Iceland Prime Contractor celebrates 50th anniversary
On Thursday 24 June 2004, Iceland Prime Contractor celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of company operations. The company was originally founded at the behest of the Icelandic government. Its initial role was to fulfil Iceland’s contractual obligations to the United States concerning construction related to the US military presence at the Naval Air Station in Keflavík.
At that time, the knowledge and equipment required to carry out such projects at the Naval Air Station hardly existed in this country, except for the equipment and expertise possessed by the Americans and their contractors. IPC’s assumption of the US military’s contracting tasks proved a fertile training ground for Icelanders engaged in construction. The company imported various equipment and machinery that had never before been used by Icelandic contractors, and the construction work carried out all over the country quickly showed the signs of this innovation. In addition, IPC provided construction workers with a broad-based education by sending them on study trips to the United States and by engaging in specialized projects, contributing in this way to the long-term development of technical skills in Iceland.
In 1997 Iceland Prime Contractor became a publicly owned corporation. In the wake of the privatisation of the company, many changes have taken place in IPC’s operations and administration. The company’s goal is to provide comprehensive services in the field of construction, and it aims at generating an increasing proportion of its business through its own projects and innovation. In keeping with this policy, the company acquired 100% of the shares in two established construction-contracting firms — Ármannsfell and Álftárós — in 1999. In May 2003, the Icelandic government’s involvement in the IPC’s contracting business formally ended when company employees and management purchased the government’s ownership share, thereby acquiring all of the stock in the company.
