Copper and Sulfur have been excavated in the Løkken Mines since 1654 that had to be freighted down to Orkanger and onwards to Europe by ship.
In 1867, Wilhelm Thams built a sawmill at Thamshavn, and the place took the surname of his family.
Thams's Communications Aktieselskab that also owned the railway and the hydro electric power plant.
The original function of the plant was to smelt the pyrites from the mine into sulphur and copper matte.
The company was acquired by Elkem in 1986, that was bought by the original owner, Orkla Group, in 2005.