History
While herring laid the foundations for Haugesund’s growth and prosperity, it was purse seining that
formed the basis for the assets in the Caiano Group.

Kristian Eidesvik started out as a fisherman at the age of 14. Together with his brother Lauritz, he trolled for mackerel off the coast of South Western Norway. It was hard work with very little time off. Seven years later, in 1965, the two brothers invested in the fishing vessel “Bømmeløy”. At the time, it was the biggest purse seiner in the country. Kristian was the skipper, while Lauritz was in
charge of the nets.

When the herring disappeared in the late 1950s, there were many fishing boat owners from Western Norway who tried their luck in distant waters. The Eidesvik brothers, however, chose to stay in nearby waters such as the North Sea and the Barents Sea. It proved to be a fortunate choice. The
proximity to the Norwegian coast meant that the brothers had a head start when the success story that became the Norwegian oil industry started. While Kristian remained on board the “Bømmeløy” as skipper, net master Lauritz went ashore in the early 1970s to negotiate with the oil companies
for the hire of offshore vessels. The money the brothers had earned from purse seining, formed the start-up capital for their first offshore investments.

The Eidesvik brothers were among the pioneers in the Norwegian offshore industry. Thanks to their sound start-up capital and long experience as coastal fishermen, they quickly built themselves up to become one of the major players in the offshore market. In 1986, Kristian Eidesvik also went ashore and became partners with his brother Lauritz.

Through the company Eidesvik & Co. they gradually accumulated major assets. In the early 1990s, they invested surplus liquid assets from fisheries and offshore activity in the property market. Their biggest investment was made in 1991 when Eidesvik & Co. acquired the Saga Hotels in
Haugesund.

Because of the coming generational shift, the two brothers decided to go their separate ways in 1997. By that time the group had achieved a turnover of NOK 360 million and its book equity was more than NOK 200 million. The elder brother Lauritz had first choice, and he chose the offshore fleet. The younger Kristian took over the property portfolio plus a 50 per cent shareholding in
the shipping company Paal Wilson.

While Lauritz Eidesvik continued to run his business from his office in Langevåg on Bømlo, Kristian established his new head office in Haugesund.

In the same year as the brothers went their separate ways as business partners, Kristian realised a long-held dream. He bought a vineyard in beautiful Tuscany in Northern Italy. The group is named after the vineyard. Today, Caiano is a billion kroner conglomerate with shipping, property, fisheries and finance as its main business areas. Last year the group’s turnover was NOK 2,4 billion. Its head office is in Haugesund from where it manages and administers its financial portfolio and Norwegian property.

Today
In 2005, the shipping business accounted for the lion’s share of the Caiano Group’s earnings and it also represents its biggest assets. Caiano controls 81 per cent of the shares in the listed shipping company Wilson ASA, and controls 39 per cent of the shares in the shipping company Green Reefers ASA. The group also owns directly 11 vessels, 8 of which are on hire to Wilson and Green Reefers.

Wilson and Green Reefers are two independent shipping companies that are both managed from Bergen. Wilson has a fleet of 107 vessels at its disposal, and its turnover in 2007 was NOK 1.85 billion. Green Reefers has a fleet of 44 ships and its turnoverin 2007 was approx. 225 MUSD.