken a decisive step in the fight for the most important social issues. In
addition to the railway case, there was the defence and shooting cause, organizational matters, forest
causes, to name a few.

Johan A. was also active in the farmers' work to be organized and was among the founders of the
Norwegian Farmers' Union. In the railway issue, his dream and goal was a main railroad line from
Kristiansand to Bodø, which among other things, would connect the three main parts of Oppland County.
He did not see this realized before he died, but knew that the cause was well underway and that it would
become a reality.

Over the years, Gjøvik made strong use of Johan A.'s labour. He was a member of the city council and the
board of The Bank of Norway, Gjøvik department.

Associations for forest management, bog cultivation, horse breeding, dog breeding, book printing, etc.
benefited greatly from his wealth of ideas and initiative.

Johan A. Enger.

15
Johan A. and the shooting cause
But above all, Johan A. was known as a man of the “Peoples armament association” (Folkevæbninssamlag)
and for his work for the shooting cause. He was also chairman of the Skytterstyret (Shooting Board) for
many years. Johan was a fervent friend of defence but at the same time he gradually became deeply
concerned about the increasing arms race in the world and about the enormous consumption of materiel
and exercises.
Among other things, he co-founded the "Kristiania Amt Folkebevæpningssamlag" (Kristiania County
People's Armament Association) in 1881 and "Farmer Johan Enger of Land", as he was called, was elected
the first chairman of the Association. In his capacity as chairman, Johan travelled around the associations
to guide and give advice but also to help establish new associations. He was also the originator of Norsk
Skyttertidende, which was first published on 1 October 1882. [[BMF: Actually, Johan was the 2nd editor. The first
one got on edge with the shooters organization and Johan took over as editor in 1885. The magazine is still going.]]

The accident
As a 16-year-old, Johan A. had his right arm cut off above the elbow [[BMF: Some say below the elbow]] in a
straw cutter at Enger. It is said that he himself helped to break free with the help of his father. When the
father wept bitterly because of the accident, it is said that it was Johan who had to comfort him with the
following words: "Oh, don't you cry father, I still have my legs and the left hand!”.
The editor's position meant that Johan benefited greatly from the fact that he re-learned to write again
with his left hand. He also managed to practice playing the cornet with his left hand, which he diligently
practiced at parties.
Shooter and hunter
Johan knew what he wanted and he carried out what he set in motion. Therefore, it was not surprising that
Johan learned to shoot left handed. He held the rifle with his left arm and used the stump of his right to
hold the rifle against his shoulder.
As a "left-handed shooter" he actually became so good that he almost won the King's Cup at the National
Shooting Conference a few years later!
Johan also participated as a representative shooter in several international competitions, including Berlin,
where the press referred to him as "The one-handed Norwegian"
It was probably in the same competition that a Range Officer ordered cease fire and to show the targets
before Johan had shot, and Johan protested. Afterwards, this became a funny expression in shooting
circles: "I haven’t shot yet” said Johan Enger, "he spoke German!".
At this time, Johan A. Enger also held the world record in shooting at 2000 metres, with 20 hits out of 20
possible against a 3 meter target; the last 5 shots with an average of 6.4 points.
He was also a skilled moose hunter and shot approximately 150 animals during his hunting career. One
year he shot 13 out of a total of 19 animals assigned to the hunting team. He had decided on this in
advance, simply to beat a record that existed at the time.
Johan A. was also strongly concerned with the technical side of shooting and he carried out a number of
experiments which he later wrote about in "Norsk Skyttertidende". He constructed, among other things a
scope (mount) for the Krag-Jørgensen rifle together with his friend director Paasche at Kongsberg
Vaabenfabrik, which the Norwegian Armed Forces later acquired.
Johan was also chairman of the "Geværskruingskomiteen" (Rifle Screwing Committee) [[BMF: ie. To the
smallest screw]] which was set up in 1884 when the State demanded that the Army's stocks of weapons
and equipment should be examined. This was to take place in Horten. During the inspection, all the guns
had to be disassembled to be inspected, which Johan was very happy about to supervise.
16
Special shooting competitions

A shooting competition in Johan A. Enger's day was something quite different from what we associate with
a shooting competition today. Among other things, solemn speeches were given, and at a rally in Valdres
Johan A. said in a speech: "People's armament carried out among the peoples will shake the yoke of all
tyrants, the most beautiful flower of democracy shall be planted, on the straight shooting rifle barrels of the
people's armament!"

Johan A. was a very outspoken person, and his opinions did not always go unnoticed. Once he was
impeached for "Speaking of Rebellion against the King". Fortunately it wasn't that bad and after explaining
himself, it all ended with an acquittal.

It was at the same time that Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson [[a Norwegian Poet]] was elected an honorary member
of Kristians Amt Samlag, (Christiania County peoples armament association) led by Johan Enger. He must
have heard a lot of bad words for this, since many people at the time did not easily look up to Bjørnson,
who was also strongly involved in the popular arming issue.

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson also established the defence idea in (the poem “Rifleringe = Rings of rifles”):

"The old man on the rise,

shall be heard and able to vote,
behind rings of rifles,
of the young generation.”
Johan A. Enger was a man of his opinion. The things he believed in, he was fully in favour of them, even if it
could lead to controversy. He was outspoken and somewhat impulsive. Once on the train from Oslo to
Gjøvik, he heard that the Grosch building, Karl Johans St. 45 (in Oslo), was for sale. So he got off at Eina,
took the oncoming train back and bought the building. The building was first owned by the Nationen (a
Newspaper), later by Landkreditts (a Bank), who still owns the valuable building.

For his tireless efforts for many purposes, Johan A. Enger received several awards. Among the most
prestigious were the King's Gold Medal of Merit and the Norwegian Rifle Service's Merit Medal.

Johan was 73 years old when he died in 1925. He had lived a rich life, while at the same time he had left
positive and lasting impressions behind him. In 1950, 25 years after his death, Oppland Skyttersamlag
(Oppland County Shooters Union) erected a statue of him at the sports field in Gjøvik.

[[See Appendix 1-10 for several Obituaries confirming the above and describing other aspects of his life.]]

Ivar Enger

Ivar Enger was the youngest among the brothers. Like his brother Lars A., he had a strong urge to travel
and came to Kristiania early. In 1876, aged just 14, he went to his brother Lars A. who was 26 years old and
"established".

Ivar was not like other young men. It is said that before he left the farm he was bullied by his schoolmates
at Fluberg School because he could not swim. He didn't want to wear that, so he chopped a hole in the ice
at the Rands fjord in midwinter and learned to swim before spring came! There was clearly something in
the boy even then, which showed in many contexts later. He was already the best shooter in the Norde
(Land) before he went to the capital.

One of the first jobs that Ivar E. had in Christiania was to roll large cans of green soap up the Trondheim
road (in Oslo) for customers who bought green soap from L. A. Enger's "Grønsæbefabrik" ("Green Soap
Factory"). [[This was the Agra Soap factory – see page 24]]

17
 Ivar's travel chest that accompanied him to India

About Ivar E.'s work, it is told of a basement room in Dronningensgate where he lived at the time, which
was close to L. A. Enger & Co's offices in Rådhusgaten. Here it was apparently so damp that there was
usually mould on his boots every morning when he woke up.

The elder brother Lars. A. Enger realized that there was strength in his youngest brother and a few years
later paid for a stay in London for him. There he learned English, and apparently also manners.

The Enger brothers were probably of a different cast than the yuppies of the 80s, and that is partly
confirmed in the following.

Ivar's urge to travel

The connection between England and the overseas colonies. India in particular, was very active in the
1880s. During his stay in England, Ivar Enger found out that he wanted to travel to India.

As thought, so done. In 1886, aged 23, he left to work up the export of Norwegian goods to India, including
matches from Rødfos Brugs.

Ivar's traveling chest was made of wood, equipped with solid iron fittings and a padlock. The chest still
exists and bears the following inscription: "There is no peace for the ungodly! Ivar Amundsen Enger,
Norway."

18
 Ivar Enger.

Ivar took with him a recommendation from the Norwegian government to the Norwegian and Swedish
consulates, i.e. from the "Ministry of the Interior", dated 1 October 1886 and signed by a Mr. Sofus
Arctander (see facsimile of the recommendation).

Ivar got a job in a large English trading firm, with offices in Bombay and travelled on a merchant vessel. The
journey took over 3 months and later Ivar told his son Amund about an incident that demands reliability: In
a big storm in the Red Sea, Ivar became very seasick and was suddenly washed overboard. But luck was on
his side and when the next wave threw him back up onto the deck, a sailor grabbed hold of him and saved
his life.

According to reports, Ivar took the road when he returned to Europe about 3 years later. The reason was
the very unpleasant experience in the Red Sea.

When Ivar arrived in Bombay, he was met with the news that his employer had gone bankrupt - and there
he was without a job. But being the enterprising man Ivar was, he managed to find something to do in
India, and eventually he ended up in Hyderabad as the head of a large trading company (general store),
which sold everything between heaven and earth, from foodstuffs to fire-fighting equipment.

In this connection, it is told of a large, fine, red-painted steam fire-sprayer with shining brass fittings, which
was sold to the Nizam of Hyderabad, the reigning prince. He was to use it to water the gardens.

The sprayer was delivered, fitted, fired up and the 2.5 inch powerful water jet was test driven by the Nizam
himself. The waterspout had barely been turned on before he aimed the beam at his court, who had
gathered at a respectful distance. Several people were knocked straight to the ground by the violent water
pressure, obviously much to Nizam’s delight.

19
Unusually, Ivar Enger also did pearl diving in India to supplement his income. From some of the pearls he
found, he had 2 small pearl necklaces made which his 2 granddaughters received as christening gifts from
him.

Another story about Ivar is about when he helped build a large marble building for a rich Indian man. Ivar
was commissioned to provide an extra solid entrance door. So he did and profusely! He ordered a steel
door from England, which was larger and stronger than the steel front door that the Bank of England had at
its headquarters in London!

Ivar was probably a farsighted young man, who did not take unnecessary chances. In Bombay in 1886, aged
just 23, he hand-wrote a note that he carried with him in case he was attacked or exposed to other forms
of misfortune: The letter is reproduced (see facsimile) and translated it reads:

"I am Mr. Ivar Enger from Christiania in Norway. Europe. If for some reason I should not be able to take care
of myself, please contact the firm L. A. Enger & Co. in Christiania. Norway and the nearest Swedish and
Norwegian consulates or a hospital where I can be treated.

Any expenses incurred will be reimbursed by the above company, if sufficient funds are not found on me,
provided legitimate papers are presented for reimbursement."

Ivar E. told his son Amund about an incident when he had to do the regular "body wash" one afternoon in
Bombay. When he bent down to grab the bucket of water on the floor, a full-grown venomous snake had
coiled itself around the bucket.

Ivar Enger took his precautions out in the world at Ivar Enger's letter of
large. He carried on him a letter telling him who he recommendation
was and where assistance could be obtained if it for the India trip.
supported him.

20
It had laid there because it was terribly hot and it needed to cool down. Ivar, who was standing there with
“bare butt” and ready for his wash, found a solid piece of furniture and crushed the snake with some heavy
blows. Then he washed himself as if nothing had happened.

Before Christmas 1887, Ivar received a postcard from Lars, which, among other things, described the
situation at Rødfoss Brug etc., which at the time was the brothers' most interesting industrial activity. But
this was probably not so interesting for Ivar, who found himself in the far from harmless million person city
of Bombay.

The card from Lars ends with the funny "Greetings L.A. Enger". Lars referred to himself, unusually, by
surname even to his younger brother.

The card is almost illegible, but reads:

Christiania 16/11. 87

Dear Brother!

Your postcard of 12/10, received. Everything here is as usual. Amund has been here for a few days. He is
now repairing the living room a bit, so that he can live there this winter. On 15/12 he has to pay up 3,500 Kr
but he's probably too small a man to find a way out of this and pay for himself. But he will learn a little after
a while. Rødfos is very busy now.

We have to finish 300 of a new label in a hurry: working from 6 in the morning to 10 in the evening ----
Petreson's order is probably downright demoralizing. Prices are still falling, otherwise nothing else to sell -

We continue to sell a label list with 10 labels, which will be sent to other customers. Samhold says today
that Frøisland has bought several forests in Torpen. He and Johan Wien are thinking of building a country
store at Undlien. They must rent land from Amund. Ole Gjevle has bought 1/7 parts of Gjekle (Dal) for
14000. Home good. The old people live well. It's cold here, but no snow. Rødfos' new barn and living room
completed. Must be nice, said Amund. Aasbjørn engaged to Ms. Plesner.

Greetings L.A. Enger

21
After three years in India, in 1889, Ivar returned home and joined L. A. Enger & Co. With him in his
luggage he had several souvenirs, including a statue of the Reclining Buddha in alabaster. Ivar had bought it
in passing from a fleeing British soldier who had stolen the Buddha from an Indian temple.

Left: Scarce photograph of Ivar with a moustache.

Right: Portrait of Ivar aged c75 and five years before his death by portrait painter Eivind Engebretsen in
1938. Ivar was still the Norma Board Chairman at this time.

22
The Founder period from 1875
Establishment of L. A. Enger & Co.

L. A. Enger was established as a trading and administration company in 1875, with offices first at
Dronningensgate 24, then at

Skippergaten 6B, from there the company moved in 1907 to

61 Rosenkrantzgt 3, then to

Rådhusgaten 5 B.

After 1880, L. A. Enger & Co. developed into the administrative centre for all the businesses run by the family
well into our century, right up to 1959.

Establishment of industrial companies

The first business the three brothers started was a Sawmill on the Enger Farm. The second was Johan's alone,
namely Thorstuen Dairy at Dokka. However, it did little business and was closed down after a short period of
operation.

Later, the brothers established many businesses in the period from 1889 to 1904, some with a short life span,
while others continue to exist.

Do you know that:

Norway’s first gas engine would have been
melted down a long time ago, if the NORSK
TEKNISK MUSEUM (Norwegian technical
museum) hadn’t taken care of this extraordinary
monument over Norwegian mechanical industry.

Gas engine with glow tube ignition from the

1890s, Built at L. A. Enger’s, Verksted, Kristiania.

The Museum is an independent institute - which

is mainly supported by donations from industry
and Handcrafts. Donations to the museum are,
according to the regulations, exempt from
income tax.

NORWEGIAN TECHNICAL MUSEUM

35 HUK AVENUE - BYGDØY

L. A. Enger established a gas engine factory in 1893.

23
Not always so lucky

Among the less fortunate establishments was a gas engine factory, built in 1893 at Grønlandsreiret, (a part of
Oslo), with regular light gas to power the engine. The company literally “got off the ground" when it signed a
contract with Drammens Jernstøperi [[ BMF - Drammen is a town near Oslo. Jernstøperi = Iron foundry]] to
supply an engine that had 100 horsepower. Unfortunately, they were unable to produce it according to
specifications. The reason was that the diameter of the exhaust pipe was far too small, so a lot of power was
wasted to pump the exhaust out of the cylinder. But alas, the factory had agreed on a punctual delivery date
and accepted daily penalties. Thus, it was heading for bankruptcy.

But the brothers held together very well and Johan A. came to the brothers' rescue. Johan sold a couple of
farms he had near Lillehammer, including the Skinnstakkrud farm and raised money to pay the fine for L. A.
Enger 8, Co. This is how the company avoided bankruptcy.

An example of the gas engine stood for many years at the Technical Museum.

This is just one of many examples of how well the brothers stayed together and that they always helped each
other when needed.

The brothers also established a soap factory around 1880, which was later sold to the Heie family and
converted into the Agra Margarine factory [[at Grünerløkka, sold c1885 and closed in 2013]].

Of businesses of a more lasting nature, Hunton Bruk [[Sawmill-still in business]] at Gjøvik was established in
1889, Valdres Slate quarry in eastern Slidre in 1903 and of course Norma Projektilfabrik, with its sister
companies Norma in Åmotfors in 1902, and Dansk Ammunitionsfabrik in 1912. [[actually 1911]]

Rødfos Mill and Hunton

In 1881, L. A. Enger & Co. bought the match factory Rødfos Bruk [[BMF - Bruk usually indicates a sawmill or
company making products of wood]] and eventually concentrated only on this business. However, the factory
was sold in 1894 to the state and converted into military workshops which was the forerunner of Raufoss
Patronfabrik, owned by the state. Part of the factory after the closure, including individual machines, was
dismantled and moved to Maihaugen (Museum), where some of the mill still stands. [[See also Page 28]]

The brothers also bought and operated a general store at Raufoss for many years.

Hunton Bruk (a Sawmill), which still exists as a wallboard factory, was Lars A's idea. The mill was laid by a
waterfall on hundselven (River) that comes down at Gjøvik.

It was Lars A. or his brother Amund who named the mill Hunton, hence the trade name on the building plate
Huntonitt, which appeared many years later. Production originally included a woodturning mill that produced
broomsticks and broomsticks made of hardwood, among other things, for export to England. Then came leather
cardboard, which was also delivered to England. The cardboard was very hard and was used for soles in cheap
footwear for the English market. Later, the factory also produced wood pulp.

As factory and operations man, Ivar managed Hunton Bruk from the start. Old works master (Technical Leader)
Karl Wang at Norma, originally from Raufoss, said that Ivar E. at that time hand-threaded all metal pipes and
compounds that were to be used in Hunton's production.

Hunton Bruk soon became so large that it got its own bookkeeping run by Miss Bergljot Skonnord from Gjøvik.
She remained in the service of her family until her death. She was a well-known figure in Gjøvik and was called
"Frk. Papp" (Miss Cardboard) by friends.

Hunton Bruk was run by L. A. Enger & Co. until the 1930s, when it was sold to a company that wanted to focus
on wallboard.

24
Valdres Slate Quarry

Valdres Slate Quarry was founded by local people in east Slidre, among others, by Lage Fossheim who owned
the Fagernes Hotel at Fagernes.

The Enger family entered this business by a calculation error by a bookkeeper or accountant in Valdres. He
presented an account that was considerably better than it actually was. The brothers naturally thought they
had made a good deal, so the Valdres Slate Quarry was bought in 1903 and then operated by L. A. Enger & Co.
until the 1950s.

