Sweet victories. The Héðinn team, on the right, and the Danish shipyard Burmeister & Wain. Héðinn’s team was the strongest company team in Iceland during the 1950s and celebrated sweet victories both at home and abroad, including against this Danish side, when the Héðinn men scored three goals to the hosts’ one. Clipping from Þróttur’s club magazine, published in 1999 on the occasion of the club’s 50th anniversary.
Lively Social Life at Héðinn
The Employees’ Association of the Héðinn Machine Workshop was founded on 11 September 1939, with the aim of promoting educational activities and strengthening ties among the staff. The association organized various entertainments and social events, took part in sporting competitions, and ran a men’s industrial choir that became well known.
In 1943, managing director Sveinn presented the Héðinn Employees’ Association with splendid premises on Seljavegur for its activities, which came to be known as the Héðinn Hall (Héðinsnaust). In this way, Héðinn took the lead in creating facilities for the diverse social participation of its employees.”
For many years, special committees were active for different aspects of the association’s work: an education committee, a debating committee, a games committee, an entertainment committee, a travel committee, and a sports committee, which organized participation in football and handball tournaments and even sent teams abroad for tug-of-war competitions
The association even had its own dance band, which played at its events. Most famous of all was the Héðinn men’s choir, conducted by Guðmundur Jóhannsson, one of the company’s foremen, who also composed music in his spare time. There was also some theatrical activity, and Jóhannes Steinsson, Héðinn’s sales manager, wrote the play ‘!Nóttin langa", which was performed in many places around the country.
The association also established a forestry plot in Heiðmörk, after one of its members had gone on an exchange trip to Norway with the forestry societies in 1952.
Pioneers in Heiðmörk. In 1950, plots were allocated for planting in Heiðmörk for the first time, and the Employees’ Association of the Héðinn Machine Workshop (SVH) was among the very first settlers to claim a plot there. The photos show a workday and social gathering of the association that summer. Photos: Author unknown / Héðinn.
Pioneers in Heiðmörk. In 1950, plots were allocated for planting in Heiðmörk for the first time, and the Employees’ Association of the Héðinn Machine Workshop (SVH) was among the very first settlers to claim a plot there. The photos show a workday and social gathering of the association that summer. Photos: Author unknown / Héðinn.
Spring Festival in a Milestone Year. The Héðinn Employees’ Association repeated the tradition and organized a workday in Heiðmörk on a fine day in May 2022. A sign was erected to mark the area, new benches were installed, paths were repaired, thinning carried out, and trees planted to the accompaniment of a brass band. Photos: Ólafur Hauksson / Héðinn.
Spring Festival in a Milestone Year. The Héðinn Employees’ Association repeated the tradition and organized a workday in Heiðmörk on a fine day in May 2022. A sign was erected to mark the area, new benches were installed, paths were repaired, thinning carried out, and trees planted to the accompaniment of a brass band. Photos: Ólafur Hauksson / Héðinn.
Þróttur Born from Héðinn
The first senior team of Þróttur was drawn largely from Héðinn’s workforce, which in the 1950s had fielded the most successful company team in the country. That team also went on an international tour and celebrated sweet victories, including against the Danish shipyard Burmeister & Wain, where the Héðinn men won the match by three goals to one.
Leaders of Þróttur also came from the ranks of Héðinn’s men, including chairmen Haraldur Snorrason and Óskar Pétursson.
Full House. The wives of Héðinn’s foremen regularly came on visits to the workshop, and on those occasions it was important to demonstrate the proper techniques. This young apprentice performed his duties with distinction. Photo: Jón Oddsson / Héðinn.
A Positive Work Culture and Lively Social Life
Héðinn has often been at the forefront when it comes to working conditions,’ said Guðmundur Rósinkarsson, mechanic and board member of the metalworkers’ union, in an interview with Þjóðviljinn on the occasion of the company’s 50th anniversary. The social life in the workplace was very lively, and it could be said to the company’s credit that the facilities for such activities were excellent.”
"Héðinn was one of the first metal workshops to establish a canteen on the premises. Social life has undoubtedly played a part in the fact that people have remained so steady in their employment here. In this respect, I can imagine that Héðinn has a certain uniqueness; many have undeniably put down roots here."
Guðmundur also said that good foremen had greatly contributed to the positive atmosphere in the workplace.
Crankshaft in the lathe. The photo shows turner Guðjón Jónsson in 1958. He later became chairman of the Metalworkers’ Association. Here he is seen turning a crankshaft from the trawler Uranus. The work was done on the large Köping lathe, which is still in full use at Héðinn. Photo: Jón Oddsson / Héðinn.
The Rauðka Press. This finely made drawing is by Jens Jacobsen, a Danish engineer who moved to Iceland after the war and worked at Héðinn for many years. It shows a press that was a key part of the machinery of the herring factory Rauðka in Siglufjörður. The construction of the factory in 1944–1945 marked an important milestone in Héðinn’s history. Héðinn carried out the construction, and the project was the greatest feat ever accomplished by an Icelandic machine workshop up to that time.
Maintenance and Service. Here we see the Rauðka press being repaired at Héðinn’s industrial site on Seljavegur. The home-built crane truck was used for the job, and more about it can be read on page 25. Photo: Author unknown / Héðinn.
The Icelandic Washing Machine Mjöll. Early in 1951, Héðinn and the Electrical Equipment Factory in Hafnarfjörður (RAFHA) made an agreement to begin producing washing machines. The machines came on the market the same year, and demand was high. The washing machine was given the name Mjöll, and its price was 3,100 krónur before sales tax. Every single component of the machine was designed and manufactured by Héðinn, down to the smallest screws and springs. Photo: Jón Oddsson / Héðinn
The Icelandic Washing Machine Mjöll
The Icelandic Washing Machine Mjöll. Early in 1951, Héðinn and the Electrical Equipment Factory in Hafnarfjörður (RAFHA) made an agreement to begin producing washing machines. The machines came on the market the same year, and demand was high. The washing machine was given the name Mjöll, and its price was 3,100 krónur before sales tax. Every single component of the machine was designed and manufactured by Héðinn, down to the smallest screws and springs. Photo: Jón Oddsson / Héðinn
The First and Only Icelandic Diesel Engine Haft. It has often been said that the Second World War helped Icelanders out of the turf huts. One of the modern conveniences that everyone in the country longed for was electricity. Electrification had reached only the largest towns, and for many farms the solution was to install diesel generators. At Héðinn the idea arose to build an Icelandic diesel engine to power such generators. The engine was unveiled at the Industrial Exhibition in 1952 and was regarded as a sign of the advanced technical knowledge that Icelanders were rapidly acquiring. The chief designer and draftsman was Geir Óskar Guðmundsson, Héðinn’s chief engineer, and the master builder was Jóhann Þorláksson. The children in the picture are cousins Kristín, daughter of Sveinn of Héðinn, and Björn, son of Ástmundur of Stálsmiðjan. Photo: Author unknown / Héðinn.
Machinery and Equipment. Trade soon became a part of Héðinn’s operations. The products the company manufactured needed their own marketplace, and the same was true for various specialized equipment that was imported into the country. Over time, the trading activities became an important part of Héðinn’s operations. Photo: Jón Oddsson / Héðinn.
Héðinn for over 100 years
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