Alfred Nobel, Swedish dynamite inventor and founder of companies that laid the groundwork for Dyno Nobel
Dyno Nobel's history dates back to 1865 with Swedish dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.[7] The invention of the safety fuse by William Bickford in 1831 was also instrumental in the company's development.[8]
Following IK Partners’ (formerly Industri Kapital) public-to-private acquisition of Dyno ASA from the Oslo Stock Exchange in August 2000, Dyno’s chemical business was merged with Neste Chemicals to form Dynea Oy, also controlled by IK.[9]
Dyno Nobel ASA combined with the Ensign-Bickford Company in 2003 and were restructured again in 2005.[10][11] By 2007 they had over 3,500 employees and 36 manufacturing facilities.[12] In 2008 Australian agrochemical maker Incitec Pivot Limited (an ASX Top 50 company) bought Dyno Nobel for A$3.3 billion.[4][13]
After the coal company Peabody Energy filed for bankruptcy in April 2016, Dyno Nobel was listed as their largest creditor being owed more than A$4.3 million.[14]
Company organization
Dyno Nobel Manufacturing/Distribution, Joint Ventures/Investments & Corporate Headquarters - AmericasDyno Nobel Manufacturing/Distribution, Joint Ventures/Investments & Corporate Headquarters
Dyno Nobel is organized into two groups, Dyno Americas and Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific.
Dyno Nobel Americas (DNA)
Dyno Nobel Americas (DNA) serves North America and Chile.[10] DNA also supplies nitrogen based products to agricultural and industrial chemical markets.[1]
Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific (DNAP)
Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific (DNAP) supplies the mining industry in Australia, Europe, China, Africa, Turkey, Albania, Romania, Finland, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In particular, DNAP supplies surface and underground mining in the thermal coal, metallurgical coal, iron ore and other metals sectors.[15]
Sustainability
In 2010, Dyno Nobel's owners, Incitec Pivot Limited, approved a sustainability strategy that extends to workplace health and safety, environmental impacts, resource efficiency, community impact and engagement, as well as labor practices and products and services. In the 2012 Sustainability Report IPL states, “Sustainable growth requires us to balance our economic performance with our environmental and social responsibilities which include being a good corporate citizen and operating ethically.”[1]
Health and safety
In 2012, IPL reported that the Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate was 1.45, an increase of 17% from the previous year. In response to this, the IPL Board and Executive Team implemented new positions and structures in the company's leadership. This was done to support a new Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) strategy put in place to eliminate workplace injuries, illnesses and environmental incidents.[1]
Environment
In 2012, IPL established reduction targets for its Australian manufacturing operations for greenhouse gas emissions, water use, natural gas use for energy, and waste to landfill. They claim they are working to establish a baseline for future efficiency targets through gathering data from the global operations for energy use, water use and waste. They investigated the possibility of replacing the current materials used to manufacture bulking agents with recycled or renewable ones such as bio-fuels and green waste. The company carried out trials where waste oil was used in their fuel phase emulsion explosive product. They also researched ways to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from explosive blasting by using different products or blasting techniques.[1]
Recruitment and training
During 2012, the number of females employed by the company increased from 17% to 21%. The number of female graduates employed through the graduate recruitment programme increased from none in 2012 to five in 2013.[1] In comparison, the national average for women in the workplace in the United States was 47%(2010)[16] and 46% in Australia (2013).[17]