But the slate quarry was never good business. The problem was to guarantee regular deliveries to, among other
places, England. "Valdersen" (Valdres people) wanted to work in the quarry in the winter, but in the summer
they preferred to take the wife, kids and livestock with them into the mountains, where they had cabins and
pastures for the livestock, so that there were few people willing to work year-round.

Therefore, it was arranged early on so that the quarry acquired large storage sheds at Fagernes at the end of
the Valdres railway. The stone was transported there by horse and sleigh — later by trucks — as soon as it was
produced in the quarry.

In the thirties, when it became popular with the "Inner City Renewal" in England. Valdres slate quarry regularly
sent between 60 and 80 tonnes of roof slate per week by boat to Newcastle, England. A fairly extensive
business.

This, of course, ended in 1939 when World War II broke out and in the 1950s the quarry was transferred to the
Eastern Slidre Municipality and the quarry workers held 51%, the rest went to 2 private individuals. However,
the quarry only continued for two or three years before going bankrupt. Despite thousands of kroner in grants
from the "Tiltaksfondet" (Action Fund), the forerunner of the District Development Fund.

Final solution for the Valdres Slate quarry

The workers of the slate quarry and the municipality together
are the largest shareholders with 51 percent of the shares.
The County Labour Board announces NOK 150,000 in contributions and interest-free loans.
25
Forest and mountain properties

The brothers' philosophy was that forest and mountain properties were a value for development and
improvement and a safe, future basis for family finances and recreation. The brothers acquired forest
properties piecemeal over several years, and partly with people outside the family. However, these co-owners
were bought out, so that the forests were eventually entirely in the family's possession.

From 1896, the administration of the properties was transferred to L. A. Enger & Co. The firm thus expanded
the business to also invest in forest properties and in 1896 bought, among other things. Landaasen & Komperud
forests in Land, which was run as an interest company. In 1898, Ophus Sag (sawmill) in Stor-Elvdalen was
acquired and later other forest areas followed.

It was primarily Johan A. who was the driving force behind the brothers' forest purchase, together with his
brother-in-law Nils Frøisland from Torpa. It was Johan A. and his son Asmund sr that provided for the extensive
trenching of the Enger forests. In total, about 600,000 m was dug, i.e. about 12 running metres per acre of
forest land. The most important forest properties at that time were the forests; Landåsen (Fluberg), Ekern,
Ringsrud (Snertingdal) and Saksumdalen.

Ivar E. became involved fairly early in the operation of the forests. Under his and Knut Skinderud's "careful
leadership", it was selectively cut, while at the same time continuing the trenching of water-logged forest.

One of the greatest works Ivar E. carried out with the forests consisted of replacing or purchasing rights that
former homesteaders and others had in the properties from ancient times.

After a few years, a major change was scheduled in Landåsen, where most rights resided. In connection with
the great shift, Ivar E. studied documents from the history of the forest for a long time. Many of these
documents were written in Gothic script and required a lot of time to translate.

When the preparations for the major shift were over, a few years had passed but it soon became clear that the
family's interests began to diverge. Ivar E. and Asmund E. Sr therefore decided to divide the forest properties
and set up a division committee which, among other things, consisted of Knut Skinderud as chairman and three
other forest-savvy men. Among them was forest owner and county forest manager Thrana from Søndre Land,
the same family that today owns Land Sag og Høvleri (Land Sawing & Planning) in Odnes.

When the major shift was completed, Asmund E. sr got the forests Ekem and Ringsrud in Snertingdal, as well as
the remaining forest, eastern Neråsen.

The Frøisland family got, among other things, the Opphus forest and was thus out of Landåsen. Asmund sr got
his share of Landåsen, Meitlia of Nordre Mark. This forest is owned today (1994) by Asmund E. jnr. and his son
Kim J. Enger. The Enger family in Snarturn got 10% of Landåsen in Svartbekklia, which is located at the back of
Venordhøgda down towards Kølkjennet and is today owned by Asmund L. Enger. Ivar Enger got the rest.

After the division was completed, a division protocol was established which was bound in books.

26
Various purchased properties

Johan, Asmund sr and Asmund's mother-in-law, Inger Ødegård, also bought Gausdal Sanatorium around 1912,
which was later sold. Some cabin plots at Skei were retained, and these were later built on with several cabins
by the children.

Ivar Enger and Ragnar Wettre, who was Amund's godfather, invested in a larger mountain area; Juvatn/Foluri in
Setesdal. They bought this from the board of trustees for a law firm in Oslo, which had gone bankrupt in 1902.
This company had bought the area from farmers many years earlier. Until about 1990, the area was a joint
property, but was then divided between the Wettre family and Ivar’s mother. Ivar also bought a larger fishing
lake; Fjelldokka in Valdres. This property, established by Royal Deed in its time, was purchased in the name of
his son Amund, but awarded to his sister Ingebjørg Rachlew at the inheritance settlement after Ivar's death.

Intermarried family, their connection and importance

In the following, a number of factors are described that are more or less relevant to the various Enger
businesses, including the forest properties. It deals with, among other things, intermarriage in the family and
their connection to the various Enger activities.

Johan A. was married to Mathea Frøisland, sister of Nils Frøisland, who in turn was married to Berthe Enger,
sister of the four brothers.

Johan A. had only one son who lived; Asmund sr, while 2 sons died as children.

Berthe and Nils had 5 children, three sons and two daughters. The eldest daughter, Aslaug, was for a time
engaged to an Ing. Finn Sparre. He was a chemist and gunpowder expert and had worked with Ivar E. and
Asmund E. sr in the earliest years of Norma's operation.

About Nils Frøisland's three sons, Arve. Frøis and Amunder can be told that Arve, after a few years of working in
Canada as a lumberjack, took over the family farm Frøisland in Nord-Torpa, while Frøis became a journalist for
Aftenposten (the “Evening Post”). He was the newspaper's correspondent in Paris during World War I and
ended as editor-in-chief of Aftenposten.

Amunder graduated as a mechanical engineer in Germany and worked for many years as an expert in pumps for
the wood processing industry at the Thunes Mek Workshop in Oslo. Because of his wife's health, they had to
move out of Oslo and to a better climate. Ivar E. therefore hired him as operations manager of Valdres Slate
Quarry with residence in Østre Slidre.

Amunder tried to set up a competing quarry at Faavang in Gudbrandsdalen, but was unable to do so financially.
Ivar bailed him out by buying his machinery and equipment.

Another example of the family sticking together.

Both Rødkø Bruk and Raufoss Landhandleri (a store) were run by Nils Frøisland until they were sold when the
safety matches came on the market. He then returned to his real way of life as a timber speculator. He did well,
having a large villa in Lillehammer and with his towering, six-foot-six figure wearing white jacket and trousers
with a rose-striped waistcoat and straw hat, he looked good in the landscape in every way.

Nils Frøisland would probably prefer to buy and sell forests, not keep and develop.

This did not fit well with the philosophy of the three Enger brothers, who in the forests saw a foundation for
development and improvement, while providing a future basis for the family's finances.

Nils had 2 children, a son Helge, who unfortunately was imprisoned during World War 2 and tortured to death.
Nils' daughter, Anne Marie, married the artist Jakob Weidemann.

27
 Rødfos Tændstikfabrik c1890 (digitaltmuseum.no)

[[In 1868 Nils Olsen sold Rødfossen farm to an investment company led by the merchant A. Hansen for 2375 spd.
The farm was resold in 1872 to Martin Hveem at Smedby for 2200 spd. The following year in 1873, the farm was
sold to the board of Rødfos Tændstikfabrik (match factory) for 4500 spd. Two years later, the factory started
with power from a large water wheel. At the same time, one of the buildings on the farm was converted into a
headquarters

However, this first match factory went bankrupt in 1879 and was sold by the probate court to L.A. Enger in 1881
for £32000. In 1891, the match factory changed from water wheel to turbine operation. In 1895, the state took
over the entire property for NOK 192,500, which then became Rødfoss Patronfabrikk. (hunnselva.com/rodfos)]]

Hunton Bruk c1890 (digitaltmuseum.no) Agra Factory (digitaltmuseum.no)

28
A/S Norma Projektilfabrik 1894-1975
1894-1914

The company was founded in late autumn 1894, but registered as a limited company only in 1895. The
three brothers Lars. A., Johan A. and Ivar Enger agreed to deposit NOK 4,000 each in share capital; A total
of NOK. 12,000, with 12 shares each worth NOK. 1000.

During the first years of Norma's operation, Lars A. Enger was head of the company, but gradually Ivar took
over, soon becoming the manager of Norma and then the sole owner of L. A. Enger & Co in 1917 as Lars A.
was childless. Thus, Ivar held 8/12 of Norma's shares. Later he transferred 1/12 of the shares to Johan A.,
and thus the division ratio of 7/12 and 5/12 arose between the two family branches of Ivar and Johan
respectively.

The board of Norma naturally consisted of the 3 brothers, but it was not until 1912 that it was officially
registered with Ivar E. as chairman.

Share certificate in A/S Norma Projektilfabrik from November 1895

29
Shooting movement basis for Norma

Since the shooting movement was the basis for the establishment of Norma in both Norway and Sweden,
Norma was for many years heavily dependent on developments within the shooting movement.

Shooting as a form of association and competitive sport in Norway goes far back in time and the shooters
cause has throughout history been linked to the Norwegian efforts to form a separate national state.

The first shooting club, "Det Bergenske Skydeselskab" [“The Bergen Shooting Company”], was founded as
early as 1769, primarily for the higher social strata. Throughout the 1800s, smaller groups and associations
were established throughout the country that engaged in organized shooting.

In 1861, the Shooting clubs merged into one organization, the “Centralforeningen for Udbredelse av
Legemsøvelser og Vaabenbrug" ["Central Association for the Promotion of Physical Exercise and the use of
arms"]. [[which was an organisation for all kinds of sport, today Norways sports association]].

The goal was to teach as many people as possible to shoot on a voluntary basis. The “Det Frivillige
Skyttervesen” [DFS = Voluntary Shooting Association] as it stands today with its origins in these groups is
the result of a Parliament resolution of 1892, that the shooting movement should be united in one
organization. The Enger brothers were also central to the foundation of “Kristians Amt
Folkebevæbningssamlag” [Kristians amt People's Armament union], 3 April 1881, as the second union in
Norway.

In addition, small-calibre rifles were introduced in the Army during the 1890s. This resulted in a need for
ammunition with precision characteristics that far exceeded the Requirements for ammunition used until
then.

The “Volunteer Shooting Association” was first used as an argument for reducing the training time in the
Army. In other words: The Shooting case was the Defence case. The scheme came into force in 1893.

Smokeless gunpowder

By the end of the last century, coarse-calibre lead bullets without a jacket and loaded with black powder
had outplayed their place on the shooting range. Gradually, the black powder on hunting cartridges also
disappeared. But it happened over a much longer period of time.

Smokeless gunpowder, which made its entrance at that point, which resulted in higher pressure and
greater velocity. The solution to this accordingly, was projectiles with a lead core and an outer jacket of a
suitable metal.

In the 1800s, the cartridges for the shooting clubs were imported from Germany. However, the cartridges
could not withstand prolonged storage and the state therefore allowed the riflemen to take over some of
this ammunition themselves.

Until the 1890s, the shooters mostly used the 10.15mm tennstempel (single shot target rifles of Norwegian
manufacture) and the 12mm Remington rifle loaded with the lead bullet. The lead bullets were cast by the
shooters themselves and the cases reloaded by them. This was the basis of the shooters movement at that
time.

At Nitedals Krudtværk [Nitedals Gunpowder factory], Georg Frølich produced smokeless gunpowder but
bullets had to be imported from abroad, which was expensive for the Norwegian shooters.

In 1894, Norway adopted the Krag Jorgensen rifle in 6.5mm calibre and it became the shooting club’s new
weapon. Then it also became impossible for the shooters to make their own projectiles, which they had
done up until then.

30
Due to the prevailing circumstances surrounding the Shooting Movement in the 1890s, Johan A. Enger
naturally came into the picture, as he was the deputy chairman of the Shooting Board. [[BMF-This was the
shooting organizations “government”, so to speak]].

In the shooting movement, he saw good opportunities to meet the shooters' desire for a good Norwegian
product, while at the same time this should be a good business idea. Johan A. had also been fed up with
the fact that Norwegian shooters were unable to assert themselves internationally because of the poor
German bullets.

Norma's first production

Norma started production modestly, and in rented premises at Grønlandsleiret [a street in Oslo] in 1895.
Later the company moved to Falbesgt. 5. in the city centre.

The purpose was primarily to make good, bullets with jackets for the Krag Jorgensen rifle. This was far from
easy, as Norma lacked both professionals and technical aids. Thus, the operation in the first years became
almost a trial and error production. The premises were cumbersome on the 5th floor, and all materials had
to be hoisted up by hand. The premises were no larger than 8x4 m, and contained, among other things,
four production machines.

There were many disappointments in the early days, but step by step it progressed from the usable,
through the good and to the excellent projectile. The first projectile produced was a short, 5 gram, reduced
charge bullet, designed for short range target shooting and hunting.

Norma started production by making projectiles from jacket blanks purchased from Germany. From there
also came the primers, lead wire was probably purchased from Raufoss in the early years. Raufoss also
delivered 6.5 mm ammunition and early competition arose between Raufoss and Norma on deliveries to
the shooting club’s.

Production problems in the beginning

The biggest customer for projectiles in the first years was L. H. Hagen. But around the turn of the year
1907-08, Norma could also supply loaded cartridges with used cases, and immediately expanded their
customer base.

Norma had no loading machine at first, but used loading trays operated by female workers. The workers
was done were paid per cartridge, not per hour and they worked quickly. Thus, the margins of error were
large, since the gunpowder charges were measured and not weighed. When this was combined with part-
time work, the variations in gunpowder loads could be considerable.

In the early years, Norma also imported German 6.5 mm bullets in large quantities, and initially used so-
called "long full metal jackets" or 10.1 gram projectile. But when the Germans started production of the so-
called D-bullets or "torpedo bullets", Norma also had to import these, and eventually try to produce them
by themselves.

This created great difficulties in the beginning. Karl Wang (see the section on the Wang family) once said
about the problems Norma had in obtaining the D-bullets that: "... me and the others cried and produced
bullets interchangeably." And that was not far from the truth.

In this difficult period just before the turn of the century, it is said that Asmund Senior participated in a
shooting competition in Paris. There, a good friend of Asmund’s got hold of "a handful" of the French's
special bullet - "Balle D“, which he passed on to Asmund. This bullet was surrounded with great military
secrecy. So it was with a good deal of luck that Asmund brought them home to Norway, where he of course
passed them on to Karl Wang. [[(BMF – See Appendix 1-3 for a translation of the article where Asmund
Enger Snr explains how he got hold of the French “balle” D bullets during the Athens Olympics in 1906.]]

31
Inspired by this, Karl Wang managed to make very good bullets once he found out that the secret of high
precision lay in the posterior and conical part of the bullet. He therefore constructed a "component" that,
during the production process, turned the bullet around and pressed the bottom of the bullet against a
fixed tool. This production secret was maintained by Norma until World War II, which gave the Norma
bullets a great advantage for a long period of time.

As mentioned, Norma competed with Raufoss on bullets and cartridges, while Norma at the same time
bought used cases, new cases and gunpowder from Raufoss and at first also lead wire from there. The
collaboration was probably somewhat characterized as a "Love-Hate Relationship" in those years.

Production expands

Immediately after the turn of the century, Norma reached an annual production of 0.5 million bullets. The
projectiles' low price and very good capabilities meant that production multiplied. At this time, exports to
both Sweden and Denmark started and the company was making good money.

After extensive trials, in 1905 two types of lighter bullets were produced; 2 grams and 4 grams (actually
1902 and 1904). These were primarily intended for use in School Shooting, which had been introduced
after a parliamentary decision. It was compulsory for High Schools and voluntary for Primary Schools. The 2
gram bullets were designed for a range of 15-20 metres and the 4 gram bullets for a range of up to 100
metres.

As Norma developed the capabilities of the projectiles, so did the demand increase. Around 1908, Norma
started factory reloading of cases. This was a complex job, which required new tools and many experiments
to achieve the best possible results, which was always the overall goal of Norma.

Magistrates 3rd department, Kristiania.

In connection with the previous
notification regarding the AS Norma
Projektilfabrik, hereby notify that
according to #8 of the laws, the
executive board shall have 8 members,
at present the undersigned Lars
Amundsen Enger, resident of
Roeenkrantzgd. 3, Kristiania, Johan
Enger, Gjøvik, and Ivar Enger, Oscaragd.
76 B., Kristiania. Of these, the co-signed
Ivar Enger was elected chairman of the
board with the right to sign for the
company.
Kristiania the 11th March 1912.
L. A. Enger. Johan Enger. Ivar Enger.
Registered on March 12, 1912.
Kristiania magistrate, 3rd ward,
March 14, 1912. Heiberg
Chr. Lund.

There was not much of a rush at the time. Norma registered its
first board only 18 years after its establishment.

32
 Agreement on
Cartridge Supply.
a. Cartridges with 10.1 gm
bullet ‘Alm. Skarp’ (Standard
live cartridge) cases included
per 100 pcs. Kr. 7.20

b. Cartridges with 4 gm bullet

‘Øvelsespatroner’ (practice
cartridges) cases included per
100 pcs. Kr. 5

c. Cartridges with 0.5 gm

bullets ‘Skolekule’ (School
bullets), cartridge cases
included per 100 pcs. Kr. 5.70

d. Cartridges with 9 gm
bullets ‘D.bullet’ with
Raufoss progressive powder
at 8.20. (Kr.) per 100 pcs

e. Cartridges with 9 gr bullets

‘D.bullet’ with standard
powder at 7.70 (Kr.) per 100
pcs

In 1910, the Shooting Board and Norma entered into an agreement on the sale of ammunition.

[[See Appendix 2-1 for examples of the bullets used in the above 6.5x55 loads and more details]]

The cases had to be flawless and completely clean. Each cartridge had to have the exact amount of
gunpowder. The insertion of the projectile had to be absolutely correct and completely similar from
cartridge to cartridge.

