Devold

Devold is a wool clothing brand whose own history page states it was founded in 1853 by Ole Andreas Devold on the weather-beaten coastline of Western Norway, with Ålesund as the place he returned to from Germany. The brand began with knitted woollen underwear and mittens sold to fishermen, and its official history describes it as having established a reputation as a quality brand. Its polar history page states that Devold supplied woollens to polar expeditions, including Fridtjof Nansen's 1888 Greenland crossing and Roald Amundsen's 1911 South Pole expedition.

Devold's official history page states that in 1853, the newly trained industrialist Ole Andreas Devold returned home to Ålesund from Germany with state-of-the-art mechanical knitting equipment and high hopes of selling knitted woollen underwear and mittens to fishermen and those wearing the rødlua, a red knit cap. It states that gaining ground among local merchants was difficult, so Devold travelled to Bergen where he sold his goods through Sundt, a well-established wholesaler, who in turn sold Devold's woollens to local merchants in Ålesund. The page states that it did not take long for Devold to establish a reputation as a quality brand, and that fifteen years later his sales were in full swing; a few decades later he became the owner of one of the largest textile factories in Norway. It also states that in 1882 the knitting industry pioneer built Norway's first electric power station next to the Devold factory. The polar history page states that Devold's success coincided with the first major polar expeditions at the end of the 1800s, that Fridtjof Nansen crossed Greenland on skis in 1888 wearing woollen underwear, Icelandic sweaters and wadmal jackets, and that Roald Amundsen ensured Norwegian wool was first at the South Pole in 1911. It also states that since the 1960s many Norwegian and foreign expeditions have relied on Devold.

Quality wool clothing brand with a long history and control over its value chain.

• Knitted woollen underwear

• Mittens

• Nansen sweater for juniors

1. 1Wool clothing for men, women and children since 1853 | Devolddevold.com
2. 2Our historydevold.com
3. 3Polar historydevold.com