Company visit from Skien Municipality

Visit from Skien Municipality

On Thursday, November 24, we had the pleasure of welcoming Skien Municipality to SPOT AS for a company visit! After previous invitations we had to decline—due to both COVID and high activity in the workshop—we were finally able to clear space in the calendar. We truly appreciated the opportunity.

Among the visitors were Hedda Foss Five, Trond Ballestad, Helene Røsholt, Tord Auensen, Monika Lønnebakke, and Anita Andersen. The main topic of the visit was the facilitation of municipally managed industrial land—a critical and timely issue for our continued growth.

Lack of space limits growth

Currently, Skien Municipality has no available industrial plots for businesses seeking to establish or expand in the area. SPOT AS is among the companies facing limitations in growth due to a lack of available space. According to Business Development Manager Monika Lønnebakke, uncertainty surrounding the route selection for highway RV36 has created a situation where large areas are being held back from development.

Value creation should stay local

We also took the opportunity to highlight the importance of local ownership and value creation in the Grenland region. Today, many suppliers to the process industry are based abroad, resulting in significant value being exported to countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Finland—instead of being reinvested into local jobs and industry.

We truly appreciate the visit and the conversations—and we hope Hedda and the rest of the municipal leadership will carry our input forward in their ongoing work to develop Grenland as an attractive region for industry.

We strongly support local value creation—and bold thinking for Grenland’s future!