This was possible with precision machines, operated by special workers with "Fingerspitzengefühl"
[Fingertip feeling] - in a double sense. It was also necessary to carry out shooting tests with projectiles and
gunpowder of each delivery before switching to loading larger batches. At this time, Norma entered into an
agreement with the Shooting Board for the supply of finished cartridges (see facsimile of the agreement).

Production increased drastically and in 1912 the company moved the factory from Falbes gate to Løren
where they bought a property of 17.5 acres from Løren Farm. Later, another 4.5 acres were purchased.

There were strong protests from the neighbours, who were mostly farmers, as well as from a gardener
Gabrielsen. Some of the neighbours went to court, because they did not want an ammunition factory as a
neighbour, despite the fact that Norma could and would build safely when acquiring the large property.
The neighbours clearly lost the case.

33
 Facsimile of the trial verdict between Norma and some neighbours. The verdict was in Norma's favour.

Old Norse background: "Leyrin"

The word "Løren" is derived from the Old Norse form “Leyrin” (clay and field), and mentioned in the Middle
Ages around 1250. Just over 100 years later, in 1370, the dean of St. Mary's Church in 0slo gave his relative
Nisse Biørnsson (later a councillor in Oslo) among other things, 2 markebol [[an area of land]] in Løren.

In the following centuries, Løren farm changed owners several times, and in 1792 Lambert Lambertssøn
became the owner of the property. Later, in 1868, Carl Bretteville took over the farm from J. H Schmelck
and S. M. Sars.

Finally, the farmer Ragnvald Holmen took over Løren. He later divided up the property and sold it for
residential and industrial purposes, including to Norma.

In 1912 there were no positions for explosives inspectors in Norway. Therefore, it was the Chief of Police
who gave Norma permission to store 200 kg of smokeless powder and up to 100,000 rounds of
ammunition, which was sufficient for the factory at the time.

The size of the property made it possible to place the buildings in such a way that they were at a prescribed
and safe distance from each other. The Gunpowder houses were buried in the terrain with high earth
mounds around.

[[See Appendix 1-9 for a 1933 article about the Lørenveien factories which were on the Løren property]]

34
1914-1940: Production and factory expansions

Norma moved to Løren in 1912 and built a new factory there, but it was too small and Norma soon had to
expand production. Cartridge deliveries increased rapidly after the relocation in 1912, and in the record
year of 1914 the bullets cost as much as 5 øre. (1 NOK = 100 øre).

But already in 1915 came a sharp setback due to World War 1. However, during the first couple of years of
the war, Raufoss became aware that the production capacity for 6.5 mm ammunition was too small in case
Norway became involved in the war. They approached Norma to get the factory to expand capacity, and a
mobilisation contract was therefore established with Raufoss in November 1917. [[BMF - actually November 1916.]]

Norma purchased an additional 17 acres of land in 1916-17. In total, Norma then had 33 acres at their
disposal and several buildings were erected with space for the manufacture of projectiles, cases, lead wire
and necessary tools. In addition, a loading building, a cartridge warehouse, a large warehouse and two
gunpowder houses were built, each with a storage capacity of 1 ton of gunpowder.

The state was supposed to pay for new case, bullet and lead cutting machines, but it was Ivar E. who was
responsible for purchasing machinery. They were commissioned during World War 1 at the large Danish
machinery company Nielsen and Winther.

Ivar Enger negotiated with the Danes, and since he was a tough bargainer, Nielsen and Winther made him
an offer of a "personal gratuity" if they got the order. Ivar said yes thanks, but immediately told about the
"lubrication" to Raufoss. When the money arrived, the gratuity was consequently deducted from what the
State had to pay for the machines.

The agreement also allowed Norma to use the machines for its own production, which also included the
start-up of case production in times of crisis. This became relevant just before the outbreak of World War
2, when Norma produced approximately 1 million cartridges for Raufoss until 9 April 1940.

The condition for the agreement was that Norma would obtain a contract with the State for the production
of case, bullets and loaded ammunition for several million cartridges.

With the new production machines, capacity increased many times over, to as many as 80,000 cartridges
per day.

But when peace "broke out" in 1918, it went as it usually does with contracts with the State for war
production. The contract for the supply of loaded cartridges was cancelled, and the benefit to Norma was
limited.

New machines

At that time Norma still had no loading machines to load the cartridges mechanically. In 1922, however,
Norma received an offer from Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken [DWM] in Karlsruhe to buy used
loading machines from them, machines that were available in large numbers after the end of the war.

Ivar Enger, accompanied by his 18 year old son Amund, went to look at the machines and ordered 2 large
loaders each for Norma-Oslo and Norma Åmotfors. The machines could load 10 cartridges of each type
simultaneously. In addition, they ordered some smaller, circular loaders, which were suitable for smaller
production runs that Norma often had. Some of these machines found their way to Norma-Nittedal in
1979; among them a bullet weight scale from around 1920.

The Norma factories efforts to produce a top quality cartridge at a low price succeeded and by the end of
the 1920s the Norma cartridges were world class.

35
 As an
ammunition
factory
Norma
had to
report
to the
Ministry of
Defence
about the
war supply.

Work
Product,
Supplies,
Raw
materials.

Records and Norma ammunition

Both Olympic and world records were set with Norma ammunition. Among others, the Swiss J. Hartmann in
Stockholm in 1929 set a world record with a Swedish army rifle and Norma cartridges, with 172 points out
of 200 possible in a standing position.

After the world championship in Stockholm in 1929, Norma received a letter from the Spanish naval
captain Martin Canero: "I am pleased to inform you that during the tests held by the international
competition in this city I have been able to experience the outstanding quality and excellent performance of
the 6.5 mm cartridge, with which I have been awarded the first prize of the competition. You can be assured
that I will be a consumer of your cartridges in the future".

36
In Granada in 1933, the Swede B. Rønmark achieved 381 points out of a possible 400 in the kneeling
position free rifle. Also in shooting on running deer and in double shots, world records were set that were
not beaten until long after the 2nd. World war.

A couple of stories must be mentioned about the precision of the Norma cartridges from the 1920
Olympics in Antwerp.

Back then, using a regular army cartridge with a muzzle velocity of 750 m/s, you had to aim in the air in
front of the deer for the shot to hit the target. Naturally, the shooters' desire was a cartridge with such a
great muzzle velocity that they got the aiming point in the chest of the deer. At the time, it was calculated
that if aiming at the leading edge of the deer, the cartridge had to have a muzzle velocity of about 1000
m/s to hit the target.

Norma succeeded in producing such a cartridge and the Norwegian team won a gold medal in Antwerp.
Halvard Angaard, Norma's sales manager, was team leader for the Norwegian shooters at that time and on
several other occasions. [[BMF - This was Norma’s “deer cartridge”. It had a 5 gram spitzer FMJ projectile.
During tests they achieved velocities as high as 1100 metres per Second. Not bad in a Krag. As a side effect,
Norma discovered that the lightweight high velocity projectiles penetrated the thick steel plates behind
their test targets.]]

9.3x62 mm and other hunting cartridges

Bullets for hunting were first produced from 1907 [[BMF - This is not correct. The first hunting bullet came
in 1896]] and from 1920 hunting cartridges were loaded by Norma. Around 1920, (BMF - more likely 1930)
both Ivar and his son Amund were interested in producing hunting rifle cartridges that could compete with
the expensive German cartridges that dominated the Nordic hunting market at the time.

They contacted a good friend, the Norwegian big game hunter Frantz Rosenberg. He was not only a hunter
of the highest class, but also a recognized authority on most foreign hunting rifle cartridges and the
weapons in which they were used. He immediately agreed with Norma that they should try to produce a
self-produced cartridge for Nordic big game hunting. It had to be a 9.3x62 Soft-Point cartridge, which was
the most widely used in Scandinavia at the time.

But it was difficult to get cases, as Norma-Åmotfors at that time had little experience with case production,
while the price inevitably became relatively high due to small production series.

However, Norma had a good relationship with the "Rheinisch-Westfälische Sprengstoff-fabrik" (RWS), as
Norma bought primers, Cattle Killer gunpowder, some D-bullets (Torpedo) and other components from
them. When Ivar and Amund asked to buy a reasonable number of empty cases in different calibres, RWS
“grumbled”, but their representative in Sweden, the firm Dr. Ing. Herbert Lickfett & Co, intervened in
Karlsruhe, allowing Norma to buy the cases.

RWS was hardly aware that Norma would soon come to dominate the Scandinavian market for hunting
cartridges. RWS, of course, could have reduced their prices, but at the same time they did not want to spoil
the price level in other countries.

In the early 1930s, Norma, with the "help" of the RWS, managed to introduce a self-made 9.3x62 mm
hunting rifle cartridge. It immediately struck a chord with the hunters.

37
A Danish big game hunter, Ivar Sporon-Fiedler, wrote a letter to Norma in April 1934, which was
reproduced as a special print in the N.J. & FF's (Norways hunter &; fisher association) journal the same
year, in which he describes his Africa hunt as follows:

"Honourable Mr. Director

Once home from my Africa Hunting Expedition, I will, as promised, give the Directors an account of the new
Norwegian cartridge, made by "Norma", as I have had so many opportunities to try it on all kinds of African
big game. About the cartridge, I have only Praise: It shoots accurately in the same plane (with the same
sight setting) as the original German 9.3x62 Starkmantel, all cartridges were perfectly uniform.

The expansion was quite ideal and immensely effective, since the killing effect was enormous. For instance
with Zebras, who are exceedingly hard to kill, I always brought the Norma cartridge and the result was
usually astounding.

I give an example: I was going to shoot two Zebras and came across a Herd at 100 metres. The first zebra,
that took a bullet in the middle of the (shoulder) blade, flung all four legs in the air and died immediately.
The flock ran, and in the next shot, which struck Zebra No. 2 in the middle of the blade at full leap, it fell
after 3-4 quick leaps, stone dead. With a bullet from 6.5 Mannlicher-Schönauer I one day hit a Zebra at
exactly the same place on the blade and this Zebra I had to pursue for miles. There you see the difference.

I have also used your cartridge effectively on lions, crocodiles, and all sorts of antelopes, etc. A wounded
rhinoceros, which was sitting on its tail like a pig, I gave a coup de grace of "Norma" on the blade, the great
animal falling the same instant.

I consider your cartridge to be quite an excellent cartridge for all Norwegian big game. Reindeer, elk, deer,
etc., as, in my humble opinion, it is fully equal to the new German cartridges for the same rifle, besides
being considerably cheaper, as I understand it. I have given a couple of boxes on trial to well-known
professional hunters in Kenya.

The outfitters "Safari Land", Nairobi were immensely interested in the result of this cartridge. I would
suggest that you get in touch with them, it will be easy, I think, to sell this new cartridge down there.

It has been a great pleasure to try the cartridge, and I recommend it highly. I am sending the Director a few
bullets showing the expansion, I hope these will be of interest.

Yours sincerely, Ivar Sporon-Fiedler".

[[See Appendix 3-5 for images and descriptions of the deformed bullets in the N.J. & FF's journal article]]

RWS Primers

The primers that Norma bought in the 1920s and '30s posed a problem as they created rust formation in
the barrel. This primarily concerned primers from the SFM (Societe Francaise der Munitions de Chasse).
This was an eternal chore for shooters and gun owners, as the rifle barrels had to be cleaned with boiling
water to remove the hygroscopic ash from the primers.

RWS therefore introduced its first "Rust-free" primer, Sinoxid, for Norma a few years before World War 2.
It was supposed to be perfect for all conditions, but it hadn't been tested at low temperatures.
Coincidentally, Amund got hold of the new Governor of Svalbard and offered him free hunting rifle
cartridges for testing in minus 40 degrees (°C) during the many sleigh rides he conducted.

Quite rightly, shortly after, the Governor reported that extreme cold caused uneven ignition, even hangfire
and direct clicks. This was reported to the RWS, and new primers were sent to the Governor for testing.
This time they worked perfectly. [[See Appendix 2-4 for articles on Norma testing of RWS Rustfree primers.
Also it states this was not the Governor of Svalbard but a hunting expedition to eastern Greenland).]]

38
 NORMAS IRON DISC RACKS

IMPROVED MOD.1927
PATENT No. 47041

MOUNTING BRACKET FOR THE

ARMY'S IRON STAND

INSTRUCTIONS DURING
ASSEMBLY

Norma also had several other

products in production.
Including target racks. Here is
the assembly sketch for the
Army's lifting rack.

Moving Targets

By the 1920s, Norma had developed another precision shooting product: Automatic figure Targets.

Kongsberg Våpenfabrik constructed its own model of these targets, so Norma soon also had a competitive
relationship with Kongsberg, not just with Raufoss. [[BMF –some figure targets are still in use 100 yrs later]]

NORMAS AUTOMATIC
FIGURE TARGETS

(shown in a 1931 Norsk

Skyttertidende (NST)
advertisement)

Norma's automatic figure

targets were a success. They
competed with Kongsberg's self-
referencing targets and proved
to be superior.

[[See Appendix 2-2 for more information and images of Norma Targets from 1913.]]

39
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR
USE

Manual for the

Norma case and
decapping Press.
Norwegian patent.

However, Karl Wang's models were superior to Kongsberg's and they eventually stopped their attempts to
compete with Norma. Karl Wang also designed a self-directing ring target that was a fairly large apparatus
and of which, quite a few were sold in Norway.

A "whole" target was sold to Belgium and in 1922 Ivar and Amund Enger went to Brussels to put the target
into operation. It was set up on a large Belgian shooting range called "Tir National" outside Brussels.
Success was achieved when a commanding general from a lying position at 300 metres, fired only one shot
which was a bullseye. He shot no more!

But the ring targets were too expensive and soon went out of production. The figure targets remained for
many years, until after World War II, when the electronic targets came on the market. In those days, such
an assembly was at the top of the yard at Enger farm. With rifle and ammunition right on the doorstep, it
was just a matter of lying down and practising.

Test shooting and various testing

The test shooting in the old factory building from 1912 was something special in the 1920s and 30s. There
were shutters in all the doors along the building, and it is said that every time there was a test shot in the
40-metre-long building, it was just a matter of opening the shutters, shouting "be careful!", and then shoot.

Later, right after World War 2 Amund, who had graduated as a civil engineer from MIT in 1928, read in an
American trade journal that they were testing softpoint bullets in ordinary jelly. Amund procured a number
of packets of fine gel powder and an old faithful Norma employee. Nils Søbakken, did the testing for
expansion in the "wild game body". However, he was probably a bit too close to the shooting hatches, for
an office lady, "Bobben" Rasmussen, could tell that the good Nils had come rushing into the office, with
"his hair full of blackcurrant jelly!"

In the 1920's ballistic tests were made with different cartridges in a rather ingenious, but effective way. To
check how far the bullets actually travelled in reality. So that theoretical calculations were not just used as
a basis, Ivar and his nephew Asmund used the ice on lake Mjøsa [[Norways largest lake, and just next to the
Enger farm]], where they used binoculars to find out where the bullet hit, and then the distance was
measured. On land, this would have been difficult, at least at the time. The bullets hit the ground at about
1200 m when they were shot at a 0° angle.

40
Ivar and his son Amund used the same method when they tested a special cartridge on the ice at
Landåsvannet (a lake) which hit at about 250 m. This cartridge was called Norma junior, 4.5 grams, a cheap
cartridge and an intermediate between cal. 22 and the usual 6.5 rifle cartridge. [[BMF - actually 3.5
grams]].

However, the cartridge was not a great success, but much later, in May 1940, Amund was summoned into
the German High Command in May 1940 and was accused that he and Norma had violated the Geneva
Convention by producing soft pointed military rifle cartridges! The Germans showed a box of junior
cartridges, and the junior cartridge did indeed have a lead ball with a small capsule of nickel silver in the
rear end to make sure the bullets catch the rifling. The Germans had taken the cartridges from a
Norwegian resistance group, who had used them in the absence of regular cartridges, although they had no
idea what the cartridges were good for.

The wounds after a hit could be quite severe, but the bullet was barely lethal to a human being except at
very short range.

Amund explained the context and described the junior cartridge rather succinctly and in the end the
Germans fortunately gave up the pursuit.

41
Special deliveries

In the mid-1920s Norma obtained a very large "Turkish order" through Raufoss, when Turkey ordered a
quantity of 40 million cartridges from Raufoss, calibre 7.92 mm earmarked for the Turkish army.
Raufoss' production capacity was not large enough to meet the delivery deadline and Raufoss' director,
Colonel Ravnsborg, asked Ivar Enger if Norma would participate in the order, which Norma did. Norma-
Amotfors was also involved in the production.
Turkey sent a 40-member committee headed by a colonel to check the factory and that the strict delivery
conditions were respected. Most of the commission was instated at Raufoss, but some were also sent to Oslo
and Åmotfors. Norma employed a young Norwegian lieutenant to work with the Åmotfors inspectors. It was
very time-consuming and involved a lot of work to keep to the strict technical regulations, but at the same
time gave Norma valuable experience.
Major Andreas Torp at Raufoss was the one who went to Ankara to land the
contract and he was also the contact man between the factories.
Norma made a good profit on its share of the order, also because Norma's
share of the payment was specified in pounds sterling, was sold forward to
secure against a fall in the pound.
Raufoss would have done the same, but it was stopped by the head of the
Ministry of Defence, who did not want to know anything about "speculation
in pounds". The result was that Raufoss lost quite a lot on the order. Major
Torp at Raufoss also had primary contact with Bofors in Sweden, where he
was well respected.
[[See Appendix 1-7 for more about Andreas Torp and his Norma employment]] Major Andreas Torp

At the beginning of the 1930s Bofors constructed its world famous 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. Their success was
so great that the capacity for production of 40 mm gun cases was too small in Sweden. Torp ensured that a
collaboration between Bofors and the Norma factory in Åmotfors was initiated, with an aim view to produce
cannon cases there. This was done and it also led to production in Åmotfors of a number of other
ammunition components for the Bofors artillery.

In the meantime, Torp had become dissatisfied with his position and employment at Raufoss. At that time,
promotion was always a military matter and he ended up working for L. A. Enger & Co in 1937. He thus
brought the Bofors agency for Norway into the firm, and was in charge of it until the war came to Europe in
1939.

