THE BEGINNING
In 1936 Helge Reidar Olsen established the transportation company Helge R. Olsen & Sønn AS.
In the beginning the transportation tasks consisted of trasporting scrap iron from the Oslo port to the Nail Works in Nydalen, in addition to the dispersion of rebar around Norway south of Trondheim. The company had 8 to 10 specialized trucks / trailers in their fleet up until the decomission of the Nail Works in 1989.
While the transport of scrap iron and rebar continued, the means of transport for oxygen tanks was develeoped and custructed by Helge R. Olsen. This led to the ability to transport upright oxygen tanks, for which five special trailers were adapted and used.
PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT
Helge R. Olsen's son, Erik Helge Olsen worked within the company during his free time and school vacations until he was permanently employed in 1961. He began with transport between Norway and Germany, and signed a contract with the Norwegian Hydros factory in Notodden. The recipient was the then West Germany, an extremely demanding project at that time, however the exportation of goods from Germany to Norway was simpler to work out. Transportation with specialized vehicles, tipper and standard trailers etc. continued to develop as a crucial part of the company.
TRUCK CHASSIS
In 1965 the transport of truck chassis for Norwegian Scania began in full swing. The transportation line went from Veisporet / NSB in Oslo to Scania's transit warehouse at Brekke in Oso. In 1969 Helge Reidar Olsen built the first chassis truck / trailer in the company's warehouse on Skiensgata in Oslo, and transport from Scania's factory in Södertälje became a reality. The freight forwarding division in Oslo was established once it was ensured that we would be able to expedite goods through customs that we ourselves transported, and all customs declarations were retained by HRO. Approximately 7,000 new truck chassis are transported anually from factories to Scania, Man, Volvo, and Renault - primarily to clients in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
NEW PREMISES
In the year 1975 we moved from our location in Skiensgata and into our newly built premises at Alnabru. Helge R. Olsen was able to see the completion of the new building, and worked therein for approximately a year before he died at the tender age of 68.
During the years of 1975 – 1980 the tanker transport was established. The process began with stand.alone tanks, however developed into tank trucks and trailers. These transport and freight forwarding enterprises were the foundation for further development within the company.
HØNEFOSS
During the course of 2002,HRO established itself in Hensmoen (Hønefoss), which after only a short time developed to become a significant portion of the company. Today both our transportation and logistics departments are located at the Hensmoen office, in addition to the customs warehouse which is run on projects for the Forsvarets Logistikkavdeling (FLO) at Eggemoen.
HALDEN
During the spring of 2010 the customs division in Halden was established. This was the result of a cooperative effort with Nortrail Transport GmbH, and the office was located close to the border crossing at Svinesund. The department primarily sells customs services to external clients.
OTT
After working together for many years, Helge R. Olsen & Sønn AS and terra Handels- und Speditionsgesellschaft mbH combined to create the company Olsen & Terra Transport Scandinavia AS on 01.01.2011. OTT was a reality. OTT specializes in chassis and bus transport, and transports more than 10,000 chassis annually.
LOCALIZATION
Autumn 2012 saw the company building at Alnabru sold, and today we rent office space in the 3rd floor where our main office with its administrative director, security advisor, HR, accounting and freight forwarding departments in Oslo, along with OTT are located.
80 YEARS OLD
2016 marked the 80th anniversary for HRO.
Autumn 2016 saw the newly built office space finished at Hønefoss. The long awaited combination of the storage and transport divisions was finally in place.
SVINESUND TRANSPORT CENTER
We are represented in the newly opened Svinesund Transport Center by our customs division. Only a stone's throw from Svinesund customs, the E6, and Europe.
The Svinesund Transport Center plans to be a service location for truck drivers and transporters where it will be simple to receive help with customs paperwork and storage, in addition to having facilities for drivers.
OSLO TRANSPORT FREIGHT FORWARDING
Autumn 2017 saw us take over operations for Oslo Transport & Spedisjon AS (Otrans). The company's history stretches back to 1928 where they have specialized in the transport of ATMs, safes and commercial kitchens.
