Focus Denmark

FASHION: Young and enthusiastic fashion designers have made Copenhagen into one of the world’s trendsetting fashion centres. Copenhagen International Fashion Fair has become the place where buyers from around the world are flocking, twice a year

"If you want to break through, make it simple and focus.”

Fashion designer Malene Birger uses the sentence as a graphic expression in the catalogue for her spring-summer collection. But it also expresses her own experience, and by complying with it, she and a handful of other Danish fashion designers have moved up into the international fashion league in recent years. Together with names such as Bruuns Bazaar, Munthe plus Simonsen and DAY Birger et Mikkelsen, BY Malene Birger has helped to make Copenhagen into a fashion centre in line with Paris, Milan and London. Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, which took place in February this year, has grown into the most visited fashion fair in Europe over the last five years, surpassed only by Prêt a Porter in Paris.

“We were a small group who really progressed when we started the alternative fashion fair in Copenhagen,” says Malene Birger. “It took place in parallel with the large, established fair in the Bella Center, but we felt that something more needed to happen. It had to be more wild and we had to be noticed, because we were drowning in all the off-the-peg clothes in the Bella Center. Today the Øksnehallen is the place where all the fascinating stuff takes place, at the same time as it has given a wake-up call to the fair at the Bella Center. And now it is not just those two venues. It has spread to a lot of interesting places in Copenhagen which exude fashion and spirit and inspiration.”

Copenhagen is bubbling with fashion

One thing is the fashion fair which reflects the importance of the Danish clothing industry as the country’s 4th largest export business. Another is the emergence of a whole generation of outstanding designers who have given Denmark in general, and Copenhagen in particular, a reputation as one of the most important trendsetting fashion cities in the world.

“Danish fashion design has great usefulness, at the same time as being very personal,” says Malene Birger. “And it is the personal expression that shines through when the most capable Danish fashion designers appear at the international fairs. People simply flock in. Perhaps exactly because we make it simple, yet still focus on the very personal details.”

fashion

A Royal Designer

Things are happening fast for Malene Birger, 43. Since she established BY Malene Birger together with her husband Rupert Landendinger two years ago, she has been awarded one prize after another. Most recently she received The Scandinavian Design Prize. She has twice received “The Golden Button” Design Award, and when Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary in December 2004 was portrayed in the Australian Vogue, she mentioned that Malene Birger together with Prada, Celine and Alexander McQueen were among her favourites.

More and more BY Malene Birger is recognised in the international arena of Fashion. Today the company has a strong team of established sales agencies in more than 10 markets, and is also represented through high profile Independents in another 22 countries such as the US, Japan, Kuwait, Australia and South Africa.

Over the last six months, the team in Denmark has doubled the number of staff in order to keep pace with the growth of the business and deliver according to a constantly increasing order book.

Malene Birger characterises her design as “a classical fashion style that expresses, with an edge, sexy sophistication. A timeless look that gracefully binds with the freshness of today. The contrast between feminine vintage treasures and the clean finish from menswear tailoring is the signature of my design, with an invisible thread that combines the pieces.”

“My work is my passion,” she says. “Where I am in life reflects my vision of style and that vision can be seen in everything I touch.”

Malene Birger rounded off her participation in Copenhagen International Fashion Fair with a large closing show where she presented a number of creations from her semi-haute couture range The Salon. The Salon is constantly growing, and BY Malene Birger will launch the collection in selected shops worldwide during autumn 2005. International buyers will be flown to Copenhagen from around the world to have the creations presented in the headquarters of BY Malene Birger in the modern and progressive part of Copenhagen.

View the picture in full size

Function, comfort, quality, and fun

children playing

Children as young as 3 years old are now starting to choose the clothes they want to wear. Their sense of what is nice – and smart – is clear cut. Awareness is high and they have firm ideas about what they don’t want to wear. By the time they are 6 years of age, children are really in the driving seat concerning what should be bought. Mother is sidelined regarding selection and is limited to the role of she who pays.

“This shopping pattern makes children a very important consumer group,” says director Steen Fogh Rasmussen who heads Kabooki, a company which produces the children’s clothes brand LEGO WEAR under licence. “Success depends on having clothes which are designed to match children’s requirements for imagination and functionality. Regarding parental requirements, we think about quality and safety.”

LIFESTYLE:

Proportionally more children play with LEGO in Denmark than in any other country. Quality toys help to create quality children through development of creativity and independence. A Danish fashion group has therefore decided to create its own children’s clothes universe based on LEGO’s values. LEGO WEAR is children’s clothes where only the best is good enough.

LEGO products have been loved by children for generations. During the 1960s and 1970s LEGO became a global brand, and today is one of the best known names for families with children all over the world. So when one of Scandinavia’s largest fashion and textile companies, Brandtex, decided to produce children’s clothes in 1993, it was obvious to tie LEGO’s quality image and values to their range.

“Just like LEGO toys are timeless and associated with creativity and development of children’s independence, LEGO WEAR is an expression of fun, function, comfort and quality,” says Fogh Rasmussen. “The four keywords fulfil the wishes of children, as well as parents’ demands for good children’s clothing.”

LEGO WEAR closely follows LEGO’s development of toys. When LEGO chooses new toy ranges, they are shown to Kabooki in good time so that Kabooki can launch new collections to coincide with the introduction of the toys.

“But it is our choice,” says Fogh Rasmussen. “We are an independent company with no other affiliation to LEGO than the licence to use LEGO’s logo and their toy universe. However it also creates great expectations regarding quality and expression among consumers, which we have to live up to. Just like the toys, LEGO WEAR is clothes where only the best is good enough. Children play better when they are in safe surroundings, and safe surroundings also include clothing. LEGO WEAR has been designed on children’s terms, which means that the clothes must have a fit that doesn’t limit the child’s ability to play. The clothes are colourful with plenty of features and decorations, and elements from the toys which stimulate children’s imaginations.”

LEGO WEAR is sold in 36 franchise shops, 40 shop-in-shops and by more than 800 retailers world-wide. The clothes are made for three segments: baby, toddler and kids. http://www.lego.com/wear

Smart clothes in supersizes

FASHION: Previously, overweight women had to hide behind loose, shapeless clothes. The more anonymous the better. But today smart clothes for large women have also started appearing. Clothes in bang-on colours, that accentuate more than hide

Overweight – amply proportioned – big and bouncy. There are as many names as there are perspectives on the large-scale female form. Two Danish women, Annette Andersen and Anne Mygind Hjorth, have their own particular viewpoint. To them it is not about diets, but about showing large women in all their magnificence. They are designing clothes which do not hide, but accentuate.

“We do not take a position on the obesity problems of the world,” says Annette Andersen. “We leave that to doctors, obesity researchers and psychologists. We relate to the fact that there are increasing numbers of women who can’t squeeze themselves into a size 38 or less, and have no other option but to walk around in shapeless clothes which only serve to hide their figures.”

X|plor, the two women have taken an important step in addressing the issue. From previously only designing profile clothes for companies and organisations, their supersize clothes, as they call them, are becoming an equally important part of their company.

“It is an amazing market Smart clothes in supersizes which nobody has really done much about,” they say. “We started two years ago with a few things, and today we are already producing four collections a year with 30 different garments per collection. All of it in sizes from 38– 60. And that means really large women.”

