Karstein Øvstebø, one of the company’s founders, was out on a hike when he suddenly stopped among the budding blueberry plants. Right beside his hiking boot lay a stone about the size of a fist. To most, it would seem like an ordinary rock—but not to Karstein.

Back home in Jørpeland, Karstein studied the stone in the warm glow of the fireplace. This, he thought, would make excellent gravel. He was certain of it.

He sent the stone off for testing at a lab in Stavanger, but the response was blunt: “This isn’t suitable for road construction.” Karstein refused to give up; he sent the stone back for another round of tests. Once again, the stone returned with the same disappointing verdict—the quality simply wasn’t high enough.

Still, Karstein wasn’t swayed. He examined the stone closely once more. He’d seen a lot of rocks in his lifetime, and he was unwavering in his belief that this rock could build roads.

Determined, he sent the stone to a professional lab in Germany. This time, the feedback was clear: this was one of the hardest stones they had ever seen.

Co-founder of Norstone

The bedrock where Karstein had discovered the stone became the foundation for the quarry now known as Norsk Stein, Tau division. Over the next decade, Karstein and two colleagues went on to establish mining operations across multiple locations along Norway’s west coast. For Karstein, nothing was more rewarding than building the quarries themselves; that was where he found his true purpose.

Team Nordic Bulk

Built on experience

30 years ago, Karstein used his operating experience at Norstone to start Nordic Bulk. Today we are a vibrant environment with a clear vision: To meet the future need for building blocks.

Together we meet the future need for building blocks

In the Nordic countries, prosperity continues to rise, and society relies on the mining industry to produce minerals for food, lay roads that connect us, and build schools to educate the bright minds of tomorrow.

The demand for building stone is growing. To meet that demand, we must work together to develop future solutions that run on the world’s cleanest energy, are digital, and endure to deliver a solid return for decades.

Facilities like these strengthen the economy and increase the willingness to invest. This, in turn, enables us, as an industry, to extract more stone and meet the needs of the future.

Our values

The solutions of the future are built on trust

To create solutions that challenge the way things have “always been done,” we must trust each other. This is the defining culture at Team Nordic Bulk. We build trust by delivering what we promise—and then some.

We operate with complete transparency, aren’t afraid to speak our minds, and won’t stop until we have arrived, together, at the optimal solution for your production.

A vibrant environment

Team Nordic Bulk is built on positivity, honesty and trust. It forms the foundation of everything we do.

Peder Egeland, Group and Sales Director

For over 30 years, we have witnessed tremendous development in the industry and have built our team accordingly. Today, Team Nordic Bulk is a dynamic community of engineers, consultants, project managers, customer service representatives, industrial technicians, and logistics specialists.

Now, we are stronger than ever and incredibly excited to see what the next 30 years will bring.