The origins of Mannvit Engineering goes back to 1963. Originally, the company was called Honnun Engineering (the word honnun literally translates as “design”). Over the years, Honnun grew to be one of the largest and most respected firms in Iceland and played a significant role in much of its development. To meet the growing demand of Iceland’s rapid industrial and public growth, Honnun, in 2007, merged with another large and established engineering firm, VGK (Verkfræðistofa Gumundar og Kristjáns hf.). The company changed its name to VGK-Honnun and, after the merger, employed some 300 people. Then in 2008, VGK-Honnun, merged with a third engineering firm, Rafhonnun Consulting Engineers, a company that specializes in electrical engineering and emerged as Mannvit Engineering, a word that translates as "human knowledge." This new firm, now the largest in Iceland, with close to 400 employees, has decades of experience and expertise across all disciplines of engineering, consulting, management and operational services.
Though Mannvit is a large engineering firm, you’ll find that the company culture is very personal and accessible. All employee contact information is available on the website, including division managers, managing directors and the chairman. Furthermore, Mannvit prides itself on creating a rewarding, inclusive and collaborative work culture for its employees, knowing that happy employees are productive and loyal employees. And, that quality and innovation require strong communication and open-mindedness, supported from the top down.
Mannvit has operations in nine locations around the country, including two in Reykjavík. The firm is also opening an office in Hungary, and currently training Hungarian engineers in the area of geothermal development. Additionally, preparations have begun for the construction of new company headquarters, which will house all operations in the capital area. Other offices are located in Akranes, Akureyri, Húsavík Egilsstaðir, Reyðarfjörður, Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Hvolsvöllur, Selfoss and Reykjanesbær.
Mannvit owns shares in companies involved in exporting knowledge related to energy utilization, specialist services and consulting, including Geysir Green Energy and HRV Engineering. Mannvit also has stakes in Vatnaskil Consulting Engineering, Skipaskoðun Íslands ehf., Loftmyndir ehf.
For many years, Mannvit has provided consulting and general engineering services for numerous structures throughout Iceland. These include schools, sports facilities, hospitals, public buildings as well as residential and business construction of various kinds. While engineering services for local authorities, such as infrastructure and public utilities have always been a major part of the company's activities, it has also worked on bridges, tunnels and harbors and produced estimates and appraisals for public and private institutions. Other important areas are the preparation, design and inspection of power plants, particularly geothermal and hydroelectric power plants and high-voltage transmission lines.
Mannvit is the owner of a well-equipped research and testing laboratory for studying minerals, rock and concrete. This laboratory is located at our headquarters in Reykjavík and the company also has a mobile laboratory for taking samples and performing trials on site.
Inside Mannvit, quality control is a key factor in operations and the firm has long employed a quality control system based on distributing responsibility among the individuals involved in each task.
Mannvit has always belonged to the vanguard of engineering firms, especially as it pertains to technology. Besides all the requisite office hardware and software, the company is outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment as well as the latest editions of design and drafting programs and other specialized designing software.
Mannvit Engineering is a member of the Icelandic Association of Consulting Engineers.