The code to international competitiveness has been cracked

At GKN Aerospace in Kongsberg, they have turned the table: low-cost China orders components from the Aerospace factory in high-priced Norway. The reason is smart production and high quality.

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“Do not touch parts unless I do! Then your fingerprints suddenly end up on the part and it will not go away. There are a couple of Dreamliners with my fingerprints on them,” says Leif Andersen, Senior Engineer at GKN Aerospace, and laughs.


Andersen is standing on the factory floor in Kongsberg demonstrating one of the engine parts they produce for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Here, engine parts are also produced for several other types of aircraft, such as the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320. A somewhat special workplace, in other words. One that requires full dedication and extreme precision.


“I could certainly find exciting challenges abroad, but I honestly don’t know of any other workplace where I can be as comfortable as here,” says Andersen.


He is driven by optimising and improving, and can spend a lot of time and energy delving deep into technical details. He could hardly have come to a place where he is given better opportunities to work with what he is most passionate about.

“I could probably find exciting challenges abroad, but I honestly don’t know of any other workplace where I can be as comfortable as here,” says Leif Andersen. Photo: Alexander Benjaminsen

GKN Aerospace has long been committed to technology, and was hailed as Norway’s Smartest Company in 2016. The industrial company has received a lot of recognition for streamlining operations and halving production times for aircraft parts. One of the main reasons is increased focus on digitisation.


“It’s still all about reducing workload, making things more efficient, and using resources better. The most important thing we do is to increase productivity,” says Andreas Thorvaldsen, Dr. techn. and Head of Continuous Improvement at GKN Aerospace.


Three hairs

Here, the requirements for precision and quality are sky-high, and efficiency cannot in any way be at the expense of safety.


“Airplane engines are very light, so very little material is used, but the material that is used must be perfect, controlled and safe. That is why we dare to fly, which is why it is safe to fly,” says Andersen.


Thorvaldsen holds his index fingers and thumbs so they barely touch to thus demonstrate how small the margins are in the production of aircraft engine components.


“A three-hair width is the margin of error we work with, and then we talk about a full circle with a diameter of 1,200 mm where every single point on the component is within three hair widths and so thin that I can bend it with my hands,” he explains.


This is an Aerospace standard that ensures safe flight, a standard GKN lives up to every single day.

“Three hair widths is the margin of error we work with, and then we talk about a full circle with a diameter of 1200 mm where every single point on a component is within three hair widths and so thin that I can bend it with my hands,” explains Andreas Thorvaldsen, Head of Continuous Improvement at GKN Aerospace. Photo: Alexander Benjaminsen

Surprising customer from the east

The effort has yielded results. Norway and other countries in the West usually buy cheap products from low-cost industrial countries such as China, but now China orders aircraft components from expensive Norway. GKN Aerospace in Kongsberg was chosen among several international companies, which they are very proud of.


What allows you to be competitive in relation to low-cost countries?


“Labour is expensive in Norway, and we are in competition with other countries that have a completely different overhead. We win on quality and how we manage to build smart systems,” Andersen explains, adding:


“We have strong integrity for our products and customers, and we do not take shortcuts.”

GKN Aerospace manufactures complex components for aircraft engines and gas turbines for the world’s largest aircraft engine manufacturers. Photo: Alexander Benjaminsen

After the oil

This type of increased productivity demonstrated by GKN Aerospace is crucial for Norway if we are to continue to be a welfare state when the oil runs dry,” says CEO of Siemens, Anne Marit Panengstuen.


“In a high-cost country like Norway, it’s impossible to grow without increasing productivity. If we are to compete against low-cost countries, each employee must produce more,” she says.


Thorvaldsen believes the secret to success lies in long tradition, embedded culture, patience and targeted undertaking over time.


“We have a long tradition for automation and technology dating back to the 80s. It’s about taking many small steps all the time. It’s more about evolution than revolution,” he says.

GKN Aerospace Norway AS

  • Produces complex components for aircraft engines and gas turbines for the world’s largest aircraft engine manufacturers
  • Participates in several of the largest civil and military aircraft engine programmes in the market
  • Based in Kongsberg, Norway
  • Employs about 500 people