At a time when the cultural mood favours the slim and the sporty, the large and rotund have had to hide themselves in boring, shapeless clothes. But that has changed in the last couple of years.

“Today women are a lot more daring,” say Anne and Annette. “Not only regarding the choice of colours – which really needs to be bang-on – but also the design. A large bosom is accentuated. Round hips and a large bottom are no longer hidden behind fabric curtains. That said, the fashion itself is lagging behind, because even though large women are daring to show their shapes in fashionable clothes, they don’t necessarily do it at the same time as their thinner counterparts. You could say that supersize fashion is constantly behind.”

http://www.xplor.dk

Jacket with built-in protection

Although supersize clothes for women represent a growing share of X|plor’s production, it is still the design of profile clothes that puts bread on the table for the two owners, Annette Andersen and Anne Mygind Hjorth. Among their greatest successes is a patented jacket for security guards and doormen. The jacket has been designed to contain for example an undervest made of a quality which is stab-resistant.

View the picture in full size

Comfort, quality and style

shoe

LIFESTYLE: ECCO will never be the world’s most inexpensive shoes. But they are the world’s best, if you listen to the millions of people around the world who swear by the footwear from this Danish company. Once you have tried on ECCO shoes, you won’t want to wear anything else. It is a lifestyle that signals comfort, quality and style.

Not necessarily the biggest – but absolutely the best. That is the objective of the ECCO company, which produces footwear for over 10 million people annually. People who have learnt to value something close to perfection in the synthesis of comfort, quality and fashion. People who wouldn’t think of wearing anything else once they have tried on a pair of ECCO shoes. That is one of the reasons why ECCO, from being a relatively small, local shoe factory in the southern part of Jutland 40 years ago, has now spread worldwide and is among the most respected companies in the industry.

ECCO was founded in 1963 by the charismatic entrepreneur Karl Toosbuy. Right from the start, his vision was not just to make shoes, but to make shoes with a perfect fit. And to make them in a way which not only gave the wearer an experience of comfort and quality, but also gave the factory staff pride and satisfaction in their work. It was a refreshingly new approach to running a company which was quite unique at the time. The rumour that ECCO’s shoe factories were not just a place of work, but also a second home to the staff, spread quickly. To walk in ECCO shoes became the wearers’ signal to the world around them that they walked well. And with a touch of political correctness, too. ECCO had become a lifestyle.

When only the best is good enough

ECCO and sport are inextricably linked –at least for sports where footwear helps to decide the result.

That is one of the reasons why ECCO’s golf shoes were judged the world’s best by the American Rankmark magazine in 2003. In 2004, the success in golf shoes has been followed up with comprehensive development work around running shoes. This takes place for instance in collaboration with the triathlon world champion Torbjørn Sindballe, who is aiming to win the world’s most prestigious triathlon competition, the Hawaii Iron Man. In 2006, the competition will be held on Torbjørn Sindballe’s 30th birthday. The Iron Man consists of three disciplines, 3.8 kilometers swimming, 180 kilometers cycling and a 42 kilometer marathon. The sport is considered to be the toughest and most complete among athletes and makes amazing demands not just on the athlete, but also on equipment and clothing.

“ECCO’s huge expertise in terms of material and high-tech production provides a platform for making world class shoes,” Torbjørn Sindballe says. “Right from the beginning they found the right balance between stability and flexibility due to the flex system in the forefoot. The unique external shank also gives you a fantastic feeling when you run.”

When Karl Toosbuy passed away in 2004, aged 76 years, he left behind him a prosperous company with its own tanneries in Holland, Indonesia and Thailand, and factories in Portugal, Thailand, Indo-nesia, Slovakia and Denmark. This year, ECCO will open a new factory in Xiamen in China, which will become the group’s largest.

“ECCO continues in the same spirit as when Karl Toosbuy headed the company,” says COO and Deputy Managing Director Mikael Thinghuus. “He shaped the entire management group, and his legacy and values will live on in ECCO in the future. Naturally change will occur, just as it has done over the last 40 years. But it is evolution we are talking about, not revolution. ECCO will still not be a high-fashion product, but shoes where timelessness, comfort and brand-recognition are the aim.” Timelessness and brand-recognition are keywords which are taken seriously at the group headquarters. It is also a challenge which created recent turnover troubles, not least on two of ECCO’s important markets – Germany and the US – where sales some years ago dived. Not dramatically, but enough to force ECCO to make a number of important decisions.

“We had to acknowledge that we had problems bringing the younger generation onboard. In addition, we had too large stocks. In Germany we had too wide a range, and in the US we had focused on men’s shoes and not utilized our women’s potential optimally. This has now been adjusted in the US, and that has rectified the sales problem to the point where we now see record sales.” In their efforts to develop a shoe design which appeals to both young and more mature people, ECCO has scored a success with its Shark model in the last couple of years. Shark is a combination of outstanding design and technological superiority, and technological competencies are some of ECCO’s key characteristics. Not only to be at the forefront from a financial perspective, but just as much out of consideration for the environment and workplace.

Mikael Thinghuus:

“To us craftsmanship and technology are two sides of the same coin. These must form a synthesis in combination with design. Technological breakthroughs often help to decide a new design – and design ideas create technological breakthroughs. Precisely the Shark shoe is an example of how the design led our developers to test new techniques for fusing natural and synthetic plastic materials. Using advanced lasers, we managed to prepare natural hide so that sole and uppers form a symbiosis which melts the two materials into an unbreakable unit. The technology creates undreamed-of design opportunities, while at the same time the quality is unsurpassed.” Because of the quality and craftsmanship involved in making the shoes – all work with the uppers is done by hand – ECCO shoes will never be inexpensive. The company describes its shoes as priced in the upper mid-range.

“Naturally we are an industry, but the core of our company is our insistence on having hands-on production,” says Thinghuus. “Outsourcing is not for us. We are currently building a factory in China, but it is an ECCO factory with everything that this implies for staff care, social obligations, quality control and the like. We do that because the quality and experience of wearing an ECCO shoe must be unique. In that area we will always be loyal to the principles on which Karl Toosbuy started the company.”

http://www.ecco.com

Quality linen gets trendy

LIFESTYLE: Georg Jensen Damask has become a hit among young people when laying the table, making the bed or when the bathroom and kitchen need new textiles.

Quality linen gets trendy

A venerable and illustrious industrial era in Denmark’s history will end this year when Georg Jensen Damask starts to outsource its weaving work. The damask textile factory in Kolding is the last of its kind in Denmark. The weaving work will take place in the Czech Republic in the future.

“Outsourcing does not mean an end to Georg Jensen Damask, far from it” says director Peter Hulweg Christiansen. “We are in a renewal process where we are opening new shops, taking in new designers and extending the product range. Even though the weaving itself will happen in another place, it will still be our quality, our design and the unique products which always have characterised Georg Jensen Damask. And with a completely new and modern image. Sleeping Beauty’s slumbers have ended.”

For more than 250 years, Georg Jensen Damask has supplied fine tablecloths to Denmark’s wealthier citizens. When guests were invited and the table had to look its best, the damask table cloth was laid. But the weaving actually started in the countryside where farmers supplied the raw materials, wool and flax, for home use. It was used for clothes, bed linen and all other fabrics sold by the meter. It was not until the beginning of the 1800s that the damask technique, which allows freely drawn patterns, was introduced and the foundation laid for what characterises Georg Jensen Damask today: timeless, elegant and artistic design.

