State Secretary Jeanette Iren Moen in the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry named Hydro's metal plant at Karmøy as winner of the award at a ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday in connection with Lean Forum Norway's annual conference.

Hydro's aluminum plant at Karmøy got the award along with Kongsberg Automotive, Raufoss Couplings.

The award is given each year to companies that have demonstrated improvements in efficiency in accordance with the 'Lean' methodology.

In its nomination of the Karmøy plant, the board in Lean Forum Norge pointed out that the company has reduced its costs by USD 90 per ton of produced aluminium while capital employed has decreased by 15 percent since 2009. Furthermore, employee sick leave has fallen from 6 percent to 3.8 percent since 2007. The Karmøy plant has also achieved a significant reduction in the number of complaints and product claims from its customers.