Norsk Hydro

Norsk Hydro is the kind of industrial company people meet through aluminium more than through a logo. By our assessment, its real strength is the combination of bauxite, alumina, aluminium production, and a large downstream metal business that keeps it tied to the physical world. The downside is plain enough: this is a commodity business, so margins, power costs, and cycle pressure matter a great deal. In practice it is not a polished consumer brand at all; it is a materials company with a long industrial feel, and that is exactly how it behaves. Against other metals groups it sits in the familiar, dependable part of the field rather than in something experimental. Norsk Hydro is Norwegian, and it suits readers who want exposure to aluminium and industrial materials instead of a story about branding.