Eqva ASA is a knowledge-based active owner of industrial service companies that contribute to the green transition in maritime, power intensive and renewable industries. The group has a well-diversified product and market portfolio, and further growth will be established through a combination of company-based development, utilization of synergies between the companies in the group and value-creating M&A activities. Key companies in the group are Havyard Leirvik, BKS Industri and Fossberg Kraft, each building on decades of experience and widely recognised by clients in a broad range of industries.
As many other small repair yards in Norway, Løland Motorverksted also started constructing vessels and the first newbuilding “Loftesnesferja” was delivered in 1938. The activity grew over the years and a new and modern shipyard was constructed in 1976. The shipyard was bought by Kleven with partners in 1979 and became a member of the Kværner Group in 1990. The shipyard became renowned as a high-quality builder of offshore and fishing vessels and a specialist in building offshore vessels with ice breaking capabilities.
In 2000 Per Sævik, through his company Havila, bought the shipyard from the Kværner Group and founded Havyard Leirvik. Per Sævik is an experienced sailor and operator of fishing and offshore vessels and has founded several shipping companies, including Havila Shipping ASA which is noted on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
In 2000 Eqva ASA (formerly: Havyard Groups) only activity was shipbuilding at the shipyard in Leirvik. The revenue in 2000 was NOK 531 million and the No. of employees about 170. The strategy of the company was to take control of a larger part of the ship technology value chain and in 2005 the ship design company Leine Maritime was acquired. With this acquisition, the Havyard design™ was born, adding considerable speed to the growth of the company. Furthermore, several new companies were founded or acquired, and the range of products and services grew.
A milestone in the company’s history was when the first Eqva designed vessel, a Havyard 842 Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessel was delivered. Another milestone was when Havyard's NB 088, a Havyard 858 Diving Support Vessel got the Offshore Support Journal’s (OSJ) “Offshore Support Vessel of the Year Award” in 2011.
The expansion in product portfolio and market shares world-wide has continued the growth of the company and the international ship technology Group had in 2013 a revenue of NOK 1 966 million and about 750 employees in Norway, Peru, Brazil, Poland, Croatia, Turkey, and China.
In 2014 the company was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
In February 2021, Eqva ASA (formerly: Havyard Group) establishes a new group, HAV Group ASA for the green shift in the maritime industry. The four companies HAV Design AS (formerly Havyard Design & Solutions AS), HAV Hydrogen AS (formerly Havyard Hydrogen AS), Norwegian Electric Systems AS and Norwegian Greentech AS are bringing together their expertise and experience into the new group. HAV Group was listed at the Euronext Growth 4 March 2021.
In May 2022 Eqva ASA entered into an agreement with the owners of HG Group AS on a merger, where Eqva bought all the outstanding shares in HG Group AS. In addition, Eqva also got a 100% ownership of BKS Holding AS and Fossberg Kraft AS. In July 2022, the merger between Eqva ASA and HG Group was finalized. The completion of the merger, through the takeover of the shares in HG Group, marks an important milestone in the development of Eqva as a fully integrated supplier of in-demand services and solutions for maritime, power-intensive, and renewable energy.