It is with profound sadness, and with deep gratitude, that we share the news of the passing of our owner, Haakon Ameln. He was 90 years old. With him, Norwegian industry has lost one of its great builders – and many people have lost a leader, colleague, and friend whose impact reached far beyond the businesses he built.
Haakon's father was one of Protan's co-founders, and the legacy ran in the family. But Haakon did not simply inherit – he built with his own hands, his own choices, and an unwavering belief in the people around him. He joined Protan in 1965 as head of its plastics operations, the beginning of a connection that would span 58 years. In 1975, he took on the role of Managing Director, and under his leadership Protan grew from a Norwegian industrial company in Drammen into a group of international reach.
Perhaps the boldest chapter of Haakon's story began in 1990. After Norsk Hydro had acquired Protan in the 1980s, Haakon led a historic management buyout, returning the company to independent ownership. It required a rare combination of courage, determination, and belief in the future. He led Protan until 2001, and remained actively engaged as Chairman and board member for more than two decades thereafter. Across his 58 active years, he created industrial history as the driving force behind three separate billion-kroner businesses rooted in Protan – Pronova, Firesafe, and Protan itself. He also served for many years as Chairman of the Norwegian Building Products Industry Association, shaping the broader industry, not just his own company. In April of this year, Haakon celebrated his 90th birthday – surrounded by family and the people he held dear.
Throughout the journey, his wife Sabine stood by his side – a steadfast partner through a long life devoted to both family and industry.
But what perhaps defined Haakon most was not the numbers or the titles. It was who he was as a person. He had little interest in hierarchies. He met everyone with genuine curiosity and warmth – whether an apprentice on the factory floor or a fellow executive in the boardroom. He listened more than he spoke. He remembered people and their stories. And he had a rare ability to make people feel truly seen.
Haakon is survived by his wife Sabine and their three children – Morten, Elisabeth, and Sabine – who today own Protan through the family holding company Moelsa. They say themselves that they grew up as four siblings. Protan was the fourth. Perhaps the one that received the most attention. That says everything about what this company meant to him, and what he meant to it.
Protan today is an international group with close to 800 employees and revenues exceeding 2.3 billion kroner – a testament to everything Haakon built. But his most lasting legacy is not just a company. It is the people he inspired, and the values that live on in everything we do.
We honour the memory of Haakon Ameln with deep respect and gratitude.
The Protan family