“It was probably the slightly upper class tag – and a not quite up-to-date machine park –which was killing off the company until a couple of years ago,” says Hulweg Christiansen. “For one thing our products are supremely wear resistant, which naturally is a quality mark. For another our image was quite dowdy. Today we are going full speed ahead with everything we are good at, and producing inspirational textiles for the dining room, the bathroom, the kitchen and the bedroom.” By attracting new and enthusiastic young designers, Georg Jensen’s products have become a hit for everyday use as well as among young quality conscious consumers. It is Peter Hulweg Christiansen who has initiated a new ’drive’ in the company.

“We were at a crossroad a few years ago. The company was more or less at a standstill. Investments in production were lacking and the enthusiasm seemed to have disappeared. Together with the new owners, we decided to reverse the trend. One of the decisions was to close down the textile factory and concentrate instead on design, development and marketing. The machinery needed extensive modernisation, but instead of making large investments we found collaboration partners in the Czech Republic who match us for quality, which is something we never compromise on.”

Multi-artist Monica Ritterband

Collaboration with a number of outstanding Danish textile designers is sparking the development of the new Georg Jensen Damask. The collaboration has existed over the years, but has now been intensified with new, young names. One of the company’s greatest successes has been the collaboration with the multi-artist Monica Ritterband, who in addition to creating a number of interesting patterns, has also designed a series of napkin rings and place card holders in steel.

The new times for Georg Jensen Damask have resulted in strongly increasing exports, not least to Japan where Georg Jensen’s designed textiles have turned out to fit perfectly with the table laying culture. In addition, products are being exported to a large number of countries in Europe, and to North America.

In the old days it was the bride’s dowry

In the old days it was the bride’s dowry

“The table laying products still account for the bulk of sales,” says Hulweg Christiansen. “But the other products such as bed linen, kitchen textiles and towels are becoming increasingly more important. Is there any nicer luxury than to crawl into a bed which has damask bed linen?”

http://www.damask.dk

View the picture in full size

Small is beautiful

DESIGN: Danish design furniture is very popular worldwide. Not just as ’real’ furniture, but also as miniature models. The 1/6th scale models have found their way to the world’s most renowned design museums and the most exclusive shops

Small is beautiful

If anything epitomises Ernst Schumacher’s bon mot “Small Is Beautiful”, it is 1:6 Design. The company consists solely of Anne Donnerup and is located in two rooms of her home. The company’s annual production can be contained in a box of less than a cubic metre.

While the volume of production may not stagger the senses, its beauty on the other hand is indisputable. Anne Donnerup makes some of the world’s most famous designer chairs in miniature, on 1:6 scale to be precise, and according to exactly the same production methods used for the ’real’ furniture. In the same woods and other materials, in the same colours and with the same finish. The miniature furniture has become a hit in Japan and US in particular, where the demand is so great that Anne Donnerup simply can’t keep up with it.

Anne Donnerup focuses primarily on the furniture of the world-famous Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen. The miniature versions of his two chairs, ’Series 7’ and ’The Ant’, among the world’s most sought-after furniture classics, have become masterpieces in line with the originals. So much so in fact that the miniatures have been exhibited and sold at prominent museums like Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Design Museum in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Small is beautiful

Anne Donnerup: “In Tokyo I saw my miniatures in a shop which sells Scandinavian designer furniture. Seeing them there gave me a feeling that I have difficulty explaining. It was almost like seeing your children again. The thought that every single tiny model has been through my fingers, fine-tuned again and again, and assembled with loving care. It was amazing.”

Hans Sandgren Jakobsen’s stool ’Gallery’, one of the most prized pieces of furniture in the world, is among 1:6 Design’s other models. The stool is made as the art of the impossible. Formed veneer in three dimensions made possible only through exceptional perseverance and extreme exploitation of technology and craft. The miniature model is made according to exactly the same principles employed for the full scale model.

Arne Jacobsen’s famous chair ’The Egg’ will be among the new models for 2005. At present it exists only as a prototype. The ultimate relaxation model ’Series 7’ will come as a miniature office chair – in new bold colours and with deliciously smooth-running wheels. Something you can just have sitting on your desk and wheel around with your fingers.

woman with miniature chairs

http://www.scandinaviandesign.com/miniature

View the picture in full size

Taking us into the ICE age

LIFESTYLE FURNITURE: The designer Kasper Salto is on his way to gaining iconic status at Denmark’s best known furniture factory Fritz Hansen, which makes most of the furniture by the world-famous Danish designer Arne Jacobsen.

When 37 year old Kasper Salto started his apprenticeship as a cabinet maker 20 years ago, he became aware that Denmark had produced many of the world’s best furniture designers through most of the last century. Arne Jacobsen, Hans J. Wegner, Børge Mogensen, Poul Kærholm, Poul M. Volther, to mention just a few. And here he was in a small furniture workshop, planing and joining.

The discovery of being a small part of a long tradition initiated Kasper Salto. He learnt the craft, but the thought of producing machine made furniture the rest of his life made him send an application to a design school. He wanted to make furniture that people could relate to. And he makes no secret of the fact that the great names attracted him.

man on chair

“What fun it would be to get closer to the great names,” he describes his thoughts from that time.

He achieved it too. Today Kasper Salto is one of the most prominent among the many young designers who help keep the Danish furniture industry among the international leaders. Recently he added Denmark’s most prestigious award, Knud V. Engelhardt’s Commemorative Prize, to his CV which is already glittering with accolades. Le Grand Prix du Design in France, The Danish Furniture Prize, The Cabinetmaker Prize, The ID Prize, The G Prize in Japan, as well as participation in countless exhibitions throughout the world. Kasper Salto has indeed joined the league of masters – and not just in regard to prizes.

A few years ago, when the furniture company Fritz Hansen decided to produce the chair of the future, it was Kasper Salto’s ICE which was preferred. ICE is a multi-functional stacking chair where functionality and quality stand at the core of the design. At the same time, ICE is a simple and innovative solution to two very different sets of needs. The chair is made in a combination of aluminium and man-made material. It is available with or without aluminium arms and with optional linking devices. Seat and back in flexible man-made material are soft and very comfortable, and the high level of comfort makes the chair equally suitable as a conference, meeting or side chair. The frame is satin finished aluminium making the chair very light and easy to move around. The robust quality of the construction also makes ICE suitable for outdoor seating in cafes and restaurants.

Fritz Hansen makes the undisputed classic among chairs, Arne Jacobsen’s Series 7, or as it is known abroad, The Butterfly Chair. Series 7 sees its 50th anniversary this year. In those 50 years, Fritz Hansen has made more than 5 million copies of the chair.

“Kasper Salto’s ICE has all the elements that could make it a future classic like Arne Jacobsen’s chairs,” says Jan Helleskov, international PR manager at Fritz Hansen. “We have great expectations of it. It has everything that we consider to be our core values: Original, Timeless, Purity and Sculptural.”

