100 years and counting

Inge Brigt Aarbakke’s grandfather started it all in 1918  making horse shoes. This continued until 1981 when Inge Brigt incorporated the first CNC machine.

In 1988 Inge Brigt bought out another local mechanical company called Jær Mek, which was soon incorporated into Aarbakke AS. In 1990, Aarbakke AS merged with the engineering company Njuma, thus gaining its own engineering department. Two years later, Aarbakke AS was acquired by Nodeco, a company that mainly operated subsea equipment for the oil industry. This company was, in turn, acquired by Weatherford, an American oil service company operating worldwide.

Inge Brigt bought Aarbakke AS back in April 2000, and the company once again became an independent production company based in Jæren, Rogaland. In the spring of 2003, Aarbakke relocated to a brand new plant, which had been planned for a long time and would provide the company with a highly improved production facility far into the future.

Due to increased growth and high demand, the premises were expanded in 2008 with a new production hall, new office areas and a unique wellness department for the employees, including spa and fitness facilities. At the same time, Aarbakke established itself internationally, together with the other companies in the Aarbakke Group. The Aarbakke Group however, was dissolved in 2012.

As of October 2021, the company has 300 employees. The turnover is NOK 1 billion, expected to increase gradually in the years to come. 99 percent of the production is related to the energy industry,  customers being various subsea and oil service companies.