The case problem issue

In the 1920s, home reloading increased rapidly in the shooting clubs and sales of new cartridges stagnated.
The consequence was that returned cases were mostly just wrecked, they could not be reloaded and had only
metal value.
The shooting clubs complained a lot about the prices during this time, without the company in turn making
much good money. In addition, the shooting clubs had accumulated an unreasonably long credit through the
regional organisations, often over several years and without interest being calculated on these unpaid debts.
The cases were by far the most expensive component in the cartridge and a few years before World War II,
the Norma factories made almost a stroke of genius by buying up once-fired cases from the Armed Forces.
[[BMF - Which they had actually started to do much earlier]]. Thus, Norma was able to sell top ammunition at a
very low price to Norwegian shooters, which contributed to DFS membership increasing significantly, peaking
at 220,000 shooters.
42
 Norma advertised its hunting cartridges extensively in the 1930s. [[1933 Ad]]

NORMA'S NEW HUNTING CARTRIDGES, Effective Killing Ability, available in the following varieties:

8x57 mod. 88, 8x57 JR 9.3, 8x57 R 360, 8x60, 9,3x 62, 9.3x74 R A/S NORMA PROJEKTILFABRIK OSLO

Prices

Price comparisons of hunting cartridges from 1933 and 1936 show that the Norma factories were far below
the equivalent cartridges produced in Finland. Switzerland, Germany and Denmark. Åmotfors cartridges
were the cheapest with NOK 113, 1,000 pieces, i.e. approx. 11 øre per piece, compared to today [1994]
from NOK 5 (Jaktmatch) to 14 (Nosler). Switzerland was the most expensive with NOK 173 per 1,000 each.
However, the Americans' hunting match cartridge was the cheapest, with a NOK 100 per 1,000 pcs.
However, these did not have any great significance in Europe at that time.

"Near-misses"

One of the gunpowder houses went up in flames in the summer of 1934. The weather was very warm, and
in an air vent near the roof of a gunpowder house, a pair of birds had built nests. The nest self-ignited and
the fire spread to the gunpowder.

The gunpowder stock burned with violent, 40-50 meter flames, but the surrounding ramparts prevented
the spread of the fire. Fortunately, no one was injured. In connection with the fire, an agitated reporter
from the daily press in Oslo called Ivar Enger and wanted more information about "the big explosion". Ivar
had to explain that smokeless gunpowder does not explode, as long as it is not ignited in a small and
enclosed space ("damming" in technical terms}.

43
 FOR THE AUTUMN HUNT!
Our
Big Game Cartridges
Recommended by the most
experienced hunters.
Come in the following varieties
8 x 57 mod. 88
8 x 57 J, R.
8 x 57 R, 360
8 x 60
9.3 x 62
9.3 x 74 R.
Hunting cartridges for cal. 6.5
mm. and cal, 8 mm. K-J. Rifle.

We draw attention to our latest

15 gr 9.3 x 62 cartridge. S. bullet
high velocity and consequently
flat bullet trajectory.
This cartridge is discussed in
more detail in N. J, & F. F.'s
journal, issue 6, 1934.

Advertisement for Norma

Hunting cartridges from July
1936. The range of cartridges
was limited, but met the needs
of Norwegian hunters. [[1935]]

A gunpowder house is therefore constructed of extra light materials, and with particularly light roof
construction. In addition, high earthen ramparts are built around, so that in the event of ignition, the
gunpowder house will very rarely blow up, but rather "unfold" towards the earthen ramparts. The pressure
is not allowed to build up as the gunpowder gases escape easily and straight up, and the damage around a
gunpowder house becomes very limited. This was also the situation when the fire occurred at Norma.

One of the neighbours, incidentally the head of the Fellesslakteriet (Slaughterhouse), had always been
anxious about Norma's gunpowder storage. However, shortly after the fire, he told Ivar that he was no
longer worried. He had seen for himself that the gunpowder house fire had done no harm to the area
around the gunpowder house.

Later, right after World War II, unfortunately, a crate of primers exploded when Richard Wang (see
separate section on the Wang family) opened this. It cost him an eye, but this explosion didn't result in a
fire either, even if the accident was bad enough.

After the fire, production increased steadily, and Norma was forced to apply to store larger quantities of
gunpowder, cartridges and primers. Therefore, an additional 13 acres of property were purchased in 1936,
and the property size eventually reached 52 acres. The new gunpowder house was built in 1939. But by the
time the other buildings had been set up, war came.

44
Special mention: Asmund Enger, senior

Asmund sr is devoted a little extra space, as he was one to continue several of the brothers' businesses
right after the turn of the century, even though he did not participate in the day to day operations.

Asmund sr (Asmund Johansen Enger: 30 Sep 1881 -11 Apr 1966) was born on Enger Farm in 1881, and
accomplished much during a rich and long life until his death in 1966. He was interested in most things;
industry, banking, journalism, forestry and farming - and much more. He started a technical education in
Norway, and furthered his education in Germany and England.

But his work took other directions, and in particular his commitment to shooting was considerable. As the
son of Johan A. (Enger), the first chairman of the Folkebevæbningssamlag (Kristiania County Peoples
Armament union), he received a good and sound training as a marksman and in the Shooting club work.

Asmund sr became the first foreman of the Gjøvik and Brusveen rifle club, and from 1907 he took over the
leadership of the Oppland regional rifle association, a position he held for 15 years. He was himself a
shooter and participated in his first National Shooting match already in 1896 at the age of 15. He achieved
a number of triumphs, including during the 1908 Olympic Games in London.

Asmund sr was also an avid moose hunter, but apparently he didn't always aim as well. For in a small
painting in the main living room at Enger Farm, a gifted village teacher has depicted a situation where
Asmund and his double cousin Amundur Frøisland are pulling a huge moose.

The story goes that one day the two were hunting together when they suddenly came from opposite sides
of the mountain straight into the moose stand. There were two animals there, but neither of them realised
it at the time. They both saw one animal, but it was not the same animal! The cousin shot the cow, which
immediately fell.

At exactly the same moment, Asmund shot the bull and the shots sounded like one. However, it was not
allowed to shoot more than one moose in one property on each day, and thus a problem had arisen. The
cow lay there stone dead, the bull was seriously wounded, but still alive. Good advice was precious but
they had a plan. One of them grabbed the bull by the antlers, the other by the hindquarters. Then they
started pulling and pushing the wounded bull towards the border of the neighbouring property.

But the bull died before they got that far, and the story would hardly have had any aftermath if it hadn't
been for a witness in the forest. The old man went to Gjøvik (Town) market shortly after, and there he
ended up in merry company. Consequently, he began to boast that he knew two men who had lead a full-
grown moose around the woods. The end of the story thus became a solid fine — and a humorous painting
at Enger farm. By the way, the text under the little picture says, "God carry us!"

c1932 45
 The painting from Enger farm after the
unwavering hunt. The text to the picture
says "God Carry us!"

Asmund senior as decorated marksman

Asmund sr took over as editor of the Norwegian Shooting Journal after the death of his father Johan in
1925, a position he held until the outbreak of World War II.

Asmund sr was truly one of the great names in the shooting community and received a number of honours,
including the “Det Frivillige Skyttervesens Fortjenestemedalje” (DFS Medal of Merit) in 1948, a distinction
that has been awarded to few. Prior to this, he was honoured in 1937 with the Knight's Cross of the 1st
Class of the Order of St. Olav for public service. After the war, he was also made a Knight of the Order of
the Wasa for his contribution to the Swedish Rifle Association.

He was chairman of the board of the newspaper Nationen, which his father Johan A. had co-founded. The
Credit Association for Agriculture and Forestry also benefited from his energy and enthusiasm. He
participated in the founding of this association and served on its board from its inception in 1915. He
remained there for 40 years, until 1955, the last 21 years as chairman of the board.

Asmund sr was also chairman of Borregaard's Supervisory Board and other industrial companies.
Moreover, chairman of the Landhypotekforeningen (a land mortgage association). Deputy Chairman of the
Farmers' Union, supplementary director of The Bank of Norway, trade delegate to England and a member
of several commissions after World War II had ended.

Of the industrial enterprises that his three uncles founded [[(his father and two uncles]], he was a board
member of Hunton Bruk [[Sawmill]], of Valdres Skiferbrudd [[Slate Quarry]] and a board member of A/S
Norma Projektilfabrik as early as 1918.

46
He served at Norma for 45 years and as chairman of the board for 16 years, from 1943 when his uncle Ivar
Enger passed away, until 1959. Asmund continued as deputy to the board until 1963. Asmund Sr thus
played a major role in the development of Noma, both directly through his long-standing directorship of
Norma, and positively for the company through his role as one of the driving forces behind the Shooting
Association from the beginning of the century until well after the Second World War.

It is safe to say that Asmund sr achieved and experienced a great deal during his long life. He left his mark
in several areas, not least in the Shooting association, which in turn was the idea on which Norma was
founded.

The Wang family

The Wang family was central to Norma's development and operation. They participated from the very
beginning and continued until 1985.

Karl Wang (1881-1951) worked for Ivar Enger in the match

factory at Raufoss in the 1880s when he was 6 years old. It
is said that when he heard that Norma had been
established, he then walked to Norma in Oslo. There he
met Ivar Enger and asked to be hired, which he was.

Karl Wang had virtually no education, he could hardly

write his own name, but he could read. Most importantly,
he was a mechanical genius who did the Norma factory an
incredible amount of favours in the years he was
employed. It was curious that others in his family, who
hailed from Raufoss, worked in Raufoss Ammunition
Factories. There was, therefore, a "competitive
relationship" between these two branches of the Wang
family. So when they met, the conversations revolved
around Norma and Raufoss and hardly anything else.

Karl Wang was married several times and had many children, including Eugen, Florin, Richard, Ivar, Erling
and several daughters. All the sons worked for Norma, and without the Wang brothers, neither Norma Oslo
nor Norma-Åmotfors would have developed as they did.

Ivar Wang (1919-1992), one of Karl Wang's five sons, was employed at Norma for 52 years, from 1932, only
interrupted by education at NTH (Norways technical university). It was an education that was supported by
Amund Enger and paid for by Norma and was an "investment" that the Norma factories received back ten-
fold.

Ivar Wang retired in 1985 and was in the last years the director of A/S Norma-Nittedal. He was also a
graduate and lectured with regularly at the high school in Stockholm.

Ivar Wang was central to the operation of Norma-Åmotfors and technical director of both operations for a
10-year period from the mid-1950s. Especially at the end of the 1950s, he was very important, as the
Åmotfors factory had major quality problems with US deliveries. Ivar probably saved the company from
bankruptcy by solving the technical and quality problems the factory had.

[[See Appendix 1-5 for a Norsk Skyttertidende article about Karl Wang receiving a Kings Medal award]]

47
 Norma's price list of 20 February
1940 was only relevant for a short
time. Soon after came the war.

World War 2

Just before World War II broke out, Norma Oslo was busy with the production of shooting club ammunition
and the workforce was around 115 people. In addition, Norma had just started on an order for 2 million
rifle bullets cal. 7.65mm for the Finnish state.

On April 9, operations ceased immediately and did not resume for several months. A week after 9 April,
Andreas Torp and Amund Enger were at the company and informed the workers that the business must be
suspended, and that it was uncertain when it would start again.

Because of the large sales just before the war came, customers owned the company large amounts and the
workers had their wages paid for many weeks during the upturn period. Security was then established at
the company.

On 10 May 1940, an order was issued on the surrender of weapons and ammunition. Norma's entire stock
had to be handed over to the Akershus Fortress. Shortly afterwards, Major Torp in Norma-Åmotfors
reported that they needed 2 loading machines, due to the massive increase of production in Åmotfors after
the outbreak of war. Amund tried to get Norma Oslo export licences for 2 machines under the pretext that
they were "filling machines", which seemed much less "dangerous" than loading machines. Then Amund
and Ivar Wang organised the dismantling of the machines and sent them to Åmotfors.

48
When the factory was idle until June 1940, investigations were initiated by the Norwegian Federation of
Industry into the legal position of the factory under occupation according to the Hague Convention. But
little came out of this investigation.

In July 1940, the company applied to the Ministry of Supply to complete the order to Finland. It was
granted and the operation was partially restarted.

Since the production of rifle ammunition was naturally stopped, the company prioritized the production of
bullets for Norma-Åmotfors.

However, Norma Oslo was cut off from supplying Norma-Åmotfors early in 1941, and the company tried to
produce civilian articles instead. Norma managed this to a certain extent, and it produced screw caps for
bottles of bullet jackets, small cable lugs, various radio parts, fuse parts etc.

The Germans take over

In May 1941, the factory, warehouse and stables and several acres of the site were seized by the Germans.
They wanted to use the factory for the repair and maintenance of military weapons and equipment, not for
the production of ammunition.

The Germans consequently wanted to get rid of Norma's production machinery to make room for their
own business. Amund was summoned by the Germans and told that the machines would be removed from
the factory within a short time, and Norma had to find storage space themselves.

Amund tried several times to get a postponement, but was coldly rejected. Eventually he met a young
transport lieutenant who told him that a specially built garage outside Oslo for larger German trucks
became available when they had to be sent to Germany permanently. Norma could make use of this. So
the production machines were moved there, and remained there until the war was over.

In 1942 the Germans seized the rest of Norma's property. The Germans had already drawn up plans for the
use of the property by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht in Berlin, department for occupied territories.
All existing buildings, apart from the old factory building, were demolished. About 20 new buildings were
erected to cover the space requirements. Several of them still stand on the property.

Russian prisoners of war, between 100 and 200 men, were responsible for the construction of the
buildings. There was also built a large emergency water basin and a ring water system in 4-5 metres depth.

The Germans also planned to create a tunnel from Lørenveien to the anti-aircraft and artillery positions
they had established on the Sinsen Plateau, the Torshov and Storo areas and with outlets to, among other
things, Aker Hospital. However, after a few months of work, the work was terminated due to the difficult
ground conditions.

Amund Enger had several negotiations with the German and Norwegian authorities about the seizure and
met several of the Germans who were to lead the factory after requisition, including the commander who
was a Prussian colonel. The colonel told Amund that at the end of the war, private ammunition production
as it had been run would no longer be permitted. Naturally he implied that the Germans would win the
war.

But whoever laughs last, laughs best and Amund Enger felt a certain satisfaction when he, together with
Norwegian officers after the war, went to Norma to take the factory back. Then the same Prussian colonel
ran in front, bowing and scraping as they walked through the factory premises.

49
1945 — 1960

Reconstruction

After the war, it turned out that they were understaffed in the administration of Norma Oslo, since Amund
Enger also spent a lot of time in Norma-Åmotfors together with site manager Torp.

Captain and later Major Tor Sund joined L. A. Enger & Co in the late 1940s. Sund took over with fresh
energy and participated in the work to get the Oslo factory going after the war. It turned out that the
employment of Sund meant a lot to both factories, both for sales and orders, and later in the final
negotiations and sale of the Åmotfors factory. At that time, Sund had many good connections in the
Norwegian Defence Ministry, and he provided Norma with many orders for the Armed Forces, which
Norma would hardly even have known about. Moreover, he took action when the Germans were to buy
ammunition for the English Lee-Enfield rifles in .303 rimmed. These were weapons that were given to the
Germans when they created their Bundeswehr and they completely lacked ammunition.

At the end of the 1950s, a contract was signed with Germany for the supply of 44 million 7.62x51 NATO
cartridges. The contract was signed by Sund and led to an extended cooperation between the two Norma
factories. The order was both large and complex, as the quality requirements were the strictest NATO had
at the time, today [1994] equivalent to AQAP-1, which required, among other things, that the cartridges
could withstand a storage period of at least 20 years.

The order was executed on time and according to the requirements. German inspectors were present at all
times and followed the production with German thoroughness. With this production, Norma obtained the
"Clover Mark", which meant a lot, as the company got the mark before Raufoss.

At the same time, orders for .303 cartridges to Germany were secured for Norma Oslo. In addition, 12.7
mm blank cartridges were produced, as well as drill cartridges, practice hand grenades, etc.

By 1953-54, most of Norma Oslo's "post-war issues" had been eliminated and it was relatively free to
import whatever raw materials and semi-finished products were needed, without currency restrictions
making this difficult.

Norma's sales beyond the 1950s were relatively stable, but statistics from the shooting organisations
showed that total sales were 15.2 million pieces in 1954, but this fell to 12.1 million pieces in 1958.

In terms of price, Norma Oslo was on a par with Raufoss Ammunition Factory, while Svenska Metallverken
undersold Norma. The difference in precision between Norma and the other suppliers to the shooting clubs
was minimal compared to before the war. So most shooters hardly registered noticeable difference
between the various ammunition manufacturers. This, of course, caused considerable price pressure,
which caused prices to remain at the same level for several years despite significant increases in wages,
raw materials and other costs.

The sale of Norma's other consumer goods. Hunting, trapping and slaughter cartridges remained steady
during the period, and price developments were satisfactory.

50
 From A.S Norma Projektilfabrik.
We are assembling our factory after the
occupation but due to the many difficulties,
including lack of materials and raw materials,
this work is taking much longer than we had
expected.
As mentioned in our announcement in Norsk
Skyttertidende No. 11 - 1945, we had
succeeded in getting a batch of D. spitzer
ammunition manufactured in Sweden.
Unfortunately, this batch is running out - the
loaded cartridges have long since been
shipped out- and as we have many uncovered
orders lying around, we regret that we are not
able to take on any new orders, until the
factory, in hopefully not long time, will be back
in production.
As soon as we are able to start receiving
deliveries, this will be announced in Norsk
Skyttertidende - .A.S Norma Projektilfabrik.

Notice to shooting clubs and dealers:

As the recent ammunition orders have
increased enormously, even in comparison
with the increased interest in shooting which
has made itself felt after the war, and as the
factory capacity is thereby fully utilised for the
next 2-3 months, we must inform you that
new orders cannot be taken at present. As
soon as we can accept new orders, we shall
announce this in Norsk Skyttertidende. Oslo.
24 July 1948.
A/ S NORMA PROJECTILFABRIK

Compensation after the war

Since the factory was seized on 28 May 1941, the occupying force accepted that the management could
make valid claims for compensation. Ivar and Amund Enger therefore hired the consulting firm Lund and
Aass to assess the land, buildings and machinery.