ICE was introduced in 2002, and in the first year alone more than 10,000 of the indoor and outdoor versions were sold; sales are constantly increasing. Today, the chair is the icon of Fritz Hansen’s modern design range, which is known as the Republic of Fritz Hansen. Kasper Salto’s wife, Rikke Ladegaard, has designed the fabric “Blitz” in 28 colours for Kvadrat A/S which has made it into a success as an upholstered conference chair.

And now it will also be launched as a bar chair.

“It is the joy of making something with my hands which constantly takes me forward,” says Kasper Salto. “I get deep satisfaction by experimenting and seeing things take shape. But it is never design for design’s sake. A chair is the tool of the body and must function accordingly. Functionality and comfort come first. Then aesthetics follow. The sublime is achieved when the two form a synthesis.”

Kasper Salto’s mother is a known artist and his father was a prominent architect. He recognises the creative genes, but rejects the claim that he is an artist.

“Art is free whereas design is assigned to functionality,” he says. “If a designer gives the chair’s sculptural virtues power over functionality, then the designer should become an artist.”

http://www.kaspersalto.dk

The mother of all sofas

DESIGNER FURNITURE: Danish furniture design has had world class status since the middle of the 20th century. The craftsman and upholsterer Erik Jørgensen is among the design icons whose sofa EJ220 has been called simply “The Mother of All Sofas.” Today Jørgensen’s factory represents a groundbreaking collaboration with young, progressive designers.

sofa

EJ220

It is called “The Mother of All Sofas” for a reason. This design, with the unpretentious name EJ220, is the most inspiring and certainly the most copied of all designer sofas sold worldwide today. EJ stands for Erik Jørgensen, the craftsman and upholsterer who became a designer and a legend in Danish furniture design, both in his own right and for his collaboration with other icons like Hans Wegner, Verner Panton and Poul M. Volther. Today Jørgensen’s name is carried on by his two sons Niels and Ole at the factory in Svendborg. Erik Jør-gensen himself passed away in 1998. But all his monumental work in upholstery and leather lives on.

“Plus a lot more new and progressive furniture by young and revolutionary, but quality conscious designers who will carry the torch further,” says Niels Jørgensen. “We never forget the golden age when chairs such as Corona and Oxchair were created, nor the 1990s either, when names like Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-Lorenzen helped to create some of our greatest sales successes. But it is the young and innovative individuals who will shape the future.”

sofa

One of the great merits of the Erik Jørgensen Furniture Factory is the establishment of a design prize which is awarded biennially at the Danish furniture fair. The prize was given for the first time in 1995, and was won by the two young designers Anne-Mette Jensen and Morten Ernst. The winning item of furniture was an amazing double chaise longue named Waves. Just like all other furniture from the factory, it is only produced to order: most recently to a multi-billionaire who wanted it for a country home in Rocky Mountains. The almost sculptural piece was supplied covered with the finest mink from Saga Furs.

“The special thing about our design competition is that the maximum age for entrants is 35,” says Ole Jørgensen. “It is the young and preferably slightly mad we seek, who can come with daring ideas about how furniture should function. We make it a requirement that entrants have a strong feeling for good workmanship. And the results must last.”

Niels Jørgensen adds:

“It must also be something playful. There must be a playful element in the furniture. And preferably something amusing. The furniture must surprise us and make us feel happy.”

In addition to producing the standard furniture range, the Jørgensen brothers have recently put increased emphasis on collaboration with interior designers, and on development and adaptation of furniture for the concept market. This applies for instance to a number of specially designed items of furniture for The Wave Copenhagen’s new opera house, and to the design for the flagship stores of Bang & Olufsen round the world. The company has also supplied a number of furniture items for the redesigned Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“And when all this has been said, we always return to our father’s sofa EJ220, and two others in the range: 600 and 56. They are quite simply so classic that they never will go out of fashion.”

the wave

The Wave

http://www.erik-joergensen.com

The art of mobility

BICYCLE DESIGN: To the people at Biomega, a bicycle is much more than just a means of transport. A bicycle trip, long or short, should be an experience, a chance to show off to others that “here I come”. Biomega represents the new-invented bicycle.

The art of mobility

It is the plaything of the ulti mate show-off – and at the same time a wonderfully designed, stylish and well-functioning vehicle. The Biomega bicycle is cut out for the pulse of the metropolis. It is also pure swank. Who would dream of paying USD 1,000 – 8,000 for a bicycle when you can buy an efficient pair of wheels for a fraction of Biomega’s price?

“The same people who would rather drive a Mercedes than a Suzuki,” says Jens Martin Skibsted, one of the men behind the bicycle’s success and today director of Biomega Philosophy. “As cities everywhere are becoming stifled with cars, and are responding by developing bicycle cultures to take over, there are people who choose a bicycle with completely different ulterior motives than just to get a vehicle. They choose a bicycle that says something about them as a person.”

bicycle

The Biomega bicycle is not just one model, but many different models whose common features are design, innovation and quality. When the first model appeared, it was a revolution in thinking about the bicycle. Since the beginning of mass production in the mid-1800s, the stiff frame was always made from metal tubes of different dimensions which were welded together. When the young Australian designer Marc Newson created Biomega’s first bicycle he was inspired by the automobile and aircraft industry.

The bicycles, named MN after the designer, are fabricated using super plastic aluminium. Biomega pioneered this first-of-a-kind application for the cycling industry, where the frame was made as two shells which were glued together. All cables and wires are hidden in the frame, which is treated with tritium to make the bicycle virtually glow in the dark.

It is no coincidence that Marc Newson’s bicycle immediately got the nickname ’Extravaganza’. And that the bicycle almost became an icon among the international jet set. When Tom Cruise made Vanilla Sky, Extravaganza appeared not only as a means of transportation, but also as a sculpture hanging on the wall in Tom Cruise’s apartment.

“To us the most important thing is entirety,” says Jens Martin Skibsted. “The design is innovation in aesthetics and technology, combined with simplicity of function. It is applied minimalism implemented to the extremes.”

Biomega’s initial design quest was to revive the optimism of the pre-oil crisis era, a revival in the spirit of sustainability. This was largely expressed by the introduction of the Extravaganza. Since then Biomega has broken new ground. Skibsted himself designed a classic town bike where the chain was replaced by shaft transmission, so in literal sense, the internal gear was made automatic.

“Naturally there is an element of show-off when you cycle on a Biomega,” says Skibsted. “But it is primarily pride, visibility and lifestyle that are expressed. It is simply an expression of personal rebellion against the tyranny of cars in the city.”

http://www.biomega.dk

The art of mobility

A tenth of the world’s freight is transported by Danish shipping

SHIPPING: Denmark is rapidly on its way to becoming the most important centre for international shipping. Danish shipowners control more than 2,500 ships – and the chairman of the Danish Shipowners’ Association, Knud Pontoppidan, expects the trend to continue. “Copenhagen is simply bubbling with capability, quality and flexibility. Danish shipping is world class.”

It began with the Vikings, who were among the first in world history to exploit their superior ship technology for integrating shipping and foreign trade. The image of raw and ravaging hordes has tended to obscure the fact that the Vikings’ brilliantly seaworthy longships were just as much merchant ships as warships. The Vikings’ indomitable urge to constantly seek new challenges further and further away from home, turned the entire known world at the time into their trading zone. They planted the first seeds of globalisation as we know it today.

