Hans Mustad was a Norwegian businessperson. He was instrumental in shaping the company O. Mustad & Søn.

He was born in Vardal

Vardal

Vardal is a former municipality in Oppland county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Vardal formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 2,921...

 as the son of Ole Hovelsen Mustad

Ole Hovelsen Mustad

Ole Hovelsen Mustad was a Norwegian businessperson and politician. He was instrumental in shaping the company O. Mustad & Søn, and served one term in the Norwegian Parliament....

. He was a brother of Kristian Mauritz Mustad

Kristian Mauritz Mustad

Kristian Mauritz Mustad was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1883, representing the constituency of Kristians Amt. He was re-elected in 1886, 1889 and 1892....

 and uncle of Sigbjørn Mustad; both were jurists and politicians. Ole Hovelsen Mustad was a politician and businessperson who ran the company O. Mustad, inherited from Hans Mustad's grandfather Hans Schikkelstad

Hans Schikkelstad

Hans Hansen Schikkelstad was a Norwegian businessperson and politician.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1833, representing the constituency of Kristians Amt. He served only one term....

 in 1843. Hans Mustad married Marie Heyerdahl in 1865. She was a granddaughter of Hieronymus Heyerdahl

Hieronymus Heyerdahl (1773–1847)

Hieronymus Heyerdahl was a Norwegian minister and politician. He was born in Aremark. He served as minister in Stjørdal from 1812, and in Gran from 1835. He represented Nordre Trondhjems amt at the Norwegian Constituent Assembly in 1814, together with Hans Christian Ulrik Midelfart and Sivert...

,

Hans Mustad started his working career in 1857, when hired in his father's company. They specialized in production of steel wire and nails, and also ran a foundry and a sawmill. In 1874 Hans Mustad became co-owner, and the company name was changed to O. Mustad & Søn

O. Mustad & Son

O. Mustad & Son A.S. is a Norwegian company that manufactures and sells fishing tackle and accessories since 1877. The Mustad product range includes fish hooks, multifilament and monofilament fishing lines, fishing lures, fishing flies, fly hooks, terminal tackle and fishing clothes...

, reflecting the new ownership structure. Under the involvement of Hans Mustad, the production was diversified. First, new products such as horse shoes, axe heads and fish hook

Fish hook

A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...

s were introduced. In addition, the company expanded to other cities. In 1875 the company bought property at Lilleaker in Kristiania

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, adjacent to the Lysaker river. With a nearby waterfall at Fåbrofossen, this location had a history of industry stretching back to the nail works owned by poet Christian Braunmann Tullin, which existed from 1749 to 1830. From 1874 the lot was vacant, due to the explosion and subsequent move of the local nitroglycerine factory. In 1876 the production of nails and some other iron- and steelware was moved from Vardal to Lilleaker. In 1886 a factory was established in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. In 1889 the foundry was moved to Lilleaker, and the same year a margarine factory was established, entering a new branch of business. In addition, the factory at Vardal started production of fishing flies.

In the meantime, Ole Hovelsen Mustad had died (1884), leaving Hans Mustad as the single owner. His five sons became co-owners in 1905. These were Ole Mustad, Jr. (1870–1954), Hans Clarin Hovind Mustad

Hans Clarin Hovind Mustad

-Personal life:He was born in Vardal as the son of Hans Mustad and Marie Heyerdahl. On the maternal side he was a great-grandson of Hieronymus Heyerdahl, and on the paternal side he was a grandson of Ole Hovelsen Mustad, great-grandson of Hans Schikkelstad, nephew of Kristian Mauritz Mustad and...

 (1871–1948), Halfdan Magnus Mustad

Halfdan Magnus Mustad

Halfdan Magnus Mustad was a Norwegian businessman.He was born in Vardal as the son of Hans Mustad and Marie Heyerdahl...

 (1874–1967), Wilhelm Martin Christie Mustad (1877–1961) and Nicolai Christian Mustad (1878–1970). They subsequently inherited the company upon Hans Mustad's death in 1918. By that time, O. Mustad & Søn was the largest industrial company in Norway, with 2,000 domestic employees as well as several factories abroad. The company eventually became the world's largest producer of fish hooks. Despite the ownership change, the name O. Mustad & Søn was kept. However, not long after its 1970 conversion to a limited company

Limited company

A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...

, it was split into different branches. 1977 saw the split into Mustad Industrier AS and Mustad International Group BV, whereas the former was split into Mustad AS, Mustad Industrier AS and Mustad Eiendom AS in 1997.