Aarhus Flydedok
Aarhus Flydedok A/S
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| Public limited company | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Founder | Hans Nielsen |
| Headquarters | Aarhus |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Ships, repairs |
Aarhus Flydedok (Colloquially.: Flydedokken) was a company and floating dry dock in Aarhus, Denmark. The company was established in 1945 based on installations left by occupying German forces. From the mid to late 20th century it became one of the largest employers in the city and employed some 900 workers at its height. Aarhus Flydedok both produced and repaired ships although in its later years production focused on smaller vessels. The company entered bankruptcy proceedings in 1999 and finally closed in 2003.
Aarhus Flydedok was founded in 1945 but the early history extends back to the earlier 20th century. In 1913, Hans Nielsen, a lathe operator who had worked at the Frichs ironworks, started the small machine shop Hans Nielsens Maskinfabrik to service cranes, elevators and other transport infrastructure. The company over time transitioned to servicing ships and by the start of the Second World War in 1939 and the Occupation of Denmark in 1930 the machine shop handled almost all ship repairs in Aarhus harbor while also doing subcontracting work for Helsingør Skibsværft (Elsinore Ship Yard).
Shortly after the war ended in 1945 Hans Nielsen and Helsingør Skibsværft created a new shipyard in Aarhus named I/S Aarhus Flydedok og Maskinkompagni. In 1941 Germany had built a floating dock in Korsør, used as a submarine dock, which was moved to Aarhus harbor on 16 August 1945. The dock had been sabotaged by the Danish resistance movement but after a few months of repairs it was back in service and along with the new dock a hall for shipbuilding and a repair facility was constructed on the harbor front. The first task of the new shipyard was to repair German minesweepers which were cleaning the Danish territorial waters of mines. In 1948 the company was turned into a public limited company under the name Aarhus Flydedok og Maskinkompagni A/S with Helsingør Skibsværft as the main . The ownership of the facilities were not finalized until 1952 when the United Kingdom officially transferred the dock to the Danish state after which Orlogsværftet temporarily leased it to Aarhus Flydedok before ownership was fully transferred on 1 January 1958.
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