The basis was construction costs as of 8 April 1940, less the age and condition of the buildings. On the basis
of the valuation, a claim for compensation was sent. In December 1941, after several rounds of
negotiations, the "Heeres-Unterkunftsverwaltung" (German Army Accommodation Administration)
approved a compensation sum of "the whole" NOK 5,512 per month, or approximately NOK 66,000 per
year, which was paid directly by the Germans. From 1 January 1942, however, the monthly bills were sent
to the Director in Oslo, according to an agreement between the Germans and the Ministry of the Interior.

At the time of liberation, the entire facility that the Germans had built up in Lørenveien 38 was taken over
by the Allies, later by the Ministry of Defence.

In January 1946, Norma regained the old factory building, as well as "generously", 3 acres of surrounding
land, out of originally 52 acres. This was, of course, far too small a plot of land considering the
requirements set by the Explosives Inspection, and the company eventually had to store most of the
gunpowder out of town, including at Hauerseter, about 6 miles away. In addition, the conditions at the
enterprise did not provide an opportunity for expansion, neither for current production nor for possible
start-up of new production.

51
On top of that, the post-war operation was based on temporary operating licences. This was given by the
Explosives Inspector. And due to the development of the Army Weapons Technical Corps (HVK), the
forerunner of the current Army Supply Command (HFK), the management was prepared for many years
after the war that the authorization could be withdrawn. In that case, the entire production had to be
moved - or shut down.

Thus, in the period from liberation until 1957, production was made with a temporary operating licence.

Several inquiries were made to the Ministry of Defence and the Oslo Municipal Settlement Office for
German military facilities with a view to compensation. For a long time, it was unclear whether the armed
forces would take over the facilities or possibly free them. Therefore, the compensation case dragged on.

However, in Dec. 1948, the company's lawyer in the compensation case received a letter from the Ministry
stating:

"Referring to the telephone conversation, a copy of the letter from the Ministry of Defence is enclosed, in
which the Division of Settlements is requested to expropriate Norma's property, Lørenveien 38.

Presumably it would be appropriate to allow the remuneration for the Norwegian seizure of the property
also be determined during the arbitration

I would be glad to receive your possible remarks before the aforementioned, preliminary investigation takes
place."

So "easily" it could be done.

After many meetings and exchanges of letters between Amund Enger, T. Sund, Norma's lawyers and the
authorities over the next 5 years, a final claim was sent on 20 October 1953.

This was divided into 3 sections:

a) Compensation for the occupation period.

b) Compensation for the period from 1 May 1945 until 31 December 1952, i.e. the takeover of the property
by the Ministry.

c) Compensation for the loss of the property.

The company's plan was to reach agreement on the various sections without the use of expropriation or
other judicial discretion, which would be to the company's disadvantage. It would take another 4 years in
1957, before Norma by Amund Enger, Tor Sund, Cato Rachlew, who was Amund's brother-in-law, Lawyer
Grette and the Ministry made an agreement. It was based on the principle of expropriation law to take
over 46 of a total of 52 acres in Lørenveien 38.

52
 There was a shortage of
most things after the war
and there was such a
shortage of cases that
Norma still had to advertise
for cases from shooters.

WITH NO CASES
- NO CARTRIDGES

Take care of the empty cases

and send them back to the
factory as soon as possible.

We ask shooters to be aware

of the following:

The factory cannot accept for

further reloading:

[[See Appendix 2-3 for

a full translation of this
advertisement]]

A discretionary petition was drafted and the discretion unanimously waived on July 15, 1958, more than 13
years after liberation. Norma was awarded NOK 50,000 as compensation for the use of the property after
liberation and until 15 May. July 1958. In addition, Norma received NOK 2.0 million as compensation for
the land transfer.

The discretion was furthermore brought before the Supreme Court by the State, which, however, upheld
the Lower Court's decision. The application of the compensation amount was discussed at several board
meetings and amongst the shareholders themselves. Among other things, Asmund sr wanted to buy
forests. While Amund and Asmund jr initially wanted to use the funds in connection with the possible
relocation of the factory due to "cramped living conditions" in Lørenveien. Alternative relocations were
discussed, including to Eidskog and Magnor, which were not far from Amotfors.

The compensation later came in as equity in 1966/67, when Norma built Lørenveien 36, which was rented
out to the Armed Forces on T. Sund's initiative.

53
1960 to 1965

Norma's deliveries of Sporting rifle ammunition fell from 5.8 million in 1954 to 4.2 million in 1959. Prices in
the same period rose by only 10% on average, and earnings on shooting club ammunition was weak.

However, large deliveries were made to the armed forces, except for military deliveries for export, until
well into the 1960s. This was achieved thanks to L. A. Enger & Co. Therefore, the overall profitability in the
period was somewhat satisfactory, although prices were very low on the military orders.

These orders were taken because the factory needed additional work, as the company was primarily a
producer of civilian ammunition. Later, during the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s. Norma was asked to
supply Cuba, which the company refused.

Since competition on the Norwegian market, especially for rifle ammunition, increased at the end of the
1950s and beyond in the 1960s, the management of the company hired Asmund Enger Jr (son of Asmund
Enger Snr ??) , a civil economist educated in Copenhagen, as a consultant from 1959.

“Watch out, he has Norma in the rifle” The calibre selection increased in the 1950s. Norma advertised actively.

1958 Advertisement

54
Profile change and competitive conditions

Svenska Metallverken established its own sales department in Norway in the early 1960s, and Raufoss
invested heavily in its sales department.

At the same time, Norma experienced some quality problems. In particular, it concerned reloaded cases
and recruit [Junior] cartridges, so that the competitive situation worsened. Norma therefore initiated a
new product profile, with a great effort on new cases, as well as new bullet models. This gave Norma an
improved competitive situation.

At the same time, some problems arose on the hunting side. Not because of the cartridges, but because of
the wholesalers. They demanded some form of sole representation for Norma's hunting cartridges, which
the company eventually had to accommodate.

The company went full steam ahead in the early 60s, due to the military export deliveries and therefore
had to make a good number of shooting club cartridges in Åmotfors for a period of time.

However, this led to sales failure, as the Swedish-made cartridges, which were to be loaded with ballistite
gunpowder, did not have the same velocity as the Norwegian-made ones. The problem was solved as soon
as production was transferred to Norway again. [[BMF - I read in a Norwegian shooters journal from the
50’s that the Norma Oslo cartridges (for Krag) was loaded with Ballistite, but Norma Åmotfors used NC
progressive powder for the same cartridges on the Swedish market.]]

However, German military orders dwindled, and financial results eventually deteriorated so badly that the
board eventually considered closure.

Based on this and the fact that the compensation amount from 1958 had to be used before tax claims were
triggered, Amund Enger and T. Sund prepared an analysis for the board about the company's situation in
1960, and what future production prospects were seen for Norma.

These were:

1) Stop operations and try to sell to Raufoss.

2) Move the fabrication to Åmotfors, and only run warehousing and sales operations in Norway.
3) Convert Norma Oslo into a trading company and rent out the property.
4) Move the bullet production and other production (targets) to Åmotfors and build a smaller loading
factory in the Kongsvinger-Magnor area, thereby managing as much as possible from Åmotfors. The Oslo
property could be rented out, and the sales and business office moved to the loading factory.
5) Purchase Nitedal's shotgun cartridge production and move the loading plant to Nittedal, possibly also
the bullet production to Nittedal and the construction of a new factory there.
6) Form a new company with Raufoss, 50/50 share capital and call the company A/S Rano.
History shows that some of the ideas were realised, albeit in a slightly different form and partly much later,
with the establishment of RANO in 1965, the construction of Lørenveien 36 in 1967 and the move to
Nittedal in 1979.
The administration was therefore given a two-year deadline by the board in 1960 to reverse the negative
trend, including extensive rationalisation measures.
Deficits were turned into surpluses, and a large part of the surplus was used to modernise the old and
eventually dilapidated factory building. In total, the investment was just over NOK 4.0 million, most of
which was financed over operations.
In 1962, Amund Enger stepped down as CEO due to illness and Asmund Enger jr succeeded him.
55
 What the Hunter Says about Norma
Hunting Cartridges:
"I would like to take this opportunity
now after wild reindeer and moose
hunting to compliment the excellent
cartridges of your company. This year
I used NORMA 15 gr, 9.3x62 hollow
points. As far as bullet trajectory, as
well as in terms of effect, this
cartridge satisfies any requirement
for humane hunting of the big game
found in Norway. In particular, I was
(with the last loading) excited about
the very flat bullet trajectory that
makes the cartridge perfectly
suitable for hunting in the mountains
with relatively longer and cleaner
shots and thus allows the means of
simpler fixed sights.

Sincerely KNUT ROM” (signed)

Yes, this pleasant letter dated 15
October 1957 has been sent to us
from Mr. Knut Rom and we are
delighted from time to time, when
we have the high-quality qualities of
the ammunition confirmed from a
competent quarter.
NORMA's modern hunting cartridges
in the various calibres all have the
same good qualities:
a) High velocity with hence the flat
bullet trajectory.
b) Precision.
c) Effective killing ability.
The considerate hunter chooses;
FIRST-CLASS AMMUNITION for his
weapon.
Advertising has varied in form and content over the years. When it was popular in the 1950s to use
people in connection with advertisements, Knut Rom was among Norma's outside "faces".

The establishment of RANO

Although the company made a profit towards the mid-60s, the production of shooting club ammunition
was still unprofitable for both Norma and Raufoss at this time. It might have been appropriate to transfer
the production of Shooting club ammunition to Åmotfors, but the problems in the episode with the
loading, was still feared.

When it came to Norwegian shooters and hunters, they were and still are very quality conscious and the
conclusion was therefore that it had to be better to maintain production in Norway, as close to consumers
as possible, and at the same time adapted to Norwegian conditions. The board therefore decided to enter
into a collaboration with Raufoss to improve the profitability of both with regard to the production of
shooting club ammunition.

The basic idea was a division of production. Raufoss was to produce the cases, while Norma was to buy
mantel material and gunpowder from Raufoss, as long as they were competitive on price and quality.
Norma was to carry out bullet production and loading/reloading.

56
Cartridge overview with technical data and prices from August 1960 - Norma Jaktpatroner Nr61N 1-Aug-1960

A separate RANO sales office was established in 1965, which shared offices with Norma. The office was
headed by Alf Hobbesland from Raufoss and Sales Manager Knut Angaard from Norma.

Knut Angaard joined Norma as early as 1958, when he was employed by the Åmotfors factory. Later he
returned to Norma Oslo and remained here until 1988, after a few years with competitor Schou in the
1970s.

As part of an overall solution, Svenska Metallverken, which took over 50% of the shares in Norma-Åmotfors
the same year, also became involved in RANO through its representative in Norway, Aage Lytomt.

The establishment of RANO was initially a favourable arrangement for the shooting clubs, as Norwegian
quality production was retained. However, there were naturally some reactions against what the shooters
perceived as a monopoly situation. Unfortunately, this coincided with the fact that the ammunition at first
did not meet the usual, good "Norma standard".

The reason was that in the development of a common quality standard, the requirement for performance
was set well in advance. In addition, Norma encountered certain problems using the jacket blanks from
Raufoss. These were new to the company, so that the product quality was very close to the outer limits.

57
At the 1966 national shooting match, there was therefore a discussion about RANO and the quality of the
cartridges. RANO and Asmund Enger were also present at the National Shooters' Meeting in Bergen
precisely to be able to discuss the problems with the Shooters' Board in a separate meeting. Before the
meeting, the then chairman of the Rifle Board addressed Asmund Enger with the following sharp question:

"Will you guarantee that the quality will be as good as before?”

With Ivar Wang as technical director, Asmund Enger knew he could answer - Yes. The chairman thus took
the matter up through the shooting board, but Norma had to discard a large batch of cartridges before it
could start producing bullets that met the shooters' requirements.

Sometime later, RANO took up other suitable products in its product range, and the RANO office thus
developed a not insignificant trade department.

This part was eventually run by Knut Angaard, while Alf Hobbesland, as manager of RANO, took care of the
sale of shooting club ammunition, as well as fireworks sales for Raufoss.

RANO represented the English Eley company via Norma Åmotfors for several years. They had a close
production relationship with Eley. RANO sold, among other things .22 Long rifle cartridges, besides shotgun
cartridges such as Quick Trap for clay pigeon shooting. This gave RANO a dominant position on Norwegian
shooting ranges.

1965-75

Norma's operations up to the mid-1970s were characterised by steady turnover and satisfactory results.
But it soon became clear that more emphasis had to be placed on sales efforts. The pressure on production
increased, as the collaboration with Raufoss through RANO added larger shooting club deliveries to Norma.

As early as 1960, alternative modes of operation for Norma had been considered. e.g. relocation and
several alternatives were analysed and discussed by the board. However, the question remained until
1968/69.

Then the board, after extensive consideration again, agreed to move the factory to Bjørkelangen, which an
extraordinary general meeting in 1969 endorsed, provided that support was received through the District
Development Fund. However, the relocation plans were not implemented, for various reasons.

Therefore, the old alternative from 1960 was resumed, which included joint production of shooting club
ammunition with Raufoss.

Sales of hunting cartridges were based on Norma-Åmotfors as the supplier. After Norma Oslo had entered
into an agreement on particularly favourable prices for hunting cartridges for the Norwegian market.

However, in 1971 the Swedish Board of Directors (Svenska Metallverken) [[BMF - They bought 50% of the
shares in Åmotfors in 1965]] abandoned the agreement and Norma's strong market position in Norway was
gradually weakened due to excessive pricing. At the same time, the Directorate for Game and Freshwater
Fishing demanded that all hunting cartridges for moose, deer and wild reindeer should have a minimum
impact energy of 200 kgm at a distance of 300 metres.

This provision was introduced without Norma being contacted. And it was clear that the Swedish-made
hunting cartridges hardly met this requirement. During a moose hunt, Asmund Enger experienced that the
Swedish Silverblixt cartridge had a large bullet drop at long range. These circumstances led the company to
decide to re-introduce Norwegian-made hunting cartridges, and the idea for the Elite Cartridge took shape.

58
It was to be produced in .30-06, .308 Winchester, 6,5x55 and 8x57 and the cartridge was to be a
reasonable target and hunting cartridge, so that the shooting test [[BMF - hunters have to take a shooting
test every season]] could possibly be carried out with a softpoint bullet without significant additional cost
to the hunters. In order to obtain a favourable price for the cartridge, it was decided to use a jacket which
was used, among other things, by the NATO bullet. The most important thing, however, was that the
ballistic characteristics of the bullet had to be adapted to Norwegian hunting conditions and have
similarities with the previously produced hollow-point bullet.

The idea materialized in 1972 and resulted in a significant production subsidy for the Norma factory.
Somewhat later, the hunting line was expanded with Norwegian-made Norma cartridges with Nosler
bullets. Together with the Swedish special cartridges, Norma gained a very strong market position with
close to 90% market share.

Construction of Lørenveien 36

There had been disagreement about the use of the compensation sum after the war, but after 6-7 years in
a bank account at a poor interest rate, the construction of Lørenveien 36 was started. Initially, there were
two "civilian" companies that would like to rent the new building together.

Throughout the 1960s, however, it became clear that the Army Weapons Technical Corps (HVK), later the
Army Supply Command (HFK), needed more space for administration. Tor Sund was given the responsibility
of getting a lease. With his connections in the Armed Forces, he managed after long negotiations and
reached an agreement where Norma would build an administration building on the extra 3 acres the
company got back in 1957. Sund was also the 'construction manager'.

Due to regulation plans for the area, it was not allowed to erect a fully finished office building. It had to go
for a warehouse and then HFK could furnish the offices themselves. This was of course advantageous for
Norma. Firstly, they did not have to borrow so much, and secondly, after the first lease period, which was
20 years, until 1987, the profits from the interior would accrue to Norma.

The compensation amount for the cession of 46 acres of land and the return thereof was put into the
construction of Lørenveien 36. The building cost a total of approximately NOK 6.5 million, of which
approximately NOK 2.0 million was the compensation sum, was invested as equity.

.59
Norma Åmotfors AB 1902-1994

1902-1940

The Norwegian Norma bullets had not been on the market for long before the Swedes became very
interested in them for their own shooting movement. It was the secretary of the Swedish Rifle Association,
"Riksapotheker" [[BMF - State pharmacist]] Wahlquist, who encouraged the brothers to establish their own
business in Sweden.

There was already bullet production in Sweden, one was recently started by Svenska Metallverken.
Another company, Brødema Rothmann (Rothmann brothers) in Örebro, had also been around for a number
of years. Thus, it was not a virgin market that the brothers had to start working.

The task of establishing the company fell to Ivar Enger, who with an open mind got on the train to the
brother-land in the east. The year was 1902. He got off at the first station across the border,
Charlottenberg and looked around for suitable locations. He didn't find any, so he took the train further to
a place that is today known among shooters and hunters across large parts of the globe; Åmotfors.

Ivar rented space on a farm to install the machinery needed to start production. He was a person of
authority and ran both Norma factories with a firm hand. One day when Ivar was out in the factory, he
discovered an elderly "farmer-like" guy who was glaring at some machines. Ivar asked him rather brusquely
what the guy was doing there and he replied in a quiet way that he was "just looking at the machines".

With this reply, Ivar became very angry and threw the man out the door. Later it turned out that the farmer
was the local judge who had taken some time off to inspect the municipality's new factory, which was also
his duty. When Ivar heard about this, he was very sorry for his actions, but the judge replied with a twinkle
in his eye: "It's all right, I knew straight away that I had hit the cartridge himself".

Ivar initially employed a Norwegian called Gustav Hoff, as well as a Swedish girl for "handy" work.

During the mobilization in 1905, Hoff was called home to serve in the armed forces. His detachment was
stationed at the railway line between Oslo and Stockholm, on the Norwegian side of the border. One day,
word came from Åmotfors that difficulties had arisen in the operation and that Hoff's presence was
desired. Hoff applied for and was granted 3 days' leave.