“10% of the total tonnage of ships exceeding 3000 tons is today managed by Danish shipping companies. Today, Danish controlled ships transport more than 10% of the world’s freight. It has made Denmark, and Copenhagen in particular, into one of the world’s most important shipping centres. Things are bubbling, not just in the wellknown big shipping companies like A.P. Møller-Mærsk, Torm, Norden, JL Lauritzen and DFDS, but in all Danish shipping companies which have proved amazingly capable of exploiting and timing the upswing in world trade that globalisation has brought.”

So says the chairman of the Danish Shipowners’ Association, Knud Pontoppidan. In his daily life he is an Executive Vice President of A.P. Møller - Mærsk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies. As the chairman of Danish Shipowners’ Association he is spokesman for a large number of shipping companies which jointly own more than 500 ships with a total tonnage of nearly 10 million tons flying the Danish flag.

“In recent years, it is just as much the operating activities of Danish shipping companies which beamed attention onto the Danish shipping industry,” he says. “Since 1988, when the Danish International Ship Register was established, the flagging of Danish ships has turned into tremendous growth which has made the industry into not only one of Denmark’s biggest foreign exchange earnes, but has also made Denmark one of the world’s richest and most efficient shipping nations.”

“Danish shipping companies are doing a lot of business. Not just through expansion by building new ships for the Danish flagged fleet, but also by chartering of foreign ships which are then operated from Copenhagen. There are a good couple of thousand ships which can be added to the 500 owned vessels. Politically and financially it has become attractive to run shipping activities from Denmark and the industry attracts many young talents both for sailing the ships as well as in the shipping profession. It’s no boast to say that Danish shipping companies are among the most competitive in the world today.”

’The Blue Denmark’ consists of a large number of subsuppliers for the shipping industry: Shipyards, highly specialised companies in navigation equipment, ship painting, equipment for fixtures as well as machines of every imaginable kind. More than 100,000 people are employed in this sector.

“The broad understanding for the industry by Danish politicians, as it has been run since 1988 with crew rules, tonnage tax and modernisation of technical rules, has meant that we have been able to maintain the connection to the sea as we have done since the Vikings. There are also many thousands of very capable young people who feel attracted to the shipping profession. Not just as sailors, but also as staff in ship brokers. They are skilful young people who are ready to travel, who know languages and who are flexible. And then we have a tradition for sound business practice.”

Quality is the prime characteristic of Danish shipping. At the beginning of the year the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) updated its list of flag states which meet their obligations to international conventions. ICS looks at 18 criteria altogether and of the 106 countries on the list, Denmark is one of only four countries that meet all obligations. Denmark also has the world’s youngest fleet with an average ship age of 6 years. And new Danish ships are being built like never before. These are mainly ship types which can exploit the record high freight rates for advanced and safe transport which help push earnings ever higher despite the dramatically increasing prices of new ships.

“In 2004, Danish shipping companies generated foreign exchange earnings of more than DKK 120 billion (approx. USD 22 bn), and although you can’t necessarily expect that revenues will continue at this level, expectations for 2005 and the years beyond look very sensible,” says Knud Pontoppidan. “The developments we see in China, in India and gradually also in South America, make us feel optimistic.”

“Today shipping is one of the most liberalised trades in the world. But it was not like that 20 years ago. At that time, it was tied by protectionism and rules which meant that there were a lot of countries that you couldn’t just sail to freely. Together with other great shipping nations, Denmark has done a lot of work to liberalise shipping. Naturally new problems constantly arise. Tax rules, enhancing safety, combating terror, etc. But we manage it. And with the globalisation of world trade that we see today, there is no way back. What we must keep in mind however, is constantly to be on the guard against tendencies to protectionism where fear of globalisation can lead to thoughts of new barriers for world trade, new tariff walls etc. In such situations, shipping is hit first and the hardest.”

“Currently conditions are good and it is up to shipping companies to seize the opportunities. Globalisation has meant that all kinds of products are being carried all over the world. French wine is being shipped to the US and American wine back to France. Everybody can get everything from the whole world simply because the price of the freight itself is amazingly low at 1-2% of the shelf prices. And as long as this trade develops positively, shipping will continue to bloom.”

View the picture in full size

MoMA goes Danish

DESIGN: All the furniture and equipment – for actual use rather than exhibition – in the world’s finest museum of modern art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is Danish. Chairs, tables, couches, cutlery and crockery. They are gifts from Danish designers and design manufacturers

The world’s leading museum of modern art, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, has become an unrivalled shop window for Danish design and furniture. Since November last year, when the museum reopened after three years of building and renovation at the famous address on Manhattan’s 53rd Street, all the visitor areas of the museum have been fitted out with Danish designed furniture and textiles, cutlery in the restaurant, even the coffee pots, ashtrays and candlesticks.

It is not a special exhibition, but a permanent feature of the whole museum. It has been sponsored by a large number of Danish funds, and a number of manufacturers and Danish design companies have given the Museum of Modern Art generous discounts on their products.

MoMA and the Danish Foreign Service began collaborating in September 2002 following a Danish offer to sponsor furniture and accessories in all public areas of the museum. Based on the interest expressed by MoMA, the Royal Danish Consulate General in New York approached a number of Danish manufacturers. Ultimately, 24 MoMA goes Danish DESIGN: All the furniture and equipment – for actual use rather than exhibition – in the world’s finest museum of modern art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is Danish. Chairs, tables, couches, cutlery and crockery. They are gifts from Danish designers and design manufacturers companies accepted a sponsorship.

“The point of the project was to sponsor a platform of global quality on a par with MoMA’s standards – not a ’Danish exhibition’, cultural attaché Irene Krarup explains. “It has become a design solution with an emphasis on comfort, functionality, and the highest aesthetic standards.”

In the final selection of furniture and accessories, a total of 33 Danish designers is represented, with approximately 150 different items and several thousand units including chairs, tables, couches, coffee pots, flatware, candlesticks etc. produced by 13 different Danish manufacturers.

It was important to MoMA not just to include design icons such as Arne Jacobsen, Hans J. Wegner and Poul Kjærholm, but also to give space for young designers. The result was that a lot of young, and to many visitors, quite unknown designers have been introduced.

The Danish Design Project has given MoMA an extraordinary design profile in all its public areas including restaurants and galleries. The curators and interior design architects of the museum spent many months assessing and selecting each product to find precisely the items that meet the museum’s high aesthetic level and also emphasise the fascinating rooms of the new building.

DFDS Seaways

SORØ

Herbal medicine scientifically documented by Danish technology

BILLION KRONER MARKET: The Chinese know it, the Indians know it and the old American Indians knew it: the curative and healing effects of certain plants. But many producers in Asia cannot sell their products to the western world because herbal medicine has not been scientifically documented. A new Danish company will now help with the task. On a 100% scientific basis.

View the picture in full size

The human race has known for thousands of years that a large number of plants have medicinal properties. Today they are used in many countries in parallel with drugs which have been developed according Herbal medicine scientifically documented by Danish technology BILLION KRONER MARKET: The Chinese know it, the Indians know it and the old American Indians knew it: the curative and healing effects of certain plants. But many producers in Asia cannot sell their products to the western world because herbal medicine has not been scientifically documented. A new Danish company will now help with the task. On a 100% scientific basis. to methods the western world acknowledges. A collaboration between a number of institutions in Denmark has led to the establishment of a company which will help producers, and particularly Asian producers, of herbal medicines to gain approval for their products so they can be marketed in the western world. The partners in the company, who are located on Funen, will put the herbal medicine through scientific tests and clinical studies according to approved, western protocols.

