Dale
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The train is approaching Dalekvam, a small industrial town in Vaksdal municipality. Earlier there were just a handful of smallholdings here but that was until entrepreneur Peder Jebsen had a chance thought in 1879. The town is surrounded by mountains and waterfalls and where others saw beautiful waterfalls and grazing sheep, Jebsen saw only the possibilities of hydro power and wool. He founded Dale factory in 1879, which was later renamed Dale of Norway. With long experience in the textile industry Jebsen secured himself the rights to the local water power and shortly afterwards steamboats from England arrived with production equipment. The little village was, in the course of a few years transformed into an industrial venture with over 500 workers at the factory. At its peak there were 4000 people living in this little village with 1200 of them working at the factory. Dale of Norway is known worldwide for its pure wool knitwear. The raw materials are easily accessible and there is not a sheep in the area who hasn’t given its wool to the factory.