Google - Interactive Map
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=66.311364,14.138795&z=11&t=m&hl=en&gl=US&mapclient=apiv3
Case 6: Mo Industrial Park in Northern Norway
The industrial park in Mo i Rana, Norway, has over 100 businesses and 2,500 employees. Today it is known as a primer of a green industrial park. After the steel crisis of 1975, the Norwegian authorities decided to close the ore-based steel plant and keep the scrap-based one in Mo i Rana in 1988. The decision was based on reports and proposals by consultants and the Norsk Jernverket company, which faced strategic weaknesses and market challenges. The decision had a huge impact on the Rana community, which protested, lost jobs, and restructured. The Parliament supported the transition with funds and incentives.
Out in the world, time-honoured steelworks towns had fallen into ruins in the wake of the steel crisis. Rana had to escape such a fate. In addition to the reorganised cornerstone of Norsk Jernverk, the municipality was to be given new foundation stones on which to build. Parliament agreed 983 million kroner for restructuring of the Jernverket Group. To establish new businesses in Rana, a “Rana package” of 500 million kroner was granted, together with laid-off workers from the ironworks and reduced employer contributions over 5 years. Rana was now once again facing a dramatic reorganisation.
There are several reasons why the reorganisation at Rana has succeeded:
First of all, there is the combination of political boldness at the national level with the favourable conditions at Rana stemming from the high levels of technical and industrial expertise. Once the decision had been taken, there was also wide local acceptance. The locals pressed on and made great personal efforts to make the thing succeed.
There was a willingness to supply the necessary resources, both in capital and in access to electric power. This was then channelled through a good local innovation organisation.
Finally Rana also enjoyed its share of good luck. The time was favourable and a number of decisions were taken which turned out right. All in all, this brought Rana and its industry into a very favourable trend of events.
The background for the reorganisation was the government’s wish to abandon the role of dominant industrial owner. The international “rules of the road” were in a period of flux, not least because of the fall of the Soviet Union and Norway’s accession to the EEZ treaty. Moreover, the European steel industry had undergone extensive reorganisation for ten years, leading to an international ban on state-supported industry.
The reorganisation of industry at Rana was in large part a combination of thorough-going outsourcing, successful privatisation and later also internationalisation. Where once there was only one company, there are now over a hundred, operated at a high level of efficiency and innovation. This is the foundation for the industrial park concept.
Wikidata Community, 2024
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11989701