Danish cartridge maker Ama Group says it is ready to revive plans for an ammunition factory near Thyborøn, if the Danish military commits to buying the product.
According to DR, the company, which has its head office in Holte, previously bid to produce ammunition just south of Thyborøn Havn. Chief executive Mikael Klint said the company is very much ready to restart those plans.
The site sits close to the chemical plant FMC Rønland, formerly Cheminova, which recently announced it will close at the new year. With 350 employees, it is the largest private workplace in Lemvig Municipality. Around 100 more people work in related industries in the area.
Klint pointed to the local workforce and to a harbor that is potentially NATO certified, which he called highly interesting for import and export. He also noted the short distance to the Army’s operational units in Jutland. Access to West Jutland wind and solar power, plus nearby power-to-X facilities, would feed the production process.
Ama Group says it has developed the world’s first patentable biodegradable ammunition, intended for training use. Per the company, the Danish armed forces fire 15 to 20 million blank rounds a year. Klint could not say how many staff a new plant would need, because the company still lacks a buyer placing an order large enough to justify real production.
The company is looking for that buyer at the Army’s Industry Day at Oksbøl Kaserne, where 80 companies meet Army specialists. The event focuses on future combat power. Klint described the coming days as interesting for presenting the product.
Security policy commentator Jakob Kaarsbo, a former chief analyst at the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, told DR that cartridges are only one option. He noted that demand for weapons and ammunition on the battlefield in Ukraine keeps shifting, toward high-technology drones with compact warheads and weapons based on artificial intelligence.
Kaarsbo said the FMC workforce, used to handling dangerous chemical substances, fits that kind of production well. He does not consider a one-year timeline for a new factory unrealistic. He based that on the ammunition plant underway in Elling in North Jutland, known as “Krudten”.
A political majority voted in 2024 to revive ammunition production in Elling, and Norwegian defense company Nammo won the tender. The project has since been delayed, partly because of strict environmental and safety requirements. As noted by Kaarsbo, the engineering work in Elling was less time consuming than the procedural side.
Lemvig’s Conservative mayor, Jens Lønberg, said he believes in a cartridge factory but hopes for clusters of companies at the site, now renamed Industripark Rønland. He said FMC has 400 to 450 safety-trained employees.
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Three ministers visited within 11 days, according to DR: Signe Munk (SF), Pia Olsen Dyhr (SF) and Peter Hummelgaard. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen praised the idea at the Social Democrats’ annual meeting and referred it to Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus. Lønberg travels to Christiansborg on Monday to continue talks, saying start-up support is decisive.
