Edda radiofabrikk

Lore & Background

Sverre Lund, from Sulitjelma, earned his diploma in electrical engineering at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) in 1931, a year after Vebjørn Tandberg, whom he knew from gymnasium in Bodø. After working at Salve Staubos Radiofabrikk (Høvding) in Oslo, Lund decided in 1938 to start his own radio factory in Trondheim. He brought in local industrialists with NTH backgrounds, including Ingemann Torp, Eilert Fjeldseth, and physician Olav Usland, and obtained a guarantee from Trondheim municipality to contribute up to 20,000 kroner if needed to reach the required 90,000 kroner in share capital, though it is uncertain whether the municipality actually became an owner.

Production began in October 1939 with the Edda-superen at Erling Skakkes gate 3. At the German occupation on 9 April 1940, 50 finished sets were hidden in the loft and sold after the war; only special sets ordered by the armed forces for Gardermoen were seized. During the war, Lund and colleagues were ordered to build a special radio for Gestapo chief Gerhard Flesch but are said to have delayed it so much it was never finished. Instead they built emergency safety devices, repaired illegal radios, and Lund invented a type of electric fence. He left Edda in 1950 to start Elektromekanikk in Stjørdal.

Before leaving, Lund designed the models Veslemøy and Haugtussa, of which over 5,000 are said to have been produced annually between 1946 and 1949. The factory then had up to 90 employees and moved to an old factory at Elgesetergata 2, previously Trondhjems Skofabrikk. Under new management, including chief engineer Thorleif Foss, the factory expanded with radiograms. By February 1955, 70 percent of production was sold south of the mountains, with 55 employees, 40 in assembly (about 25 women); wooden cabinets were outsourced. Ahead of regular Norwegian television broadcasts in 1960, Edda began producing television sets, with a dedicated department capable of up to ten sets a day, and also increased travel radio production for export.

Reader's Guide

Edda radiofabrikk's significance lies in its role as a regional electronics manufacturer in Trondheim, founded by an NTH graduate who leveraged local industrial and academic connections. The factory's wartime story—hiding 50 radios from the Germans, allegedly sabotaging a Gestapo chief's special set, and repairing illegal radios—reflects the broader Norwegian resistance. Post-war, the Veslemøy and Haugtussa models achieved notable production volumes, and the company successfully transitioned into television manufacturing ahead of Norway's 1960 broadcasts. However, intense competition from larger Oslo-area firms like Tandberg and Radionette, combined with the higher cost and technical demands of television production, eroded profitability. The factory gradually scaled down, and by September 1964 it was effectively closed, though the company continued with sales and service for several years. Edda's legacy is that of a modest but resilient manufacturer that navigated war, technological change, and market pressures before succumbing to the consolidation of the Norwegian electronics industry.

Did You Know?

• Sverre Lund knew Vebjørn Tandberg from gymnasium in Bodø.
• 50 finished Edda radios were hidden in a loft during the German occupation and sold after the war.
• Lund is said to have deliberately delayed building a special radio for Gestapo chief Gerhard Flesch so it was never finished.
• The factory produced up to ten television sets a day ahead of Norway's regular TV broadcasts in 1960.

Origins & the Trondheim Gambit (1938–1939)

Sverre Lund, a native of Sulitjelma, completed his electrical-engineering diploma at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1931, in the same cohort as the future entrepreneur Vebjørn Tandberg, whom he had known since their shared years at Bodø gymnasium. After a year at Salve Staubos Radiofabrikk in Oslo, Lund made the decisive choice in 1938 to build his own radio-manufacturing operation in Trondheim. To reach the 90,000-kroner share capital required, he assembled a circle of local industrialists with NTH connections—Ingemann Torp and Eilert Fjeldseth—alongside physician and industrialist Olav Usland and a group of smaller investors. Trondheim municipality additionally offered a guarantee to inject up to 20,000 kroner if the target was not met, arguing that anchoring manufacturing to the city's technical-college community was strategically vital; whether that guarantee was ever called upon remains uncertain. Production of the first model, the Edda-superen, began in October 1939 at Erling Skakkes gate 3.

Wartime Production & Subtle Defiance

When German forces occupied Norway on 9 April 1940, the Trondheim workshop held roughly fifty completed Edda-superen sets in inventory. Lund and his team hid them in the loft, holding them back until after the war; the occupiers confiscated only a small batch of special units that had been ordered by the armed forces for Gardermoen. During the occupation, Lund and colleagues were assigned the task of constructing a bespoke radio for Gestapo chief Gerhard Flesch, but they reportedly stalled the project so thoroughly that it was never finished. In its stead, the workshop manufactured emergency safety devices, repaired clandestine radios for civilians, and Lund devised a type of electric fence. Before departing Edda in 1950, he had designed the Veslemøy and Haugtussa models, which together saw more than 5,000 units produced each year between 1946 and 1949. He then founded Elektromekanikk in Stjørdal to commercialize the fence and other products such as dairy measuring instruments.

Post-War Growth & the Television Push

Under new leadership that included chief engineer Thorleif Foss, Edda broadened its catalogue to encompass radiograms and, ahead of Norway's first regular television broadcasts in 1960, stood up a dedicated television department capable of turning out up to ten sets per day. The factory had swelled to ninety employees by the late 1940s, occupying the former Trondhjems Skofabrikk building at Elgesetergata 2, which had housed shoe production there from 1899 to 1940. By 1955 the workforce had settled at fifty-five, with forty in assembly—roughly twenty-five of them women—while wooden cabinet work was outsourced to subcontractors. A striking market indicator: seventy percent of Edda's output was sold "south of the mountains," as Adresseavisen observed, underscoring the factory's commercial reach well beyond Trøndelag. Travel-radio production also expanded markedly, carrying a significant export component that gave the Trondheim firm a foothold in foreign markets throughout the 1950s.

The Quiet Winding Down (1960–1964)

The television era that Edda had eagerly embraced ultimately proved its undoing. Competition sharpened from Tandberg radiofabrikk and Radionette, both investing in large-scale production in the Oslo region, alongside a growing tide of foreign brands. Consumer preference shifted decisively toward televisions, eroding demand for radios and radiograms, while each television set demanded far greater cost and technical complexity to manufacture than its radio predecessors. Margins compressed and profitability eroded. Rather than a dramatic shutdown, the decline was gradual and almost imperceptible: departing employees were simply not replaced, and inventory was quietly drawn down over time. By September 1964, Adresseavisen reported what most locals had already sensed—the radio and television factory on Elgesetergata was, in all practical terms, closed. The corporate entity lingered for several more years, handling a trickle of sales and service with only a handful of staff, but no new production ever resumed. A twenty-five-year chapter in Trondheim's industrial history had quietly ended.