Despite the political situation, the train ran as before and Hoff boarded it in full Norwegian uniform. He
crossed the border into hostile territory and got off at Åmotfors. There he cleaned up the mess, and
returned to his unit on the Norwegian side of the border.

It's not good to know what Hoff thought about the situation. But one thing is certain; he was loyal to the
fatherland on one side and to the company on the other. After the dissolution of the union in 1905 Hoff
became a Swedish citizen, and shortly afterwards head of the company. He stayed in this position for 37
years.

In 1939, before the war came to Norway, Major Andreas Torp therefore moved and remained in Åmotfors
throughout the war.

Although Norma-Åmotfors was in business early in the century, it was not until 1918 that Norma-Åmotfors
was registered as a limited liability company. [[WBD - Norma Projektilfabrik AB, Åmotfors and retained this
name until being taken over by FFV in 1979]]

60
World War 2

Before the war, the factory was of modest size and mainly produced 6.5 mm rifle cartridges for the
Swedish shooting clubs, as well as some hunting cartridges and 9 mm pistol cartridges for military use. In
addition, a limited number of canon cases were produced for Bofors.

In 1940 came the demand of the Swedish state to expand the enterprise into a full war production
enterprise. Otherwise, the company would be expropriated.

This was undoubtedly a difficult choice, for one knew that once the war would end, the company would
find itself in a very difficult situation with extensive restructuring and reduction from military to civilian
production.

Under duress they therefore chose to bow to the demands of the Swedish state, and the number of
employees increased from 80 to about 800 in the course of a year. Production departments were set up
wherever they could be found and with machines supplied by the Swedish state. In connection with the
large production of military ammunition, Norma-Åmotfors had to give up its production secrets to the
competitor Svenska Metallverken.

It was particularly in bullet production that Norma had a big lead over its competitors. These production
secrets thus became known to all and adopted by other factories.

Ivar Enger died in 1943 and his son. Amund Enger, took over the management of both factories.

1945-1965: Conversion to peacetime

When the war ended, the factory in Åmotfors was at overcapacity and it was difficult to avoid major
cutbacks, just what Ivar and Amund had been afraid of?

Major Andreas Torp, who was the local leader in Åmotfors at the end of the war and production manager
Jonsson, one of the legendary Swedish workshop geniuses, both had problems implementing the necessary
cuts that had to be made in the first years after the war. Jonsson therefore retired and Torp more or less
quit voluntarily and moved back to Oslo. Torps son, Carl Edvard, took over his father's position in the
company.

However, the Swedish Ministry of Defence was unhappy with Carl Torp as technical manager of the factory
in Åmotfors. They called Amund to Stockholm and demanded that he do something immediately. Carl Torp
had to resign, and Amund was strictly told not to tell Torp or anyone else that it was the Defence
Department that was behind the resignation.

The production equipment in the factory was badly worn after the shift working of the war and the
financial capacity was very weak for new investments. The machines and equipment were also primarily
suited for the production of military ammunition. The factory therefore produced mainly 6.5 mm
ammunition in the first years after the war, and mostly for military purposes in Sweden. At the same time it
started a fairly large production of 9 mm ammunition for pistols and small automatic weapons.

Somewhat later, at the beginning of the 1950s, the Åmotfors factory also received some "help" from the
Korean War with relatively large military deliveries.

61`
But over time, the military deliveries were greatly reduced and the management had the choice between
reducing operations further or trying to start increased civilian production, not least aimed at the export
market. The only possibility after the war was the USA, where there was great interest in all kinds of
shooting, with the many liberated army rifles that Americans had taken home with them when the war
ended.

Amund therefore spent a lot of time in the USA in the first

years after the war, but realized that it was difficult to build
up a significant export market there, while he was in reality
responsible for both Norma companies.

Nils Kvale from Oslo was therefore employed c.1950 in Norma

Oslo in the first instance and was a very good help in the
export work and in other contexts, especially for Norma
Åmotfors. Kvale later moved to Åmotfors and became ballistic
chief in 1952.

[[See Appendix 1-6 for more information about Nils Kvale and
his contribution to Norma]]

Norma's goal was approx. 3% market share of rifle ammunition for hunting in the USA, which was
significant in relation to Norma's total production in Åmotfors. The USA was, then as now, by far the
world's largest market for hunting rifle ammunition. At best, Norma actually managed to take a 7-8%
market share in the USA, and exports included 36 countries at most.

Cases and case control

With the military calibre change after the war, there was an end to once-fired cases and the shelf stock
again became more depleted. [[BMF - Here the author mainly talks about 6,5x55 cartridges for shooting
clubs. The Norwegian army switched to 30-06, but Sweden retained the 6,5x55]]. For both factories, the
need for an in-depth check of used cases therefore increased, and a non-destructive check of them was put
in place. A collaboration was started with the Røntgencentralen (X-ray Centre) in Stockholm and Ivar Wang
calculated a suitable radiation source (isotope) for the purpose.

This facility was used for approx. 2 years. They then switched to a separate X-ray facility. The sole supplier
of the X-ray system went bankrupt after a while and there were major problems with deliveries of spare
parts, so that the factories, especially in Oslo, received a good number of complaints due to lack of
continuity in the X-ray control of the cases.

Svenska Metallverken was in the same situation and wanted to gain a market advantage by patenting a
case control system in Denmark. This was discovered by Norma and led to a patent court case in
Copenhagen. The case was conducted by Tandberg's patent agency together with Ivar Wang, and the
verdict was in Norma's favour.

But despite meticulous case inspection, the shooting clubs were not satisfied. In the 1950s, clear signals
came from them that it was preferable to use new cases in competitions, and that they no longer dared to
use the reloaded cartridges. Svenska Metallverken managed with its greater resources to find very good
methods for case inspection, and to some extent took the "inside track" on Norma. But Norma's
management suspected, and perhaps with some justification, that the competitor often used new cases
instead of used ones.

62
The Economic situation

In 1953 came a marked turning point for the factory in Åmotfors, when the profits deteriorated
considerably. A control committee was therefore set up, which consisted of Cato Rachlew, Ivar Ryder and
Asmund Enger jr to assess the accounts and the factory's overall position.

The conclusion was bleak, and after another 2 years of large losses, Amund Enger was asked by the owners
in early 1956 to take over formal responsibility for Norma Åmotfors. The first task he was given was to
clarify whether the company had any future at all. The factory was very dilapidated and not suitable for
civilian production. Furthermore, the self-financing ability was very low.

Turnover had dropped significantly and in 1956 stood at SEK 13-14 million. In addition, it turned out that
there were a number of internal problems in the factory and the efficiency of central departments was
greatly reduced due to lack of materials and conflicts of expertise between the technical management and
the foremen. However, Amund Enger eventually managed to improve this to a considerable extent.

In the autumn of 1956, Amund engaged Asmund jr to review accounts and the accounting system in
Åmotfors. Asmund jr incidentally became the family's last active shooter, and it all started with the
previously mentioned automatic steel target in the yard at Enger farm. Already at the age of 14, he shook
his father Asmund sr by beating him in the 1000 m. [[BMF - Long range shooting was popular in Norway.
Norma advertised their bullets as ideal for long range shooting already in the 1890’s]].

Asmund sr gradually made sure to introduce his son to both the Norwegian and the Swedish Shooting
Clubs. Asmund jr became heavily involved in the shooting cause, also with regard to the beneficial effect
for Norma. His grandfather, Johan and his father, had both received the "Det Norske Skyttervesens
Gullmedalje" [[Norwegian Rifle Association's Gold Medal]] and to his great surprise Asmund jr received the
corresponding Swedish one in 1965, presented by Prince Bertil.

Asmund Enger jr took over responsibility for the finance department and its reorganization after some time
and he did extensive analytical work to clarify the company's future possibilities. The conclusion of the
analysis in the first instance was essentially to build up an efficient administration, especially on the sales
side. Responsible for sales was Nils Kvale, who was employed in 1952, but until then as the company's
ballistics manager.

The main conclusion was that the company, both structurally and mechanically, was in a very poor
condition, and the quality of the products had dropped dramatically. Around 1957, the Åmotfors factory
received a wave of complaint cases on deliveries to the USA, something that kept on taking a toll on the
factory.

Ivar Wang was therefore also appointed technical director at Åmotfors and after significant improvements
to the ammunition components, confidence in the market was restored. Ivar Wang continued as technical
director in both factories from 1958 to 1968.

In addition to the quality problems, the results were very poor and so was the financial viability. As a
consequence, the supply of operating credit was severely limited and the company had severe cash flow
problems at times.

On the other hand, the analysis showed that the company's location was almost optimal, with good access
to loyal and skilled labour. Moreover, despite quality problems at the time, the company had considerable
technical know-how and large reserves in inventories etc. Therefore, a strategic plan was drawn up by
Asmund Enger jr in 1957, which essentially involved reorganizing the entire company and increasing sales,
especially on the export side, with the aim of making Norma more attractive. A more long-term goal was to
try a merger with Svenska Metallverken, which in the long term was the only way to survive.

63
Not least, this was the only viable path due to limited or no access to capital from the family to either run
or develop such a large business as Norma Åmotfors at the time.

Before the war, Norma had about 80% of the Swedish market, in the latter half of the 50s, about 40%. In
Denmark, Svenska Metallverken became dominant at the expense of Dansk Ammunitionsfabrik and in
Norway they sold over 1 million cartridges in one year in the late 50s. At the same time, Raufoss was
making strong progress.

Against this background, Asmund jr initiated a measure in 1958 that many were sceptical about. Norma
setup all case manufacturing departments to run only 6.5mm cartridges with a silver case and then replace
the worn-out case fleet with new cases.

Svenska Metallverken immediately lost a large part of the market, especially in Denmark, and there was no
lack of reaction. There was a very tense meeting in Copenhagen between Asmund Jr., Fritz Larsen and a
very angry SM boss. Svenska Metallverken threatened sanctions, but was told that Norma would then stop
the relatively large purchases they were making from them. The result was that Norma gained significant
market share, also on the hunting side.

Credit and financing situation

Operating loans were then based on trust, and Norma's future was therefore entirely in the hands of the
Enskilda Bank in Stockholm. At the time, Norma's reputation in financial circles was rather poor.

Asmund Enger jr's conclusion in his analysis that Norma Åmotfors had a severe lack of working capital led
to Asmund Enger jr going to the Enskilda Bank in Stockholm around 1957, in his capacity as "bank director".
Enskilda was at that time "notorious" for its tough credit policy towards ordinary customers. But if you got
into the "A team", called "Stable Wallenberg", you got the support you needed.

Asmund sr managed to get an introduction to Wallenberg, so that Åmotfors got the much needed
overdraft. The company thus got a vital respite in its restructuring. But it didn't last long. Norma's trust
remained so low that at one point the company was denied participation in the usual pension scheme
between the Swedish Confederation of Labour and the Employers' Confederation.

In the course of a very long and hard meeting between Asmund Enger jr and the head of the Swedish
Pension Institute, it was possible to restore some of the trust.

It is told in this context that at the end of the negotiations the head of the institute suddenly asked Asmund
Enger jr who was the chairman of the board. When Asmund Enger jr answered that it was Sten
Leijonhovud, the reaction was surprising: "I know him, he would never associate his name with any
enterprise that was questionable. You can count on the matter being in order."

The new Åmotfors factory in 1917 after fire. The new Norma 1967/1968 Åmotfors factory.
64
The final confirmation that trust had been restored came when Enskilda Bank sent one of its key people,
Rolv Herlitz, to Åmotfors for a critical review of the company. After a number of negotiations and meetings,
the credit problems were finally resolved, and trust in financial circles was thus no longer a hindrance to
the company's development.

During this visit a rather funny episode occurred in the middle of all the seriousness, when Herlitz and
Asmund jr walked across the courtyard and met a truck driver in normal work clothes. Asmund jr remarked,
"You know him, don't you?" But the reply from a startled Herlitz was: "No, should I?" "Sure, it was the tight
and uniformed driver who picked you up in Arvika in our Ford Edsel," replied Asmund jr "By the way, we
bought it cheaply for 3,000 kroner; 2nd hand”.

Thus the last vestige of doubt had disappeared. Hertilz could do nothing but smile and Norma was once
again in "Stable Wallenberg". Incidentally, it was Ivar Ryder who delivered the car and who at the time was
sales director for Ford Sweden.

The board for Åmotfors then consisted of Sten Leijonhovud, as chairman, as well as Ivar Ryder and Asmund
Enger jr.

Towards 1960, the company became increasingly competitive again. During the implementation of the
improvement programme, which was part of the strategic plan from 1957, the company was run on a daily
basis by a troika, consisting of Ivar Wang, technical director Norma Oslo, Nils Kvale, as well as a former top
shooter; Major Zachrisson. These were experts in their respective areas, and as an inevitable consequence
of this, the collaboration between them was far from smooth, so Amund and Asmund jr often had to
mediate between the strong personalities.

Norma’s cartridge and bullet program

At most, the company produced approximately 45 different cartridges, and more than 150 different
bullets. Sales on the export markets rose significantly, not least due to Nils Kvale.

For several years in the 1950s and 60s, Norma had delivered approx. 2 million cartridges annually of 7.65
mm pistol cartridges for the Swedish police. One year, Norma’s local representative, B. Liljenquist in
Stockholm called and angrily told them that the order that year had gone to Hirtenberg in Vienna at a
lower price.

Norma. i.e. Asmund jr, called the export director at Hirtenberg and complained because they had agreed
not to interfere with each other. The director knew nothing about this. He reacted strongly and confirmed
to Asmund jr that the cartridges were not going to be delivered. When none of the deliveries were made,
Norma's representative in Stockholm was summoned to the office of the police's purchasing manager and
got the hump. Liljenquist, however, was the adult of the situation, and said truthfully: "I don't know
anything about this. But if it's true, then I stand up, take off my hat, bow and say: Well done, Norma!"

The purchasing manager was taken aback at first, but then burst out laughing. The ice was broken and the
matter was settled for Norma.

65
 Norma worked hard to enter the American market and succeeded. Here an American catalog from 1952-53.

Norma's Magnum cartridges

Something must also be mentioned about Norma's more special magnum hunting cartridges, which came
out in the 1950s.

It started with the 7x61 Sharpe & Hart cartridge. Philip Sharpe visited Åmotfors in 1954, after Amund Enger
had contacted him in the USA two years earlier. After some discussion, Åmotfors and Sharpe agreed to use
a redesigned .375 H&H Magnum instead of the 1907 French case, which had been the starting point for
Sharpe's development of the cartridge.

The cartridge was first loaded with 10.4g bullet and with 945 m/s of muzzle velocity. But a few years later,
and with increased case thickness, as with the other magnum cartridges, the output velocity could be
increased to 960 m/s. It became a very popular cartridge for hunting and game species where shooting
distances could be extra long.

66
Before Nils Kvale came to Norma in 1952, he had developed a cartridge which he called "The Poor Man's
Magnum". In the USA, the cartridge was called "8 mm Kvale".

However, this was a so-called "wildcat" and was never factory-produced in the USA.

In 1959 Norma launched its .358 Norma Magnum, again based on the .375 H&H case shortened to a length
that worked in standard length actions. This cartridge was a "Kvales 8 mm" opened to take a .35 bullet. It
was loaded with a 16.2 g bullet and had an exit velocity of 853 m/s.

In the USA, a similar cartridge had existed as a "wildcat" since 1939 under the designation .35 Ackley
Magnum.

Norma produced the cartridge until 1982 [[WBD - Discontinued from 1980-1988]]. It was an excellent
cartridge for big game hunting, and many hunters regretted at the time that it was withdrawn from the
programme. Now, however, the cartridge is back in production [[WBD - Still listed loaded by Norma in 2021
but as cases only in 2023]]. A third Magnum cartridge that was specially developed around 1959-60, and
which still exists, is the .308 Norma Magnum. The choice of a .30 cartridge was no accident. This was the
most popular calibre in the US, and it was a simple matter to shrink the neck of a .358 to a .30 calibre.

The result was a superb long-range cartridge. Norma therefore sent out information on how rifles in .30-06
could be converted to .308 Norma Magnum.

Kvale had good contacts with the loading tool manufacturers [[BMF - Norma had the RCBS agency in
Scandinavia back then]], and they were persuaded to produce loading tools for the new cartridges. Norma
sent out extensive loading data, also with American powder, and all this had a very good advertising effect.
It paid off in sales: after only a few years, production volume was up to 400,000 .308 Norma Magnum
cartridges annually.

A curiosity

Winchester bought .308 Norma Magnum in tens of thousands and Kvale therefore tried to get Winchester
to produce the Winchester brand cartridge. Winchester was offered technical support free of charge. For
Norma this would have meant many more guns on the market, and thus good opportunities to increase the
sales volume of the cartridge.

Winchester, however, did not accept. They wanted their own .300 Magnum instead, and it came on the
market shortly after. But Norma had seized the optimal case dimensions and Winchester therefore came
out "second best" in the opinion of many.

Weatherby cartridges

Norma-Åmotfors secured production of the Weatherby cartridges not long after World War II and these
are still an important part of Norma’s-Åmotfors' production.

It is said that the late Roy Weatherby used to visit Åmotfors once a year. He unexpectedly called from
Fornebu (Airport) to Amund or Norma in Oslo and said something like this: "I'm here, take me to
Åmotfors!"

Once Weatherby miscalculated badly. He came to Oslo at Easter and no one answered even though he
called repeatedly. A few hours later, Weatherby sat on the plane back to the United States, and wisely of
injury never returned to Norway on an Easter trip!

67
Sale of Norma-Åmotfors

Amund Enger resigned as director of Norma Oslo in 1962 due to illness. In the same year, Per Gundhus, an
economist, was appointed manager of Åmotfors. However, he was quickly replaced, and Asmund jr took
over as head of Norma-Åmotfors in the autumn of 1962. Norma managed to conquer a large part of the
hunting market in the period 1960-65, and the turnover increased considerably.

The turnover figures were reversed in the same years, at about 80% civilian and 20% military ammunition.
In the first years after the Second World War, the ratios were the opposite. SM also tried to conquer a part
of Norma’s hunting cartridge market in Sweden with a bullet identical to "Norma's moose bullet 1959" and
SM's competitor went under the name "Banana-split". This was a regular failure.

