Technology company Kongsberg is building a new business area within the company around its robotics and sensor technology to map, monitor and understand ocean space.
“Oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface,” said Kongsberg CEO Geir Håøy. “It controls the weather and temperature, distributes heat across the globe, and is the answer to some of the most significant challenges we currently face. Sustainable management of the oceans requires knowledge and data about the health of the oceans, while critical infrastructure above and below water is an important prerequisite for sustainable development.”
Until the turn of the year, Sensors and Robotics was a division under Kongsberg Maritime. It is now being separated and established as a separate business area called Kongsberg Discovery. The new business area has more than thousand employees located in Horten, Trondheim, and Oslo, Norway, in addition to offices in Spain, the UK, the US, Canada, Singapore, and Malaysia.
“The mapping and monitoring of the world’s oceans are in an early phase, and we are still at the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development,” Håøy said. “Together with the rest of Kongsberg, Kongsberg Discovery can develop new solutions and technology with significant growth opportunities within fisheries, marine research, marine operations, ocean-based energy production, and infrastructure monitoring that the world needs.”
Kongsberg Discovery will be led by Martin Wien Fjell. He has held several management positions in Kongsberg over the past 10 years and since 2017 has led Global Customer Support in Kongsberg Maritime.
“I look forward to developing Kongsberg Discovery, the fourth business area in Kongsberg,” Fjell said. “Kongsberg Discovery encompass extensive and world-leading technology within hydro acoustics, robotics, inertial navigation, positioning, laser, radar, and communication, blended with deep application knowhow and software. And, by establishing Kongsberg Discovery as a separate business area, our ambition is to facilitate further growth based on this core competency.”
Kongsberg Maritime is the largest business area in Kongsberg, with more than 6,500 employees across 32 countries. With Kongsberg Discovery as a separate business area, Kongsberg’s ambition is to further strengthen the core areas in Kongsberg Maritime.
“The establishment of Kongsberg Discovery as a separate business area will also strengthen Kongsberg Maritime’s focus on core business such as a system integrator,” Håøy said. He added, “As a technology provider, it is our duty to ensure that we are a part of securing the ocean for future generations.”