merchant politician goldsmith rubber magnate
Famous for the Viking brand of boots and tires, he established a rubber factory in Askim in 1920 and owned such factories in Mjøndalen and Stavanger. He was also a leader of employer associations, local politician and consul-general for Hungary. The couple resided in the 1000 m2 mansion Voksenhus at Voksenkollen from 1922.
Already from childhood he ventured into small-time trade in his home village of Rovde in Western Norway.
He moved away from home to work office jobs in larger cities in Western Norway, Ålesund and Bergen, also pondering emigration to the United States where a relative owned a rubber factory. In the 1890s he served his compulsory military service in the King"s Guard.
He also took commercial education. From 1897 to 1900 he worked as a traveling merchant.
He established the wholesaling agency Røwde & Company in 1900.
Among other things he imported Swedish Gislaved rubber products, but he also wanted such products to be produced domestically. In 1906 he established the rubber factory Viking Gummivarefabrik in Heggedal. After it was destroyed in a 1913 fire, Røwde relocated the factory to Askim in 1920.
The Viking brand became known for its galoshes and rubber boots, from 1931 also car tires.
This factory expanded steadily. Damages from a new fire in 1933 were repaired over only eight months.
In addition to expanding the factory in Askim, Røwde developed a corporation as he acquired Den Norske Kalosjeog Gummivarefabrik in 1932 and Vestlandske Gummivarefabrik in 1938. Røwde was a skilled advertiser with a sense of performing media stunts.
In the 1930s he displayed a giant tire at a truckstop between Gjersjøen and Mosseveien in Åson
He instituted "the world"s largest car race" from Oslo to Askim in 1939 and Rally Viking in the 1950s. He was also active in employer associations, chairing Manufakturgrossistenes Landsforening from 1925 to 1931 and being vice chairman of Norges Grossistforbund from 1929 to 1931. The consul-general for the Kingdom of Hungary from 1928 to 1947, Røwde issued a book about Hungary, Ungarn igår, idag og imorgen (1938) and also Kampen om råstoffene (1936) and Nye råstoffer (1942).
He died in April 1955 in Oslo.
He was elected member of Aker municipal council from 1929 to 1931, representing the "non-political electors" list", id est (that is) a cooperative ballot of the bourgeois parties.