On Monday, September 14, Protan welcomed a visit from Sylvi Listhaug, leader of Norway's Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, Frp), together with members of parliament Bengt Rune Strifeldt and Morgan Langfeldt. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the different conditions Norwegian and foreign owners of Norwegian companies face — among them the fact that the wealth tax in practice only applies to Norwegian owners, while a foreign owner of the same company would not pay this tax. The visit also gave us the opportunity to showcase the company and share our thoughts on what this means for Norwegian, family-owned industry in practice.
Protan is 87 years old and Norwegian family-owned. The company is today run by the third generation of the Ameln family, with a fourth generation on its way into the business. For CEO Thomas Mørch and owners Morten, Sabine and Elisabeth Ameln, it was important to show what long-term Norwegian ownership actually means in practice — and to share some of the challenges that come with running and developing an industrial company in Norwegian hands, when competitors don't face the same tax conditions.
From left: Bengt Rune Strifeldt, Morgan Langfeldt, Sabine Ameln, Sylvi Listhaug, Thomas Mørch and Morten Ameln
For Protan, this is about more than economics. Keeping industrial production, expertise and ownership in Norway also has a preparedness dimension: the more of this that moves abroad or is sold to foreign owners, the more vulnerable Norway becomes if international supply chains fail during a crisis. Protan produces, among other things, membranes used in tunnels and other critical infrastructure, as well as tarpaulins and technical textiles used in flood protection and crisis response — a concrete example of why domestic production capacity and expertise have value beyond profitability alone.
Norwegian ownership is also about jobs and settlement in local communities like Lier. Four generations of the Ameln family have built up a workplace in the region that it is in everyone's interest to keep.
After the discussions, there was time for a tour of the factory in Lier, where our guests saw the production line and spoke with employees. Protan has been based in Lier since it was founded almost 90 years ago, and today operates four locations in the area. During the visit, it also came up that earlier plans to consolidate production at a single site in Lier had been shelved, partly because sufficient power supply was not in place — illustrating how dependent Norwegian industry is on infrastructure keeping pace, and how important it is that policymakers also help facilitate this, by ensuring the power grid and other critical infrastructure are built out in line with industry's needs.
The visit from Sylvi Listhaug is a beginning, not an end. Protan is a politically independent company and welcomes politicians, industry experts and others from across the political spectrum to come see what we actually do — and to discuss possible solutions for the future together. The goal is to build understanding and find good answers to the challenges facing Norwegian industry, no matter who holds the answers.
Ta kontakt med Kathrine Mughal, Head of Global Marketing & Communications, på kathrine.mughal@protan.no eller +47 970 91 527.
