The story of this company starts with a young man named Thorleif Thyrum that mustered on board the steamboat Stavangerfjord from Norway to New York in 1953. At this time he was 17 years old and his task on board was to pick rust on the boat deck. This was very time-consuming and inefficient work that took an inconceivable amount of time.
In New York, where they docked, young Thorleif stood on the deck looking at the Brooklyn Bridge, which looked as if it was in flames. He saw that there was a large cloud of dust around and became aware that there were a lot of workers in that area.
Thorleif asked his captain for permission to go ashore to see what was going on with the bridge. This was the first time he saw such work as sandblasting. The workers were removing rust from the bridge’s steel structure. This made a big impression on young Thyrum, the rust removal was incredibly efficient and accurate. This kind of rust work had never been done in Norway at that time as far as he knew.
Thorleif had the discovery of the rust removal method in mind when he returned to Norway and already the following year in 1954, Thorleif Thyrum started his first surface treatment company.
This was the start of a family business; Sandblaster Thyrum, where his sons and other close relatives were employed. At this time Thorleif was one of the first to engage in sandblasting and metallization of bridges in Norway, and eventually he also developed specialized sandblasting-equipment for his own use. This equipment was later launched and sold to other blasting-companies.
In 1969, when Norway became an oil nation, Sandblaster Thyrum received many important assignments within the oil industry, this also led to receiving big assignments in both Europe and the Middle East.
The first time my father took me to see one of his work sites was in 1979, in a military camp in Oslo. They had some big white doors with paint flakes all over, and Dad asked if I wanted to try to hold the blasting hose with him, to remove the paint. It was incredibly fascinating to blast away old pain that was so incredibly worn and flaky – take it completely back to its original state and make the gates look brand new.
It fascinates me to this day and since then I have been interested in maintenance and rehabilitation and making structures last. With new structures our goal is making their lifespan as long as possible with the use of correct coating systems. One example is the Eiffel Tower which we visited in 2017 during a project near Paris. The Eiffel tower has been maintained since its completion in 1889 and the structure stands just as strong and beautiful today.
Thyrum corrosion engineering includes all the professional history from 1954 until today. And appreciate that we have an educated insight in the various practical aspects of surface treatment. We think this is the very basis for having a good insight and the best understanding of the inspection profession.
Read about the services we provide, or contact us if you have any questions.