“The aim is to support Asian companies seeking to market herbal medicines in the West,” says director Bjørn Petersen, TCM Denmark. TCM stands for Traditional Complementary Medicine. “TCM Denmark will do that by for example combining cutting edge biotech procedures and proteome technology with traditional herbal medicine. We have a number of core competencies which can refine and make herbal medicine more effective, as well as helping herbal medicine producers to align their products with the standards required to obtain product licences in Western Europe.”

TCM Denmark consists of seven Funen partners including Funen County, the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Odense University Hospital and the University of Southern Denmark. The collaboration covers all stages: research, pilot production, clinical studies, patents, production and approval to access the medical market in the EU. The first agreements between Chinese authorities and several Chinese producers of herbal medicines are now ready for signature.

Professor Peter Mose Larsen, who heads the Centre for Proteome Analysis at the University of Southern Denmark, has been especially interested in Chinese herbal medicine for several years. This has resulted in an agreement with Wang Li Jao Pharmaceuticals to modernise the antiviral herbal medicine Kegaan Liyan, which will be tested for possible use against SARS and a number of other diseases.

The collaboration will also involve Chinese producers sending medicinal plants to the Danish Institute for Agricultural Sciences which will handle the description and isolation of the active substances. At the Centre for Proteome Analysis, the effect of the substances on human cells will be analysed. When the cellular effects of the substances has been examined and documented, the Chinese can take out patents on the substances.

“In China the market for herbal medicine is worth more than USD 6 billion, and a number of very large herbal medicine producers are looking to launch their products on the Western markets,” says Bjørn Petersen, TCM Denmark. “China is a market we are interested in, but we are even more interested in the Western markets where herbal medicine still accounts for a minuscule part of the total drug market. Under all circumstances, producers of herbal medicines in China, India and other countries have a need for a professional and research based partnership which can help create necessary scientific documentation for their products.”

“The European herbal medicine alone represents a billion kroner business,” says Bjørn Petersen. “The partnership and trust between us and the producers of herbal medicines with whom we are in dialogue, ensures that each time we get a herbal medicine for screening, analysis, cultivation and documentation, both parties will get something out of it.”

Rosehips help fight arthritis

Development Center Aarslev, a network consisting of a.o. Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, is one of the central partners in TCM Denmark. Denmark is a high tech agricultural country and one of the world’s leaders in livestock and crop research. The Funen based research and development centre has initiated a number of projects in order to identify active substances in medicinal plants and thereby open up for documented knowledge on the effect of these plants in relation to widespread diseases, e.g. diabetes, heart- and vascular disorders and allergy.

“From a climatic viewpoint Denmark is perfectly positioned for cultivating medicinal plants,” says the head of Development Center Aarslev, John Henriksen. “With the change in the world’s agricultural production, where basic production is increasingly moved out of Europe, it is natural to exploit our land for cultivation of high value crops such as medicinal plants.”

In addition to contributing as a competence centre in TCM Denmark’s relations with foreign producers of medicinal plants, the centre has a number of its own projects where research is carried out on plants which are indigenous to Denmark. One of the first results in this area has been achieved in collaboration with Hyben Vital, a producer of a product for rheumatoid arthritis which contains active substances from the hips of dog rose (Rosa canina L.).

“We have documented analytical evidence which shows that arthritis patients can reduce their consumption of conventional antiarthritis drugs by up to 50%, if they combine them with the herbal drug based on dog rose hips,” says John Henriksen. “Calculations made by an independent consultancy company have shown that in Denmark, which has a population of 5.5 million, it can save the country around USD 200 million over a five year period. There is compelling economics in the development of herbal medicine.”

The transport corridor to and from the entire Baltic region

TRANSPORT: Major extensions are planned for Denmark’s fastest growing transport centre. The Scandinavian Transport Centre in Køge will now integrate the seaway and motorway with a new railway terminal and a rail link to the European net.

A location directly on Scandinavia’s central motorway junction, with direct access to Funen-Jutland-Europe and the Rødby-Putgarten ferry, has made the Scandinavian Transport Centre in Køge south of Copenhagen into Denmark’s fastest growing transport, logistics and distribution centre. It comprises a land based centre, Køge Harbour and a 3 kilometer road link between the two. The road network is currently being supplemented with the construction of a railway line and a mini railway terminal at the land centre, which is due for completion by 2006 and will help to make the centre one of Scandinavia’s most important transport junctions.

“There is no doubt that more and more freight will be moved from motorway to railway in the future,” says director Thomas Elm Kampmann, Scandinavian Transport Centre. “The combination of seaway, motorway and railway, and an internal infrastructure between the three forms of transport, is essential to the logistics of the future.”

The location for the establishment of the Scandinavian Transport Centre in 2000 was optimal. Køge Harbour lies close to motorway E20 from Copenhagen and Sweden, just before it divides into E20 and E47. Adjacent to the motorway there is 1.3 million m3 of available land, which in the near future will be increased by 40%. And the three kilometers between the harbour and transport centre were just right for the construction of road and rail link between the two. The transport centre’s location, just 20 km from Copenhagen Airport with its large cargo centre, does not make the location less suitable.

“The connection between a wet and dry harbour is unique. It is actually quite exceptional that we can now drive 24/7 between the wet harbour and dry harbour without bothering a soul,” says Kampmann. “We now also have the railway at the harbour linked directly to the European rail net, and with the establishment of the rail terminal in the dry harbour, the foundation has been laid for many years’ progress.”

Four years after the first turf was cut, 80% of the original area of the land based transport centre has been exploited and it is planned to expand the centre by a further 500,000 m3. The leading global developer of distribution systems, ProLogis, which recently established its business at the centre, is currently building a 111,000 m2 project. ProLogis Park Copenhagen will comprise six separate distribution buildings with the latest technical facilities.

“In addition to the location by the central motorway junction, and the connection with Køge Harbour, it is also permitted to construct buildings up to 25 meters in height, which attracts the users of Scandinavian Transport Centre,” says Thomas Elm Kampmann. “It creates a lot of opportunities regardless of the product, to develop distribution and logistics solutions.”

Director Thomas Elm Kampmann, Scandinavian Transport Centre.

Director Thomas Elm Kampmann, Scandinavian Transport Centre.

Køge Harbour has historically been the access point to the Baltic and thus all the Baltic states and Russia. Today the harbour has a water depth of 7.5 meters which will soon be deepened to 8 meters. This makes it into an obvious harbour for ferries and a lot of other sea transport to and from the Baltic states.

“The economies of Poland, the Baltic states and Russia are running in high gear, and that naturally rubs off on transport needs,” says Kampmann. “Our only problem is space. The harbour is currently exploited 110%, and we are forced to be very selective in our choice of customers. That problem will be solved by an enlargement over the next few years, and a doubling of the harbour’s capacity and area is already at the planning stage. The first extensions with quay areas for new ferries and ferry routes are already close to being completed. After that new business areas are planned to be integrated with the land based transport centre by the motorway.”

