"Foldalbruket" (3 of 3)
Description
Foldal's intention during the restoration of the fishing station was to build a five-storey wharf
the two lower storeys were to be built of concrete. However, it was built to a lower specification, with one storey of concrete and the rest of timber. The warehouse is constructed of half-timbering made from Russian driftwood, clad with red-painted panelling. The load-bearing construction of the ground floor is of concrete. The plan was that the canopy between the ground and first floor should be cast in concrete, but before they managed to get going on the job it became so cold that it was not possible to cast. This is why wood was used for all the transverse bracing. On the ground floor the floor is reinforced with railway rails (probably from Kirkenes).
The Foldal works were originally built in 1917 as a conventional fishing station with a cod liver oil processing plant. Foldal started off modestly with a cod liver oil processing plant and a bit of stockfish, but the business grew considerably over the years. Fish was bought, both for drying and salting, as well as livers for the production of cod liver oil, and this was sold both nationally and abroad. During the best seasons there could be 70-80 people working there on a 24-hour basis.
After the works at Kjøllefjord were rebuilt, the business continued with cod liver oil processing and the purchase of stockfish and fresh fish to be salted and dried. Little by little, large sections of the stockfish were left lying in storage in the wharf, and it became difficult to run this at a profit. The Ålesund firm of Erling Aarsæther came in as shareholders in around 1959 and took over the property in Kjøllefjord, amongst others
The Foldal works were originally built in 1917 as a conventional fishing station with a cod liver oil processing plant. Foldal started off modestly with a cod liver oil processing plant and a bit of stockfish, but the business grew considerably over the years. Fish was bought, both for drying and salting, as well as livers for the production of cod liver oil, and this was sold both nationally and abroad. During the best seasons there could be 70-80 people working there on a 24-hour basis.
After the works at Kjøllefjord were rebuilt, the business continued with cod liver oil processing and the purchase of stockfish and fresh fish to be salted and dried. Little by little, large sections of the stockfish were left lying in storage in the wharf, and it became difficult to run this at a profit. The Ålesund firm of Erling Aarsæther came in as shareholders in around 1959 and took over the property in Kjøllefjord, amongst others
the purchase of fish continued, as well as the large-scale purchase of stockfish for export. Long-term crises in the stockfish business led to the Foldal works, like many others, having to cease trading during the 1980s.
Foldal became a shipping agent for the Vesteraalske dampskipsselskap (Vesterålen Steamboat Company) in 1926, when the quayside was built out so that the coastal express ships could dock. The steamboat quay was extended again by means of a timber construction during the restoration after the destruction during the war. The last coastal express ship docked there in 1959, bringing to an end 32 years of shipping business at the Foldal works.
Foldal became a shipping agent for the Vesteraalske dampskipsselskap (Vesterålen Steamboat Company) in 1926, when the quayside was built out so that the coastal express ships could dock. The steamboat quay was extended again by means of a timber construction during the restoration after the destruction during the war. The last coastal express ship docked there in 1959, bringing to an end 32 years of shipping business at the Foldal works.
