Lemvig Municipality wants to explore turning the former Cheminova site into an ammunition factory, days after FMC Rønland announced it will shut down and cut around 400 jobs.
According to reporting by DR, the site in western Jutland has already been renamed at Lemvig city hall. It is now called Industripark Rønland instead of the Cheminova site.
Mayor Jens Lønberg of the Conservative People’s Party has received a mandate from the entire city council to look for new uses. He told DR that an ammunition plant, or something similar within the defense industry, is an obvious option.
Lønberg points to two things in particular. The site has a three kilometer radius to the nearest housing, and it has 400 skilled employees trained in handling dangerous substances.
The mayor said he waited before going public with the idea, because weapons production is a controversial subject. As stated by Lønberg to DR, he received growing support from Cheminova employees and other local residents.
Researcher points to jobs
Senior researcher Kim Haugbølle from the Department of the Built Environment at Aalborg University also names ammunition production as a possibility for the site. Unlike a wind farm or a large data center, ammunition production creates jobs, he told DR.
Per Haugbølle, jobs are decisive for any area in Denmark. Without them, he said, more people, especially younger residents, tend to move away.
He also cautioned that the task will not be simple. Experience from other large factory closures suggests it is difficult for an area to recover after losing its biggest private employer, according to Haugbølle.
The site is contaminated after decades of chemical production. Even without pollution, Haugbølle said, replacing a dominant workplace is a large and hard job.
Mayor rejects wind turbine alternative
Lønberg stressed that Lemvig Municipality supports the green transition. But he described his worst nightmare as ending up with four wind turbines while skilled residents quietly moved to other municipalities.
He said that would push the municipality’s population steadily downward. As noted by the mayor, the situation instead offers a unique chance to build something new.
Lønberg pointed to national defense policy as part of the reason for the timing. He noted that the prime minister has told the country’s defense chief to buy, and that 350 billion kroner in state funds is set aside for that purpose.
The mayor also framed the idea in moral terms, citing the war in Ukraine and Denmark’s role in supporting it. He said an arms plant is not what a mayor normally wants nearby, but that it could be the area’s rescue.
FMC Rønland, the current name of the former Cheminova plant, announced its closure less than a week ago. The factory is scheduled to shut down at the turn of the year.