Since then, the Svenska Metallverken’s ammunition division was in steady decline and became more and
more unprofitable. It also made them more interested in starting negotiations with Norma-Åmotfors about
a possible merger.

After long and difficult negotiations from 1962, in which the whole board, Sten Leijonhovud, Ivar Ryder and
Asmund Enger jr participated, it all ended with a full merger in 1965. Svenska Metallverken took over half
of the shares in Norma Åmotfors, in return for a cash payment to the Norwegian shareholders.

At the same time Norma took over part of SM's machinery and production, as well as part of the
workforce. Gränges Group later acquired Svenska Metallverken, and thus 50% of the shares in Norma-
Åmotfors.

There were of course some transitional problems, and Asmund Enger jr therefore continued as daily
manager of Norma-Åmotfors for 2 years after the merger, until 1967, when SM's purchasing manager Bror
Garonius became general manager.

The cooperation between the boards of Norma-Åmotfors and Svenska Metallverken did not work very well
during these years and the main reason for this was that Garonius wanted to get rid of the American
market, which had been well developed over many years.

B. Garonius "managed" to do this and the result was very negative for Norma Åmotfors, so that talented
collaborators like Ivar Wang and Nils Kvale withdrew from the collaboration. In addition, from 1965-67
there was heavy investment in a state-of-the-art factory in Åmotfors, financed among other things, with so-
called AMS funds, equivalent to the Norwegian DU (Distriktenes Utbyggingsfond - District Development
Fund).

The funds, over NOK 3 million, had to be approved by the government. Through intensive lobbying through
the government's chancellor, Asmund jr managed to obtain the funds.

The company emerged as Europe's most modern ammunition factory. The expansion, which was led by Ivar
Wang, was of course well included in the later negotiations with Hasselfors concerning the price of the
remaining 50%.

From c1965 the financial situation deteriorated again but thanks to the cooperation with Svenska
Metallverken, Norma received long-term credits on the raw material side, while the company received
large guarantees for loans up to NOK 5 million, which was a very large amount at that time.

In addition, the Bank refused to provide further support without simultaneously expanding the share
capital. The Norwegian owners saw no opportunity for this.

68
With a new factory and greatly increased turnover towards 1970, the situation looked quite bright. But
already in 1970, new crises arose which led to a significant deficit. The problem thus accentuated itself
again, namely the company's newly weakened financial situation.

With the Norwegian owners' lack of both will and possibility to participate in an increased share capital, the
only feasible way was to get rid of the remaining 50%, which was also part of the original strategic plan.

Thus in negotiations with the Swedish state in 1970, the shareholders demanded SEK 7 million but in the
end the counteroffer was only SEK 5 million. However, the state's negotiators backed down on this
counter-offer, as they considered the company's future prospects to be very weak.

Around 1971, a significant framework agreement was signed with Remington which could strengthen
Norma-Åmotfors but the agreement was rejected by the Swedish government. At the same time, the
company again received large government orders, which improved liquidity in the short term due to large
advance payments. It was known that these would disappear, and in addition the export market failed, so
the situation would almost certainly become precarious again for Norma-Åmotfors.

Gränges Group, who had also to take over guarantee responsibility for the aforementioned SEK 5 million,
eventually regarded Norma-Åmotfors as a strong financial burden, which they wanted to get rid of.

The general manager, Bror Garonius, left the company for various reasons in the early 70's in favour of
Hasselfors Bruk. Fortunately, it turned out that this company, which was part of the Gränges Group/Bejer-
Invest, had a number of share portfolios that they wanted to relocate.

So the long-established negotiating committee, Asmund Enger jr, Ivar Ryder and Tor Sund, reacted. In
1975, after long and hard negotiations, a good sale price was achieved for the remaining 50% of the shares,
and with this the problems were solved for the Norwegian shareholders. As part of the terms of the sales
contract, Norma Oslo secured the exclusive right to use the Norma name in Norway forever. At the same
time, Norma-Åmotfors received the corresponding exclusive rights to the Norma name in all other
countries.

1975-1994

In 1979, Norma-Åmotfors was sold to FFV (Förenade Fabriks Verken). The collaboration between
FFV/Norma Åmotfors and Norma Oslo worked perfectly.

Due to (more or less) political decisions within FFV and increasingly poor results, the business in Åmotfors
was scaled back throughout the 80s. A change of leadership in Norma-Åmotfors came as a consequence of
this in 1986, with the aim of reversing the negative trend. The new General Manager, Tage Sødergren,
managed to improve profitability in Åmotfors during 1986-88, by, among other things, reducing the
workforce from about 300 to about 200 employees.

Had this not happened, Norma-Åmotfors would have been shut down and production transferred to state-
owned Vannesverken in the 2nd half of the 80s, a company that mainly produces military ammunition. This
would hardly have been particularly beneficial for Norma Oslo. As the precision requirement for small-
calibre ammunition in a military factory does not correspond to the requirements of a civilian factory.

In 1991, the Åmotfors factory was sold 100% to Dynamit Nobel and a new general manager, Lars Lavén,
was appointed.

69
One of the factory's largest customers today is Norma Oslo, with more than 10% of Åmotfors' production.
This is expected to increase to 13-14% by 1995-96, due to Norma Oslo's re-entry into the Norwegian
shooting club market from 1 July 1994. [[BMF - When RANO was split up, Norma Oslo had a five year
“quarantine” on the Norwegian shooting club market, according to the deal with Raufoss. Norma Oslo
stopped all ammo production in 1989, but have since 1994 had their brands of ammo made by Norma
Åmotfors, so you can still buy Norma Oslo shooting club ammo]]. In other words, Norma Oslo will be even
more crucial for Norma-Åmotfors' existence. Also, because the competition for Norma-Åmotfors, both in
the domestic and export markets, both in shooting club ammunition and hunting, is greatly increasing.
Finnish Lapua is currently on the warpath and poses a powerful threat to Norma-Åmotfors, especially in
Sweden and Norway.

“norma - your best hunting companion!” - Cover of 1993 Norma Precision AB English small catalog

70
Dansk Ammunitionsfabrik AS 1911-1980
Dansk Ammunitionsfabrik was established in Otterup in 1911 by Norma Oslo, and it was the gunsmith
Schultz and the editor of "Dansk skyttertidende" (the Danish shooters journal), engineer Gerløw who
teamed up with Norma Oslo to start the factory.

Niels Larsen, who worked in the ammunition factory, married Schultze's daughter, and later became the
manager of the factory. Eventually, the “Schultz & Larsen” rifle factory (S&L) was established as a separate
company. Niels Larsen became the manager of both factories and was a real businessman, with a nose for
tracking down and buying up cheap rifling and loading machines. It eventually became S&L that fronted the
market for both factories.

The ammunitions factory was of a modest size, and the 8 - 10 employees were usually occupied with
reloading cartridges with components from Oslo and Åmotfors. [[BMF - Also once fired brass from the
Danish army. They used an ‘O’ on the case head as a reload mark]]. Later the factory started production of
shotgun shells with components from RWS and other European suppliers.

The ammunition factory made a good profit and financed the development of S&L to become a renowned
international supplier of competition guns. Schultz & Larsen rifle barrels and the so called "free rifles" and
also pistols, became world famous and much sought after.

Since then it was in particular the S&L mod. 57, 65 and 68 hunting rifles that were popular and with the
Norma magnum cartridges were marketed as the "Norma rifle".

The ammunition factory was sold in 1960 to the Larsen family and closed in 1980.

Norwegian and Swedish shooters have continued to use S&L barrels in their match rifles but the production
stopped in 1994. S&L are now exclusively a retailer.

[[Wikipedia - In 1994 S&L was acquired by Jørgen Nielsen, and the production plants split between
Otterup and Rask Mølle near Horsens. Currently the company is owned by Morten Krogh ((and still
produces rifles etc)).]]

From left - Amund Enger, Phil Sharp and Niels Larsen. Norwegian newspaper ad from 1927
Cafe’ Bristol Copenhagen 1950’s for S&L’s model 1926 match rifle

71
A/S Norma Projektilfabrik 1976-1984
Trade

Internationally, the industry was, then as now, dominated by large companies that produced a much wider
range than the traditional Norma range. In addition to rifle cartridges, there were revolver and pistol
cartridges, shotgun cartridges and .22 cartridges. The two very large companies; Winchester and
Remington, also produced hunting rifles and shotguns, as well as various hunting equipment.

The sales strategy of these companies was to offer a complete range, with very flexible discounting
depending on the total order size. Faced with such a strategy, Norma could offer little, with a programme
consisting only of rifle cartridges.

The company had to expect the major manufacturers to also cast their eyes on Norway, which even on an
international scale was a relatively interesting market for hunting and shooting equipment. It was therefore
decided to take up a selection of other products that could complement their own hunting cartridges. Thus,
the industry could be offered a package solution that was at least as good as the equivalent from the large
foreign companies.

Remington

Norma at this time had some sales for Remington, but it was channelled through Åmotfors. The business
found this unsatisfactory, because Norma Oslo therefore did not have the necessary management
opportunity over marketing.

Winchester was already working on its own Scandinavian office in Sweden and in 1977 Winchester
established its own company in Oslo. Winchester at the time had a reputation as the industry's "enfant
terrible" and had set itself the goal of conquering the European market. The company entered country
after country with extensive marketing, aimed at gaining large market shares with low prices and high
discounts.

Asmund Enger therefore contacted Åmotfors and Remington's new European agent to discuss the
situation. However, Remington's export manager and the European agent travelled to Åmotfors and
terminated Åmotfors' representation of Remington in Norway. Naturally, the administration in Åmotfors
reacted strongly to this. Especially when Norma Oslo was offered the Remington agency directly, as a
counter-move to limit Winchester's sales in Norway.

Gebrüder Merkel and the Suhl agencies

On behalf of Asmund Enger, Knut Angaard drew up an overview of which agencies, in addition to
Remington, would give Norma the best possible impact. This overview included Suhler Jagdwaffen,
Gebrüder Merkel (Merkel Brothers), Miroku Weapons (Japan) and Walther's pistols and miniature
weapons.

Egil With, who at the time had the agencies for Gebrüder Merkel and Walther, was contacted and Norma
eventually reached an agreement with Egil With to take over the agencies. Sometime later, through skilful
manoeuvring by Egil With, Asmund Enger and Ivar Ryder, Norma managed to acquire the entire Suhl
agency.

72
Browning and the Miroku Agency

Shortly after this, when the management learned that UN Browning had become Miroku's representative
in Europe, Norma sent Knut Angaard to Belgium. He came home not only with the Miroku agency, but also
with the agency for Browning.

Changed sales schedule

But the problems were not solved by taking over these important agencies. Norma traditionally sold
through 8 large ammunition wholesalers who would surely perceive the takeover of the new agencies as a
threat and Norma did not want war with them. After many long and sometimes difficult meetings with
each wholesaler, a collaborative model was found that the wholesalers more or less half-heartedly agreed
to.

Through annual sales meetings, Norma eventually managed to create a relationship of trust and
cooperation between itself and the wholesalers. The period 1978-80 was set aside as a trial period and
through intensive marketing with Norma's attractive and expanded product range, very good sales results
were achieved during this period.

However; Sooner or later, the model would disintegrate, because with wholesalers between Norma and
the retailers, it was clearly a step too many. Before Norma could establish a form of sales that went directly
to the retailers, the company had to build up its own sales force to replace the wholesalers.

Changed organization

In addition, a new internal organization had to be built around a new IBM computer facility to handle the
sharp increase in the amount of data due to the sales expansion. New employees were hired during this
period. Among other things, business economist Per Victor Nordan, educated in Geneva, as head of
economics and manager of EDP (EDB = Elektronisk Data Behandling = Electronic Data Processing = EDP) as
well as Reidar Østby, who came from the competitor Schou.

Through further trimming of the organization, Norma was ready with a completely new sales plan. It was
presented in a 2-day meeting at Røros on 3 Jan 1983 and with over 100 dealers present.

The scheme was initially well received, but it was nevertheless a hard task for the sales department to
convince some groups that the program was good for the individual dealer.

During 1984, the scheme was trimmed and the restructuring of Norma's trading activities resulted in
Norma alongside Schou, becoming the market leader in Norway.

73
Board and company changes

As early as 1981-82, the board discussed separating Norma's trading activities, including RANO, into a
separate company. Per Victor Nordan was commissioned to investigate this in more detail, not least the tax
implications. The establishment of a separate property company was also investigated. However, due to
significant changes in the administration and the board in 1983, neither the reports nor the plans were
followed up.

In 1983, Asmund Enger resigned as CEO and was succeeded by Reidar Østby. In addition, Per Victor Nordan
quit as CFO in the same year but joined the board without hesitation. Until 1984, the board consisted of
Tor Sund, chairman since 1977, and Asmund Enger, Ivar Ryder and Ragnar Lundquist. In 1984, Tor Sund had
to retire because of illness, Ivar Ryder moved abroad and Asmund Enger had resigned as director but
fortunately continued as a board member until the spring of 1985.

The situation was therefore relatively dramatic and marked by little continuity from 1983/84 in the
governance or management. This relationship, together with great turbulence in the market, meant that
Norma entered a new phase from 1985. The company had to reorganize, not just once, but several times in
the coming years.

FULL COVERAGE: NORMA ELITE, NORMA NOSLER, NORMA RÅDYR (ROEDEER)

74
Norma-Nittedal

Shortly after Asmund Enger took over as CEO in 1962, he contacted DYNO Industries to discuss the
possibility of a collaboration between Norma as a rifle cartridge manufacturer and DYNO as a shotgun
cartridge manufacturer in Nittedal. This was initially rejected by DYNO and Norma instead opted for ELEY
shotgun cartridges.

However, many years later, in 1977, an accident occurred in DYNO's facility in Nittedal, where 2 people
died. Then DYNO returned to Norma and showed interest in renting out the facility to Norma, which suited
Norma well due to space and location problems in Lørenveien 38. After some negotiations, a lease
agreement was signed with DYNO and a new loading department was also built. At the same time, Norma
was to take over the rights to the production of DYNO's shotgun cartridges, against an annual royalty for
the first 10 years after the takeover.

In 1979, A/S Norma-Nittedal was founded as a wholly owned subsidiary of A/S Norma Projektilfabrik and
with a share capital of NOK 400,000. lvar Wang was naturally hired as general manager.

The first years were characterised by the relocation and start-up, so that the company accumulated a
deficit that was larger than the share capital. The administration headed by Asmund jnr. and Ivar Wang,
therefore initiated a significant rationalization and reduced staffing by approximately 20%. In addition,
efficient production planning was introduced, which was carefully coordinated with the sales department
in Oslo. Due to increased competition, a major effort was needed to renew the increasingly old machinery.
Investments were made in a loading machine, a bullet press, a case milling machine and a primer setting
machine. With these investments, in the order of NOK 5 million Due to increased competition, a major
effort was needed to renew the increasingly aging machinery.

Towards 1984/85, Norma-Nittedal sought to improve its profitability, in addition to rebuilding its share
capital.

75
Property management and development: Lørenveien 36

The building at Lørenveien 36 was leased to the Army's Supply Command in 1967, initially as a warehouse.
The agreement was signed for a 20-year period; 1967-87 and based on the market rent for warehouse
buildings in 1967. The agreement contained certain clauses for possible regulation of the rent beyond
adjustment according to the Stormbull building index of the time. Until 1985, the operating profit for this
rental business was relatively modest, and there was a relatively weak return on the invested capital.

However, the value of the building increased every year, as the Armed Forces themselves took care of
furnishing the building for offices, a value which soon exceeded the construction costs and which would
accrue to the company upon vacating. All in all, therefore, the operation of Lørenveien 36 until 1985
produced usable earnings. The increase in value taken as a whole and the investment, had to be
considered satisfactory.

Lørenveien 38

When Norma moved production to Nittedal, Lørenveien was partially rebuilt and rented out to various
tenants. The rental price for renting this building should in principle more or less correspond to the rent
you had to pay in Nittedal.

This was fine in the early years, but eventually the lease with DYNO developed to Norma's disadvantage
financially, due to certain clauses in the agreement. The rental income in Lørenveien 38 gradually did not
keep pace with the development of rental costs in Nittedal, so that a "deficit" arose.

It must nevertheless be noted that the rental business in Lørenveien 38 in itself produced a certain profit
throughout the 80s but not sufficient to compensate for the increasing rental costs in Nittedal.

Lørenveien 38

76
Trade—Production—Property 1985-1994
Trade and production

Since a lot happened and was decisive for Norma in the years 1985 to 1990-91, this period is described
somewhat more comprehensively than other 5- to 10-year periods in the company's history.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the company underwent major changes in the board and
management in the years 1983-85, which is elaborated on in what follows.

The new general manager, Reidar Østby, who succeeded Asmund Enger in 1983, was given into his lap, an
extensive area of responsibility. This happened at the same time that the old working committee,
consisting of Asmund Enger, Ivar Ryder and Tor Sund, was dissolved and in addition the company's finance
manager Per Victor Nordan quit in 1983. The company was thus largely stripped of key employees and
respective board members.

In order to ensure sufficient continuity on the board from the family's side, luckily Asmund Enger continued
as a board member until mid-1985 and Per Victor Nordan also joined the board from 1983.

Since then, Per Victor Nordan has sat on Norma's board and for a long period on the other boards. He has
always been, and still is, a highly used resource person for many companies, not least with his very
extensive experience from the Norwegian and foreign financial world.

Although Tor Sund stepped down as chairman of the board in 1983, he continued to be a resource person,
especially in connection with Nittedal and the Raufoss problem towards the end of the 1980s.

In addition, Ragnar Lundquist, a civil engineer from Zurich and married to Tiril Alice, daughter of Amund
Enger, joined the company as working chairman of the board from the spring of 1985. He had also been a
member of Norma's board since 1977 and in 1985/86 he was given special responsibility for managing and
developing the company's properties, including its owned properties.

On the hunting side, sales in 1985/86 were satisfactory, but the competition was increasing sharply. With
large financial costs, which had burdened the company for a number of years, the excellent results were
therefore not achieved.