In addition to expanding the areas, Thomas Elm Kampmann also expects that a hotel will be built at the Scandinavian Transport Centre in the near future.

“The need for a hotel is there, just as a 3rd party forwarding company is needed. But I have no doubts at all that it will come.”

http://www.stc-koege.dk

Harbour collaboration in transportation hotspot

DISTRIBUTION: In 2000 a new Danish harbour law opened up the commercialisation of harbour facilities previously owned by municipalities. It has led to the creation of the country’s largest harbour system, close to the country’s largest transport centre with direct access to motorways and with a flexibility that benefits customers.

Fredericia harbour terminal is one of the country’s busiest. It is the receiving harbour for Danish raw oil from the North Sea which is pumped directly to the terminal. And it is the country’s busiest harbour for agricultural and feed products, as well as steel and wood. An average of 300 trucks transport goods to and from the terminal every day.

Denmark’s largest harbour system, Associated Danish Ports (ADP) A/S, which currently comprises three of the country’s most centrally located harbour facilities in Fredericia, Middelfart and Nyborg respectively, is planning to enlarge with one or several more harbours in the near future.

“The idea is to have several harbours under the same umbrella. It offers efficient solutions for the benefit of customers,” says ADP’s managing director Jens Peter Peters. “There is a lot of synergy in concentration. Shared marketing, shared IT systems and not least flexibility so that customers always can be offered the optimal solution.”

The three existing harbours in the collaboration are all located on Denmark’s most important east-west axis, which via three large bridges connects not only Denmark, but also the Nordic region with the European continent. The three harbours each have their characteristics which supplement each other.

Harbour collaboration in transportation hotspot

“With a water depth of more than 15 metres, the terminal in Fredericia is among the deepest in Denmark. We have direct access to the large motorway net, and also have Denmark’s largest transport centre right next to us with connections to the railway net,” says Jens Peter Peters. “It gives the harbour an amazing platform for distribution not just to Denmark, but to the whole of Northern Europe, including the growing market in the Baltic States.”

In 2000, a new Danish harbour law enabled Fredericia and Nyborg to join forces in a commercial company which could compete with other harbours and develop new distribution opportunities. Nyborg lies directly on the international deep sea route in the Great Belt, through which all traffic to and from the Baltic passes. In connection with the opening of the Great Belt tunnel and bridge, large areas in Nyborg became available for development, which made it suitable as a container harbour. In 2001, ADP acquired a private harbour in Middelfart on the other side of the Little Belt from Fredericia. The terminal in Middelfart has given Fredericia a considerable enlargement which supplements several types of freight which up to then had little space in Fredericia.

“The whole challenge is to be able to offer place of call when customers want it, and then get the goods offloaded and out to the recipients as quickly as possible. And naturally also to be able to offer storage space if customers require it,” says Peters. “The commercialisation of our company has meant that we now see ourselves from the outside to a much greater extent. We put ourselves in the customer’s place, listen to the market and then offer customers what they want to have.”

Before Fredericia and Nyborg became Associated Danish Ports, around 14.9 million tons of goods were handled between the two terminals. The plan at the time of the merger was to increase this figure to about 18 million tons during 2004. That figure was not quite reached, largely due to the closing down of a chemical factory which was located in the harbour area, and one of Fredericia’s biggest customers. In addition, exports of malt barley failed because of a bad harvest in the first half of 2004.

“On the other hand there has been a disproportionate increase in both the fluid and fixed bulk of other products, just like container traffic which is increasing strongly. And it is container traffic in particular that we are expecting a lot from at the Nyborg terminal. A number of large expansion plans have been prepared which can further cement ADP’s role, and the leading position of the integrated harbour system.”

There is also a readiness to take decisive action if other harbour terminals around the central transport axis want to participate in the collaboration.

“The better the conditions and flexibility we can offer our customers, the greater the benefits customers gain using ADP’s service,” says Jens Peter Peters. “Flow, efficiency and safety are what it’s all about. And that is exactly what we stand for.”

http://www.adp-as.com

Earning money on aviation

AVIATION: Danish Air Transport has found some niches which, according to ordinary traffic analyses, ought to be impossible. But the target groups are clearly defined. They are oil people, ski tourists and business executives who want to get close to their destination.

airplane and ambulance

Small airlines do what large airlines can’t

On the face of it, oil production and skiing have very little in common. They are nonetheless the two activities which are helping to make the small airline Danish Air Transport (DAT) into something of a rarity in the aviation industry. While the vast majority of large and well-known airlines continue to be saddled with giant losses following increases in oil prices and terrorist action, DAT’s profits are soaring as they have done almost unceasingly since 1989, when Jesper Rungholm turned his passion for flying into a profession.

DAT has found a niche in North Sea oil production, simply by satisfying the air transport needs of oil people to move between what are junctions to them, but which from a traffic analysis point of view, would not form the basis for an air route.

“We also make a good living from the Danes’ passion for winter skiing,” says sales and operational manager Ole Christiansen. “Firstly by flying them to ski resorts in Austria, Italy and France. And secondly by flying home the unlucky minority who break arms and legs during their holiday. From February to April we are fully booked, including our air ambulance service which skiers have dubbed the Bone Express.”

Danish Air Transport is also well known in Norway where the company operates routes between Oslo and Norway’s most westerly town Florø, as well as Florø-Bergen and Florø- Billund. From Bergen and Stavanger there are also flights to the Danish port Esbjerg, and to Denmark’s second largest international airport, Billund. The route net also includes Copenhagen-Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland. This is the only route to Kaliningrad from Northern Europe.

Sales and operational manager Ole Christiansen

Sales and operational manager Ole Christiansen

“Our strength is clearly flexibility and response time,” says Ole Christiansen. “Usually it takes no longer than 90 minutes to make an aircraft operational for transporting up to seven tonnes. And for passenger transport, it only takes a few minutes more. In addition, we are ready 24 hours per day. If a shipping company for example is missing a vital machine part on the other side of the world, it is no use if our office was only open from 9 to 5.”

DAT’s fleet consists of two ATR 72-200s, seven ATR-42- 300/320s and three Beech 1900 aircraft. The airline also operates dry and wet lease.

“It’s a fleet that fits perfectly to fast and individual flight tasks where we are able to bring passengers or freight as close to the target as possible. While there exist around 800 airports in Europe which are served by the usual airlines, we have access to more than 3,000 small airports. That means saved time and saved money.

“Our small organisation makes it possible to earn money,” says Christiansen. “As little administration as possible, and then again there’s the response time. Our aircraft have to be in the air, which is after all where they earn money. An aircraft on the ground is an opportunity wasted.”

http://www.dat.dk

View the picture in full size

Airfreight to Denmark is booming

AIRFREIGHT: Denmark’s second largest international airport Billund has set a new record for airfreight. There is a strong demand for direct flights between China and Billund and Billund-USA-Japan

Denmark’s second largest international airport in Billund, Jutland, has seen a dramatic increase in airfreight in both directions.

In 2004, Billund Airport reported a 21.7% increase in freight, bringing the total up to 48,500 tons. Copenhagen Airports meanwhile handled 336,000 tons of freight in 2004, a figure which was unchanged compared to 2003.

