Thor Bjørklund

Thor Bjørklund (October 30, 1889 – December 8, 1975) was a Norwegian inventor and businessman.  He is best known as the inventor of  Ostehøvel, a popular cheese slicer which developed  into an important Norwegian export product. 
 

Thor Bjørklund was born in Lillehammer, Oppland, Norway.  He was apprenticed as cabinet maker.  He also attended the Arts and Crafts School in Oslo.  He was employed for some time as a master carpenter.   He began to experiment with a carpenter’s plane in the hope that he could create something similar for use in the kitchen.  He succeeded.  To start with, he made cheese slicers from his workshop, and on 27 February 1925 he patented the object which is today found in most households in the Nordic countries. 

In 1927, he started the firm known today as Thor Bjørklund & Sønner AS.  The company still produces cheese slicers in Lillehammer, and has operated since November 17, 2009, as a subsidiary of Gudbrandsdal Industrier AS. 

References

External links 
Thor Bjørklund & Sønner AS website
Gudbrandsdal Industrier AS website

Category:1889 births
Category:1975 deaths
Category:People from Lillehammer
Category:Norwegian company founders
Category:Norwegian business executives
Category:20th-century Norwegian people
Category:Norwegian inventors
Category:20th-century inventors