The Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to re-acquire the industrial area known as Krudten (‘The Powder Mill’) near the village of Elling, north of Frederiskhavn in northern Jutland, in order to restart the production of ammunition, the ministry announced on 7 October 2023.
The Danish MoD, specifically the Defence Estates and Infrastructure Organisation, has signed an agreement to buy back the area, which it had previously owned, the MoD said in a press release.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has now lasted a year and a half, has put European ammunition producers under a lot of pressure,” Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen was quoted as saying. “This critical situation has highlighted the need to restart production of ammunition in Denmark. We are now taking the first step in that direction, with the acquisition of the facilities in Elling.
“I wish to stress that it will take time before we are ready to start production,” the minister added, “but that is why it’s a good thing that we are now starting the work.”
The area in question is the former ‘Ammunition Arsenal’, also known as AMA. The earliest occupier of the facility was established in 1676 in Copenhagen as Fyrværkerikompagniet (‘The Fireworks Company’), as a government-owned producer and supplier of ammunition for the Danish armed forces and also as a support organisation for ammunition development, maintenance, surveillance and destruction.
AMA was moved to the location in northern Jutland in 1968, where production, maintenance and renovation activities continued in various forms, including production of small arms ammunition, filling and renovation of artillery and mortar ammunition and production of demolition explosives and hand grenades.
In 2008, as part of a new Defence Agreement, the facility was sold to the Spanish ammunition producer EXPAL and renamed DENEX (a contraction of DENmark and EXpal). The facility continued with production of ammunition and demilitarisation activities as a civilian company, but still with the Danish MoD as one of its main customers. This continued until 2020 when, after several years of operating at a loss, EXPAL decided to close down and disband the facility completely. The area and remaining infrastructure was then sold by EXPAL to a group of investors, who intended to turn it into an industrial area under the name Krudten Erhverspark A/S (‘The Powder Mill Industrial Park Inc’). It is from this group that the Danish MoD is now buying back the facility.
Although other, smaller, companies have been producing ammunition in Denmark, this has been in lower quantities, primarily for sports shooting and hunting, so the closure of AMA/DENEX in 2008 effectively meant not only the closure of a significant and historical local workplace, but also the end of military ammunition production in Denmark.
Danish news services have reported that the total price for the facilities is DKK 20 M (EUR 2.7 M), but this has not been confirmed. For the moment the information provided by the Danish government also does not indicate any specific timeframe for the re-starting production, nor provide any information on the types of ammunition to be produced, although 155 mm artillery rounds have been mentioned. Likewise, the exact manner in which the facility will ultimately be operated has not been decided upon. Options include complete government control and operation, similar to when the facility was part of the MoD, or co-operation with an industrial partner, for example through some form of government-owned, contractor-operated model.
Regardless, with the reported re-acquisition of the AMA facility by the MoD it appears that not only will military ammunition production return to Denmark, but it will return to the site traditionally used for this purpose. Restarting production of military ammunition in Denmark will not only help Denmark to meet its defence-industrial commitments towards NATO and the EU but will also boost Denmark’s ability to support Ukraine with continued donations of ammunition.
