Devold History
170 Years of Wool, Innovation & Coastal Grit
Devold’s tale began in 1853, when Ole Andreas Devold, freshly schooled in German textile craftsmanship, returned to the wind-whipped shores of Western Norway’s Ålesund, driven by an unshakeable optimism. With cutting-edge knitting machinery in hand, he set out to clothe local fisherman and wearers of the traditional rødlua – bright red caps steeped in folklore that echoed both warmth and adventure.
Commissioning a Bergen wholesaler named Sundt to distribute his woollens, Devold steadily earned a reputation for unmatched quality. Within fifteen years, his sales flourished, and decades on, the formerly German-trained industrialist stood at the helm of one of Norway’s largest textile factories.
But innovation wasn’t a mere side-note – it was Devold’s guiding thread. In 1882, he built Norway’s first electric power station beside the factory, harnessing water not only for energy, but for washing and dyeing wool – and laying the groundwork for what was likely the country’s first mechanically driven knitting mill.
Just a year later, in a dramatic leap forward, he illuminated the weaving hall with 125 electric light bulbs – the first electric lighting seen in Sunnmøre, visible from distant mountaintops. And by 1892, Devold had spanned the Borgundfjord with a 3–4 km telephone line, linking Langevåg’s factory to Ålesund and freeing workers from arduous boat crossings.
Yet Devold’s legacy extends well beyond textiles and tech. As a devoted follower of social reformer Hans Nielsen Hauge, Ole Andreas embraced corporate social responsibility long before it was a buzzword. He built hospitals, churches, kindergartens, grocery shops, and around twenty homes in support of his workforce – anchoring a fledgling community at Langevåg. Local farmers soon began trading their wool eagerly for Devold’s garments. In those early decades, Devold transcended mere entrepreneurship – it wove itself into the fabric of social progress, innovation, and resilience along Norway’s rugged coast.