13 February, 2024

The Norwegian-Finnish Nammo ammunition manufacturer is switching to a round-the-clock production schedule at its plant in Sweden to fulfill orders for Ukraine.

The Swedish publication Dagens Nyheter reported on this.

Nammo’s Swedish plant in Karlskoga switches to 5-shift production schedule, operating seven days a week, which means round-the-clock production of 155 mm ammunition.

“At the end of this year, we will probably produce twice as much ammunition as we did at the beginning of 2022. We think that’s very good, but the market thinks it’s woefully insufficient,” says Nammo Vice President Björn Andersson.

The Karlskoga plant is one of only four producers of 155mm artillery shells in Western Europe. It fulfills orders for shells that will be delivered to Ukraine in the future.

Production of 155 mm artillery ammunition at the facilities of the Swedish company Nammo, February 2024. Photo credits: Dagens Nyheter

Representatives of the company say that even though they have stepped up their operations, their capacity is still not enough to cover the demand of the warring Ukraine and replenish the depleted stocks of European countries.

“We feel terribly inadequate,” says Nammo’s Vice President.

However, Andersson emphasized that it is not enough to increase staff and expand the plant to be able to produce more shells. To increase supplies, Nammo needs to make efforts in several countries where components are manufactured.

In particular, shell bodies are made, for example, in Norway and Finland. And one of the explosive brands is made in Poland. However, a significant portion of the gunpowder and explosives are still manufactured nearby in the same city at Eurenco’s facilities.

Production of 155 mm artillery ammunition at the facilities of the Swedish company Nammo, February 2024. Photo credits: Dagens Nyheter

Daniel Rieden, a representative of Eurenco, said that his company has also switched to a round-the-clock explosives production schedule and plans to radically expand production to meet the demand for the scarce resource.

“We work in five shifts on almost all Eurenco production lines. In Karlskoga, we have increased our turnover by 100 percent in four years,” says Daniel Ryden.

Explosives manufactured by the Swedish company Eurenco, February 2024. Photo credits: Dagens Nyheter

Currently, according to Göran Mårtensson, CEO of Försvarets materielverk, who is leading a Scandinavian project to increase ammunition production, the cost of a modern 155 mm shell is SEK 85,000 or $8,000.

“A modern projectile with a supplementary charge, and fuse costs approximately SEK 85,000. One million shells cost SEK 85 billion,” he says.

Nammo Sweden to Produce Shells for Ukraine Around the Clock