The History of Ölgerðin

Established in 1913 Ölgerðin is one of the biggest and oldest companies in Iceland. Over the past century Ölgerðin has greatly influenced the nation’s drink and food culture by introducing products such as Egils Malt and Appelsín, now an essential part of Icelandic Christmas celebrations, and Ota Oatmeal, regularly seen on breakfast tables around the country.

The year 2008 was a pivotal year when Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson. merged with the wholesale Danól. Both these companies have a long and interesting history.

Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson established

Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson was established on April 17, 1913, by Tómas Tómasson. Tómas was born on October 9, 1888 in Miðhús, in Rangárvallasýsla. Tómas worked in the company until he past away on November 9, 1978. He was the only owner of Ölgerðin until 1932, but continued to be the biggest share holder and chairman of the board. He was also the companie’s CEO through out his lifetime.

In the beginning Ölgerðin was located in two, rented rooms, in a basement of a house downtown Reykjavík, called Þórshamarshúsið. Today this house is owned by the Icelandic Parliament. One year later Ölgerðin moved to larger premises, a house in Tryggvagata, called Thomsenhúsið, or the Thomsenhouse. In 1917 Tómas bought a house in Njálsgata and over the next few years he also bought the surrounding area and houses and built a complete brewery. In the years between 1924 and 1928, both the brewery and a yeast cellar were taken in use.

As the name Ölgerðin indicates, which means brewery in Icelandic, the emphasis in the beginning was on brewing. The company’s first product was Egils Maltextrakt, which is still very popular drink in Iceland, and many consider it, along with Egils Appelsín (orange soft drink) an essential part of both Christmas and Easter celebrations. Production of Appelsín began in the fifties.

Production of Egils Pilsner began in 1917, only four years after the company was founded.
And although the production and sale of beer was illegal until 1989, Ölgerðin started producing it in the war, since British, and later American soldiers were allowed to enjoy it. Later the company started producing various juices and drinks.

The production of soft drinks began in 1930, when Ölgerðin bought two soft drink companies, Síríus and Kaldá. Two years later, when Ölgerðin merged with Ölgerðin Þór hf, established in 1928, the company was turned into a public limited-liability company. After the merger, a brewery operated by Þór in Rauðarárstígur, down town Reykjavík, was closed. 

After Tómas died, in 1978, his sons, Jóhannes and Tómas Agnar continued to run the company, Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson, for nearly 25 years. But in 2000, they decided to sell the familie’s share, and by the end of the year a contract had been signed with Íslandsbanki-FBA and the investment company Gilding. New owners then took over again in April 2002, when Lind LLC., a subsidiary of Danól, bought Ölgerðin. Ölgerðin and Lind were merged in the beginning of the year, increasing the product range considerably. In 2007 Októ Einarsson and Andri Þór Guðmundsson, along with Kaupthing bank, bought Ölgerðin, but Kaupthing later sold its shares to some of the company’s executives.

Daníel Ólafsson, wholesale, also established in 1913

The same year Tómas established Ölgerðin, Daníel Ólafsson founded a wholesale. Just as Tómas, Daníel ran his company until his death in 1948. During this time the company was a wholesale of various products, with two employees.

On January 1, 1964, Kristinn Friðriksson, his wife Anna Einarsdóttir, and Einar Friðrik Kristinson along with his wife Ólöf Októsdóttir took over the business, but before that the company had been owned by several parties since its Daníels death. Einar and Kristinn worked together at the wholesale until 1984, when Kristinn past away. The same year, Einar and Ólöf bought out the share of Kristinn and Anna in Danól, but that name has been used for the company since the mid eighties. Around that time Danól was taking over big and small competitors in importing.

One of the companies they bought out was Lind, a wholesale company that was turned into a subsidiary of Danól. Later, Lind, bought Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson, creating a connection between Danól and Ölgerðin.

The merger

Early year 2008, Danól and Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson were merged, creating one of the largest companies in its field in Iceland, with a combined history of 190 years. The name of the new company should be Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson, and its operations are very vast. Building on the long history and rich tradition Ölgerðin aims to reach great success in the coming years, ensuring that both costumers and consumers can continue to enjoy the company’s outstanding products and service for years to come.

Moving into a new building

Both Danól and Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson have been located in Reykjavík all from the beginning. As stated above, Ölgerðin started out in Templarasund, down town Reykjavík, moving several times over the first few decades, e.g. to Njálsgata and Þverholt. In 1977 Ölgerðin was allocated a building plot in Grjótháls, Reykjavík, and one year later work on a new and larger building for the company began. In 1988 Ölgerðin moved into the new house, and just over a decade later, in 1999, a new brewery, one of the best equipped in Euorpe, was taken in use. 

From 1964, when new owners, which emphasized selling and marketing foods, Danól was located in Vonarstræti. In 1980 the company moved into bigger and better premises in Vatnagarðar, and a few years later work on a new building began next door. The building was ready in 1986. This was the first time the company had access to its own 30 square metre freezer, along with a large warehouse. In 1992 work on one of the biggest and best equipped warehouses in wholesale in Iceland began. Then in December 1993, the company moved into a fully equipped modernized warehouse, with a very large freezer. 7 years later the building was enlarged.

In early 2009, Ölgerðin will move into a new building, which will be one of the best warehouses in Iceland. Along with the companies entire stock, all of the offices will be located in the building. This new building is in Grjótháls, right next to the company’s factory.