Olav Kavli

[1] Ole Knudsen Kavli was born at Årø in Bolsøy (now Molde) in Møre og Romsdal, Norway.

Kavli grew up on Ytre Årø, a small farm east of Molde.

Just before the World War I, Kavli began to produce more of the goods including both canned and cheeses.

[2] The major breakthrough came in 1924 when he succeeded at creating the world's first durable soft cheese (smelteost) with a long shelf life.

He died in Bergen in 1958 and was succeeded as corporate executive by his son, Knut Kavli (1895–1965).