Company Profile
Dyno Nobel Inc
Company Overview
Dyno Nobel, the Explosives business of Incitec Pivot Limited, is a global leader in the commercial explosives industry. We provide blasting solutions and quality explosives products throughout North America and Australia, as well as to selected customers in other countries.
We have 36 manufacturing plants, including state-of-the-art initiation systems facilities in the United States, Australia and Mexico, and have the capacity to make one million tons of ammonium nitrate a year. Our employees include some of the most highly trained blasters in the industry.
Our safety standards are among the highest in the industry. We rigorously apply internationally recognized safety standards at all our locations and in everything we do - from storage and transport to handling and use.
Company History
Dyno Nobel traces its roots back to William Bickford's invention of Safety Fuse in 1831 and Alfred Nobel in 1865.
Over 170 years later, Dyno Nobel has become the world’s leading explosives company and a truly global supplier of commercial explosives solutions.
We currently operate on 2 continents and are rapidly increasing our presence in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Alfred Nobel and the foundation of Dyno Nobel
During the 1860’s, Alfred Nobel experimented with the packaging of nitroglycerin as a safe explosive. Within a few years, he had developed and patented dynamite, and established his first company, Nitroglycerin Compagniet.
It was this company, founded on a strong philosophy of safety and practical innovation, that later became Dyno Nobel.
The Ensign-Bickford Company and the invention of safety fuse
It began over two hundred years ago, when the first safety fuse was invented by William Bickford, saving the lives of countless coal miners working the hills of northern England.
Bickford-Smith & Company, in Cornwall, England, brought the operation to America in 1836, and the safety fuse manufacturing facility in Simsbury, Connecticut would officially become The Ensign-Bickford Company.
In 2003 The Ensign-Bickford Company merged with Dyno Nobel ASA, with the new entity to be called Dyno Nobel. Dyno Nobel can now boast the most complete range of initiation systems available on the market today - including the industry's most advanced electronic initiation system.
The IRECO acquisition and the invention of slurry explosives
Dyno Industrier ASA acquired IRECO Chemicals, the company created by Dr. Melvin Cook, in 1984 - significantly expanding Dyno Nobel’s operations in North America.
Dr. Melvin Cook's greatest commercial explosives invention was formulated in 1956 with the creation of a new blasting agent using an unusual mixture of ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder and water. Slurry explosives were born. This innovation was followed by boosters and pump tucks for their bulk delivery.
Today through our Research & Technology teams on three continents, we are driving safety improvement , maximizing productivity and reducing customer cycle times and increasing customer profitability.
Industri Kapital and the birth of Dyno Nobel ASA
Industri Kapital acquired Dyno ASA (formerly Dyno Industrier ASA) in December 1999, delisting it from the Norwegian Stock Exchange. The acquisition was completed in August 2000 and the newly privatized company renamed Dyno Nobel ASA.
Industri Kapital ( Industri Kapital ) is one of Europe's leading equity firms, renowned for its strong business analysis skills and financial base.
IK's ambition is to work with management to expand the explosives operations both organically and through acquisitions with the objective of securing Dyno’s position as the world’s leading commercial explosives manufacturer.
Macquarie Bank and the listing of Dyno Nobel on the ASX
In September 2005, Industri Kapital sold Dyno Nobel to a consortium of investors led by Macquarie Bank. In April 2006, Dyno Nobel becomes a publicly owned company when Macquarie lists it on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).