From the mid-1970s nickel consumption stagnated. There was an increasing mismatch between total production capacity and demand. For the first time in several decades, nickel prices became highly volatile, and there was a downward pressure on prices. This meant that the producers had to adapt to a new world. Falconbridge barely broke even in 1975 and experienced its first loss ever in 1977. It would take more almost twenty years before the company again experienced stable and high profits.

While Falconbridge was weakened, the Kristiansand staff managed to innovate and develop ‘their’ plant. This chapter will investigate head office – subsidiary relations in the 1970s, how the subsidiary developed new refining technology, how the research teams and managers in Kristiansand and Toronto competed for mandates within their organizations, as well as the refinery's changing relation relations with the Norwegian business system and with the wider civil society.

The End of Rapid Growth

In the late 1960s, the OECD expected that the average growth in nickel consumption of 7 per cent per year would continue. With such growth, nickel consumption would double every tenth year. Production was greatly expanded. Deposits were found and put into production in Australia, Greece, Rhodesia and the Philippines. In addition, nickel became an important by-product from the expanding platinum industry in South Africa.