On the shooting club side, RANO experienced increasing pressure from Lapua through the representatives
of Skyttersport (shootingsport, a gun/ammo shop/ company) and Landrø (another company - Magne
Landrø was a top shooter, and former manager at Bakelittfabrikken). Since RANO had made a positive
contribution to the business for years, this was clearly worrying for Norma.

Norma-Nittedal also showed weak results, due to excess capacity and eventually unreasonably high
material costs from Raufoss. In addition, Ivar Wang, who was head of Nittedal, fell ill in 1985. This gave
further cause for concern. Because of Ivar Wang's illness, operations manager Åge Henriksen took over
positions as general manager of Norma-Nittedal in 1986.

During 1986 and 1987, the Norma and Norma-Nittedal boards discussed how to handle the problems and
challenges that lay ahead in the next few years. At the same time, the Norma board and key executives
discussed how best to protect the value of the assets.

77
In 1986, A/S Norma Projektilfabrik and the old building were separated into a separate and new limited
company. As a curiosity it can be mentioned that since A/S Lørenveien 36 became the separating company,
Norma as the separated company and according to the Company Register, was only founded on 3 June
1986 [[WBD - according to NORMA AS 941695515 - Norway Business Directory (nor47business.com) it was
3rd July 1986]].

In the same year, it was decided to strengthen the finance function, by reappointing a finance manager,
namely Morten Eliassen, who took over as general manager in 1988. Throughout 1987-88, it was clear that
trading operations were much heavier than before, largely due to the restructuring in 1982-83 from 8
larger wholesalers to 200-300 retailers, several of whom gradually became competitors.

In addition, the total hunting market shrank, not least for weapons, partly because the hunting exam was
introduced in 1986. The tendency intensified further towards 1990, when, on top of it all, a purchase
permit was also introduced for shotguns. [[BMF - until October 1990, you could buy a shotgun with no
permit. You just needed to be 18 (16 if your parents signed). After October 1990, you needed a licence from
the police to buy any gun]].

During 1987, price pressure intensified further for Norma and Norma-Nittedal, primarily in the shooting
club business and mainly due to Lapua/Hagemo (Hagemo - another gunsmith/shop/importer), which had
set out to "crush" RANO and some market share was lost.

For Nittedal, in addition, the royalty agreement with DYNO for the production and sale of shotgun
cartridges, as well as the tenancy agreement with the same company, gradually became rather
burdensome.

As mentioned, prices from Raufoss for cartridges, gunpowder etc, became very unfavourable compared to
other suppliers. All of this led to Norma-Nittedal and Norma, as a distributor of Nitedal's products, having a
very weak year in 1987 and the future did not look bright at all for any of the companies. As a result, the
difficult process of downsizing was required, initially at Norma-Nittedal, both through dismissals and
furloughs and in addition, operating costs in both companies were severely tightened.

The chairman of Nittedal until 1986 was Gunnar Giljarhus, also chairman of Raufoss AS, and former CEO of
the same company. He added a lot of expertise and knowledge to Nittedal, not least as a very keen
shooting club member.

However, in order to rationalize the work of the board in Norma/Norma-Nittedal during the difficult period
Nittedal was in. he proposed to resign as chairman. He thus handed over the post to Ragnar Lundquist but
Giljarhus fortunately remained on the board as a resource person for a further 1½ years.

Then came the shock in early 1988, when a Brazilian shooting club cartridge, Odin, was introduced to the
Norwegian market by Våpensmia at Dokka. [[BMF -Våpensmias brand, then loaded by CBC, now as soft
points by Norma precision see: https://www.vapensmia.no/vaapen-ammo/rifle-ammunisjon/jakt/odin-
65x55-jakt-blyspiss-93g-825m/s ]]. It was significantly lower in price and after an intense meeting in RANO,
it was agreed to meet Odin's prices for the 1988 season. However, this led to the last nail in the coffin
being hammered in for Nittedal, as Norma/Norma-Nittedal naturally didn’t have the same financial muscle
as Raufoss to face such a massive price reduction over time.

78
Raufoss takes over

During the autumn of 1988, Raufoss and Norma, represented by Ragnar Lundquist, Åge Henriksen and
Morten Eliassen, finally agreed on a deal, after long and sometimes difficult negotiations. Raufoss was thus
to take over all Norma-Nittedal's production equipment for rifle ammunition mid-89. For this, Raufoss was
to pay a certain amount, which included that the shareholders in Nittedal received back their contributed
share capital.

With this agreement, Norma had to enter into a waiting period of 5 years until 1. July 1994, whereby the
company, neither directly nor indirectly, was to produce or sell ammunition to the shooting club market.
The sale to Raufoss was a very fortunate solution, both for Norma and for its shareholders, and all debt in
Norma-Nittedal was therefore paid at the time of the takeover. If this hadn't been achieved, the parent
company, ie. Norma, would have had to pay a guarantee to the Bergen Bank at the time, if Nittedal had
gone bust. This guarantee was a condition Norma had to agree to when establishing A/S Norma-Nittedal
and moving production from Lørenveien in 1979.

An era ends

From the autumn of 1988 until 1. July 1989, Nittedal achieved a fantastic output, so that all the hunting and
shooting club requirements for the 1989 season were produced in the space of 6-7 months. Through an
extensive bonus scheme for all employees, under the leadership of Åge Henriksen, virtually all employees
were retained until the end, despite the fact that they knew they would be out of work after 1. July 1989.

Production of hunting ammunition was moved to Norma Åmotfors the same year, but deliveries did not
start until 1990. Production of shotgun cartridges continued in Nittedal, as it still does. [[1994]]

With this, a production era in Norway ended for Norma, which had started 95 years earlier. A somewhat
sad but probably inevitable ending due to everything that happened on the shooting market at an
accelerating pace from 1985/86 until 1989. But after all, with a happy outcome for the parent company
and shareholders.

The general downturn in the Norwegian economy from 1988 had a strong impact on people's desire to buy
and Norma's sales stagnated, particularly in the area of weapons but also for other reasons, such as
requirements for hunter exams and purchase permits on shotguns.

Within a few years, imports of hunting weapons were more than halved and Norma was particularly hard
hit due to the price trend of Suhl and Merkel weapons after the "wall" fell in 1990, with galloping inflation
in the former GDR. In 1988, Suhl weapons accounted for about 25% of total sales, while in 1991 the share
had fallen to below 10% and in 1994 practically to zero. The general decline in arms sales, especially for
Norma, meant that Norma's future product range and sales plan had to be reconsidered.

The conclusion was that Norma, among other things, had to invest more in hunting equipment, while this
also provided a better contribution.

79
Jaktpartner AS (Hunting partner - a company)

In order to adapt the organization to the changing — and deteriorating — market conditions, an internal
reorganization was therefore undertaken in 1987. Reidar Østby continued as general manager but the
responsibility for marketing was placed on Knut Angaard. He had worked several years in RANO, but was
brought into Norma earlier in the 80s.

In 1989, a new subsidiary, Jaktpartner A/S, was established, which was to be a wholesale company for the
Remington agency, which is Norma's oldest agency.

With this move, Norma wanted to find out if sales could be increased by running one or more agencies in
their own profit centre, which it did not, it later turned out. Another measure that was initiated to ensure
increased sales and profitability was to realize an old idea with its own stores.

As a major competitor, Skyttersport (Lapua etc.), which was also a major Norma customer, wanted to sell
its wholesale business in 1990. Norma saw the opportunity to take over some interesting agencies to
compensate for, among other things, The Suhl agency which was in the process of being dismantled. Thus,
the wholesale company Jaktpartner A/S was converted into a retail company as of 1 January 1991 with 3
stores, respectively in Trondheim. Elverum and Oslo, the last one in the old Norma building.

The economic downturn after 1988 also meant that the industry was hit by frequent and large
bankruptcies. However Norma was hit by some heavy losses, including the Intersport bankruptcy in 1990
[[BMF - a chain of sports stores, still in business, but probably with new owners]], which of course had a
double effect, as the company had also invested in its own hunting shops. Skyttersport also went bankrupt
but with the takeover of the "entries" to Skyttersport at the end of 1990, just before the bankruptcy,
Norma avoided a major loss in this connection. In the course of 1992-94, after a very turbulent period that
started at the end of the 1980s, the trend was finally reversed. In this anniversary year, Norma is once
again on the offensive.

Property management of A/S Lørenveien 36

As mentioned, Norma parted ways with the defunct company, A/S Lørenveien 36, in 1986. From 1967, the
company had a 20-year lease with the Armed Forces, which expired at the end of 1987. However, the
chairman of the board, who is responsible for property management, renegotiated the agreement 2 years
earlier, so that the rent was more in-line with market rent. In 1985, this was significantly higher than the
actual rent the company had with the Armed Forces, even after the rental market tightened from 1981/82.
A/S Lørenveien 36 was thus compensated to some extent, with a significantly higher rent in the last couple
of years before the agreement expired.

80
Possible sale of A/S Lørenveien 36

At the end of 1986, the Supervisory Board recommended that the board chairman, Ragnar Lundquist, was
to find and initiate negotiations with a possible buyer of A/S Lørenveien 36.

A potential buyer, Realia, which was listed on the stock exchange at the time, was eventually found, and
the sale was to take place primarily as a directed issue to A/S Lørenveien 36, i.e. settlement in the form of
Realia shares.

However, after some meetings, the chairman of the board became somewhat sceptical of Realia, and
recommended to the board and supervisory board that one should stay with Lørenveien 36, as well as to
invest in the development of Sinsenveien.

Realia was somewhat later added to the Investa group and most people know which a mess Investa got
into 1½ to 2 years ago. [[From 1994]] Compared to the assets that are currently in A/S Lørenveien 36, it is
easy to see that Realia shares today would have been an exceptionally bad deal for the family.

Lease agreement with the Norwegian Armed Forces

At the end of 1987, the lease agreement with the Armed Forces was extended by 10 years. The rent was
satisfactory and operations since then have been characterised by stability and satisfactory profits

Possible development of Sinsenveien

In 1986, the company acquired Sinsenveien 35, in addition to 37 and 39, which had been acquired a few
years earlier. With this, A/S Lørenveien 36 had a potential for expansion of approx. 6000 sq.m but the
project became much more difficult to realise after the stock market crash in 1987 and the property
market collapsed completely shortly afterwards.

However, the intended new building was almost realized in 1990, when the Norwegian Armed Forces
Telecom and Data Service (FTD) wanted to gather its activities in Sinsenveien and it was the closest
neighbour to the Army Supply Command, tenant in Lørenveien 36. The contract was fully negotiated in late
autumn 1990 with only signature and champagne missing. However, due to Gorbachev's "Perestroika" and
hence the fall of the "Wall" in 1990, FTD's relocation plans were shelved just before Christmas of that year.

The company submitted 2-3 offers for larger buildings in 1990 to -93, but potential tenants, who were
initially interested, were negative about the location, i.e. lack of proximity to the metro station.

But at the end of 1993, a listed company emerged that wanted a tailor-made building of approx. 6500 sqm
in the Sinsen to Bryn area, and the project is still being processed. The matter has so far not been settled
and the competitive situation is tough, although there are few providers.

81
Normagården A/S

The old building had to accompany Norma when it was sold in 1986. Bergen Bank demanded this at the
time, since a large part of their involvement in Norma was linked to the properties from the past. In 1988,
however, the bank accepted the possibility of separating the old building into a separate company, which
was named Normagården A/S (The Norma Building A/S).

The operation of Normagården A/S has been stable since 1988, but since the building is old, considerable
maintenance is required annually, so the results have not been good enough since.

With the establishment of Normagården A/S, a solution had finally been found where the value of the
property has been divided into separate companies where the "price" was that of the original Norma after
1979 but was split up into 4 companies. One for trade (Norma as parent company), one for production and
two for property.

82
Future prospects
It is difficult to predict, especially about the future but you can dare to say something about it, from the
point of view you have in the summer of 1994. In any case, the anniversary year is the best year in a long
time, in terms of results for all the companies. They will provide reassuring profits in 1994 (considering
Norma as a group, i.e. excluding the real estate companies).

Trade/production

Following a long-term plan that was submitted in early 1992 until 1996, it now appears that Norma as a
group, including Jaktpartner and Norma-Nittedal, is on the right track.

From 1 July 1994, Norma is also back on track in a double sense, in that after 5 years of working in relation
to Raufoss AS, the company is once again investing in the shooting club market. This was precisely the
origin of the three brothers' idea of a projectile factory and it is therefore highly appropriate that Norma
should again be involved with the Shooting clubs in the jubilee year.

The re-entry was also marked strongly at the National Shooting Conference in Sandnes, together with
Norma-Åmotfors, with whom Norma Oslo now has a very close and good working relationship.

For the next 2 to 3 years, Norma, as a group, should therefore be able to provide satisfactory earnings,
since all measures have now been implemented that were planned from 1992 to -96. i.e. 1 to 2 years
earlier than expected. In addition, Norma has received "help" like others in the industry, in that the desire
to buy is now greater than it has been for several years and the interest rate has dropped to a pleasant
level.

Properties

A/S Lørenveien 36 is highly dependent on the lease agreement with the Armed Forces and there is
currently speculation that the Armed Forces will move the company's tenant HFC or other agencies to
Kolsås. In any case, this will not happen until 2 to 2.5 years at the earliest and the decision will be made
well in advance, so that A/S Lørenveien 36 will have reasonably ample time to think about it. Until 1997,
the company will thus provide stable operations and good results.

As for the construction project in Sinsenveien, this is as of June-94 still on the agenda and any construction
could start at the end of 1994. If this goes through, A/S Lørenveien 36 will increase its building stock
significantly during 1996 and will thus be able to provide an even more solid foundation for the family's
interests for many years to come. In the project, more time is working for the company to some extent,
since the traffic problems with Sinsenkrysset will be solved by October of this year. [[1994]] In addition,
there may be a ring railway between Grorud and Kolsåsbanen with a station at Sinsen school.

In the case of Normagården A/S, this company will for the foreseeable future not provide much more than
balance in its operations, for reasons mentioned earlier. In the long term, the company will probably be
able to be included in A/S Lørenveien 36.

83
Conclusion
When one takes an overview of some of the assets that the extended family possesses today, one cannot
help but be impressed by the brothers' foresight and resourcefulness before and after the turn of the
century. Their descendants have since managed and passed on the heritage through several generations in
an excellent way, so that the earnings and returns from the various forest and mountain properties,
commercial properties, trading and other enterprises, are today very considerable.

As has been said earlier about the 3 brothers, they have left lasting legacies for the good of the family but
also for the good of others. These include Hunton Bruk and the Samhold newspaper at Gjøvik, and
indirectly also Raufoss and the Voluntary Shooting Association, Norma in Oslo and Åmotfors and others,
which today provide work directly and indirectly for a great many people.

The brothers were indeed among the foremost pioneers of the time, and the family will certainly, for many
generations to come, benefit from their initiative and "entrepreneurial spirit" and we should think of them
with reverence and respect.

Finally, if Reier Øver Skiak and his ancestors back in the 1300s to 1500s were indeed the "forefathers" of
the Enger’s family, then it all becomes even more exciting to think about for the extended family today, in
light of the many centuries that have passed since that time.

84
The boards of the jubilee year consist of the following members:

A/S Norma Projektilfabrik: Wenche Lill Bach, Per Victor Nordan, Ragnar Z. Lundquist (chairman)

Jaktpartner A/S: Per Victor Nordan, Morten Eliassen, Ragnar Z. Lundquist (chairman)

A/S Norma-Nittedal: Morten Eliassen, Ragnar Z. Lundquist (chairman)

Normagården AIS: Wenche Lill Bach, Kim J. Enger, Ragnar Z. Lundquist (chairman) *)

AIS Lørenveien 36: Wenche Lill Bach, Haagen Oust, Jacob Nordan, Ragnar Z. Lundquist (chairman) *)

*) Per Victor Nordan has the right and duty to meet on these boards.

85

Overview of the board, general manager, etc. since 1895

Year Board Chairman Members of the Board General Manager

1895-1911 Lars A. Enger Johan Enger, Ivar Enger L.A. Enger & Co (Ivar Enger)
1912-1917 Ivar Enger Johan Enger, Lars A. Enger L.A. Enger & Co (Ivar Enger)
1918-1924 Ivar Enger Johan Enger, Asmund Enger snr L.A. Enger & Co (Ivar Enger)
1925-1943 Ivar Enger Asmund Enger snr, Amund Enger L.A. Enger & Co (Ivar Enger)
1944-1946 Asmund Enger snr Amund Enger, Sverre Ryder-Larsen L.A. Enger & Co (Amund Enger)
1947-1949 Asmund Enger snr Amund Enger, Sverre Ryder-Larsen, L.A. Enger & Co (Amund Enger)
Cato Rachlew
1950-1959 Asmund Enger snr Amund Enger, Sverre Ryder-Larsen, L.A. Enger & Co (Amund Enger)
Cato Rachlew
1960-1961 Asmund Enger jnr Amund J. Enger, Anne Marie Resen, Amund Enger
Lillemor Rachlew
1962-1963 Sten Leijonhovud Amund J. Enger, Anne Marie Resen, Asmund Enger jnr
Lillemor Rachlew

86

Year Board Chairman Members of the Board General Manager (CEO)

1964-1975 Sten Leijonhovud Amund Johan Enger, Ivar Ryder, Asmund Enger jnr
Tor Sund
1976-1977 Sten Leijonhovud Amund Johan Enger, Ivar Ryder, Asmund Enger jnr
Tor Sund, Ragnar Lundquist
1978-1983 Tor Sund Asmund Enger jnr, Ivar Ryder, Asmund Enger jnr
Ragnar Lundquist
1984 Ragnar Lundquist Asmund Enger jnr, Tor Sund, Reidar Østby
Per Victor Nordan, Guttorm Berge
1985 Ragnar Lundquist Asmund Enger jnr, Reidar Østby
Per Victor Nordan, Guttorm Berge
1986-94 Ragnar Lundquist Wenche Lill Bach, Reidar Østby
Per Victor Nordan, Morten Eliassen (fra 1988)

87