Oslo Airport Gardermoen

In 1994, work began on expanding Gardermoen into Norway’s main airport. In connection with this, we delivered 14,000 m2 of floor-sanded Pillarguri slate for the arrivals hall.

In addition, we supplied 4,000 m2 of Otto slate for exterior platforms and entrances to parking garages.

By way of comparison, the largest annual volume we had delivered before this project was 8,000 m2 in polished finish – in other words, a sharp jump in quantity. As if that wasn’t enough, we received a number of orders from other sources in the same year, and in total we delivered as much as 28,000 m2 of honed slate in 1996!

As we were delivering a very large volume for us, we were all excited about the implementation. The requirements were extremely strict with zero tolerance for deviations. Every single tile we delivered was carefully inspected before it was approved. This was not helped by the fact that our newly developed grinding machine had run-in problems for three months and was not ready before the installation was due to start!

Naturstein Montering was responsible for the installation, and we had a very good and successful collaboration.

In order to produce enough slate and meet the stringent quality requirements we were subject to, we operated continuously around the clock. The machines ran seven days a week. We swapped crews during meal breaks and overlapped when changing shifts.

In this process, the employees really showed what they are made of and how loyal they are to the company! We had never had it tougher, but the attitude of our employees was absolutely fantastic. Ironically, we had never had lower sick leave than we had during this tough period. The lights were always on at the factory in Otta, and that was noticed even by the top brass at OSL.

All the slate was delivered by the deadline, and the client was so pleased with the delivery that we, as the only supplier, were invited to a guided tour before the airport opened. This applied to all employees and their spouses/cohabitants.

The airport was originally designed for 12 million passengers annually. In 2022, however, the annual number of passengers was 34 million. We are therefore very proud that Otta Slate is the flooring material at the airport that has had the fewest problems related to maintenance. We therefore feel confident in saying that we at Otta Skifer deliver exclusive building materials of extremely good quality that will last for generations.