Billund’s large increase in percentage terms is due to steadily increasing imports not least from Shanghai and Hong Kong to the large Danish textile industry which is based around the airport. At the same time, exports from manufacturing industry in Jutland are also strongly increasing.

Import-export activity via Billund is now so strong, that the airport expects an airline Airfreight to Denmark is booming will establish a full twice-weekly cargo route from the Far East to Billund, and twice-weekly from Billund to North America, Japan and China.

“We can prove that there is brilliant business in such a collaboration,” says the head of cargo Jan Ditlevsen, Cargo Center Billund. “The figures are there in black and white, and the corporate sector will be very happy when the cargo route is established.”

This is confirmed by Preben Friis, deputy director of the employer organisation Danish Textiles and Clothing.

“There is clearly a need for a direct route between Shanghai and Billund,” he says. “Currently, the goods arrive, of which 90% are textiles, via the strangest roundabout route, and often in a knocked-about condition as a result. With a direct route, the users of the transport can save up to 4 days each way. Not to mention the goods that come by ship. It usually takes four weeks, and the difference between having the goods on the shop shelves for four weeks instead of on a ship, can be the difference between success and failure.”

airplane

TMT currently operates a regular daily cargo route between Billund and Liege in Belgium. In addition one cargo charter on average lands and departs per day. The rest of the transport is trucked. In addition to the commercial cargo, Billund Airport is the centre for relief transport from Northern Europe to a number of current disaster areas in the world.

“The tsunami disaster in South East Asia helped produce a growth rate in January 2005 alone of almost 50%,” says Jan Ditlevsen. “Despite the tragic background, the disaster actually accounts for only a half of January’s growth. The rest is purely commercial and if it continues, it will produce yet another record year with a total far above the magical 50,000 ton figure. We have the capacity to handle up to 250,000 tons, so there is a lot of scope for enthusiasm.”

The plateaued figure of 336,000 tons at the cargo centre in Copenhagen Airports in 2004 is due to numerical inaccuracies, according to the head of cargo Lars Korup. He says that the reported figures from airlines were too high in 2003. The figure for 2004 has on the other hand been documented by the cargo centre itself.

“We can also see a 5.6% increase in freight operations, and a 6.4% increase in the takeoff weight of cargo aircraft,” says Lars Korup.

“It is a growth that we will see continuing in 2005,” says Korup. “This is particularly due to the reduction in operation duty for very large aircraft such as the 747 by 50% in mid 2004. It has helped to make Copenhagen Airports the cheapest in Scandinavia and fully competitive with the rest of the freight airports in Europe.

Today, Copenhagen Airports has 8 full weekly cargo routes which are run by Singapore Airlines and Korean Airlines.

http://www.bll.dk

http://www.cph.dk

Fly as you like

AVIATION: Maersk Air has achieved success as a budget airline with built-in customer friendliness and flexibility.

Finn Øelund, President of Maersk Air

Finn Øelund, President of Maersk Air

The Danish airline Maersk Air has turned decent into ascent over the last 12 months. Rather than park up permanently in response to the financial problems besetting the global aviation industry, Maersk Air has set its course to fly out of problem territory.

A year ago, the company decided to change its business concept from standard airline to budget airline. But not the nofrills version. Maersk Air introduced one-way tickets at prices where passengers pay only for what they get. The Maersk Air concept “Fly as you like” helped the company win the Danish Travel Writers’ prize this year as the most innovative and customer friendly airline.

In addition to selling only one-way-tickets, “Fly as you like” comprises three price categories, small, medium and large, where the legroom between the seats, location in the aircraft and choice of food determine the price. The concept also gives passengers a high degree of flexibility. Ticket changes, name changes and refunds can be made up to three hours before scheduled departure. For the small and medium categories there is a modest surcharge, but for the large category it is free.

While a lot of large and reputable airlines have tackled the crisis by saving and closing routes, Maersk Air has opened a total of 23 new routes since the introduction of the new concept, so that today the airline has 38 scheduled routes plus charter. At one time Maersk Air was opening a new route practically every day from either Copenhagen or Billund airports to European destinations.

”We know what customers want and we give them the very best from all the competing airlines – plus a little more,” says. “That is low prices, choice of legroom, flexibility for all tickets and many direct services from Copenhagen and Billund.”

Finn Øelund continues: “Maersk Air’s pricing and the extremely flexible rules for changing name and date of departure and refunding without having to pay for the flight again are going to challenge and change the way the airline industry thinks and acts. With fair prices and fixed trade-up supplements for the different ticket categories and customers only having to pay for what they themselves choose, we place the customer truly in the centre.”

http://www.maersk-air.com

Copenhagen Airport the best in Europe

Readers of Business Traveller, Germany’s leading magazine in that sector, have judged Copenhagen Airport in Kastrup Europe’s best for the third year in succession. Zurich Airport was second, and Munich third.

Business Traveller caters for “frequent flyers” and has been in existence since 1976. In Germany alone, the magazine is published quarterly with a run of 210,000 copies. The magazine is also published in the US, Great Britain, Asia, the Middle East and China. 3,000 readers completed a questionnaire, enclosed with the September/October issue of Business Traveller in Germany, which asked them to rate a number of airports, airlines and hotels. The responses were subsequently analysed by an independent institute. Singapore was voted the best overseas airport and best airport in the world, while the airport in Nürnberg was judged the best in Germany.

View the picture in full size

Danish Railways becomes international

RAILWAYS: The Danish State Railways, DSB, has made a bid to operate two British railways. DSB aims to generate 20% of its revenues from operations abroad by 2007

Only two years after the Danish State Railways, DSB, became international and started operating train services in Sweden, it is prequalified to operate one of Great Britain’s most prestigious railway routes, the intercity stretch along England’s east coast from London to Inverness in Scotland. DSB is also prequalified to run Integrated Kent Franchise, which is currently operated by South Eastern Rail.

In record time, DSB has prepared itself for the winds of change which are blowing across Europe’s train services. Now more efforts will be focused on the internationalisation of the company. In addition to the two lines in Great Britain, DSB has been encouraged to make a bid for operating the Gjövikbanen in Norway. In Sweden, DSB operates a railway line in Stockholm with 39 stations and 32,000 travellers per day.

In connection with the prequalification for the two lines in Great Britain, DSB has entered a partnership with English, Welsh & Scottish Railway for the operation of the Intercity East Coast, and with the transport company Stagecoach concerning the line in Kent. The prequalification has also meant that DSB has established its own company in London.

“We see it as international recognition of DSB that we now are prequalified for the two large tenders in Great Britain,” says DSB’s group managing director Søren Eriksen. “We only get that approval because we can document that on our home ground in Denmark, DSB is a modern operator which puts the customer at the centre.”

DSB has the declared objective to generate 20% of its revenues from international operations by 2007. This is planned to be achieved primarily in Norway, Sweden, Great Britain and Germany which have Europe’s largest markets for train services. In Germany however, liberalisation of train services has progressed nothing like as far as in Great Britain, which thus will play a key role in DSB’s internationalisation.

As a train operator, DSB is involved in practically all aspects of train operation: train systems, journey concepts and marketing, rolling stock, workshop and preparation facilities, stations and terminals, and fare and ticket distribution systems. The company has considerable experience in provision of public transport services as its operations in Denmark are based on a contract with the Danish Ministry of Transport. Together with the other transport operators in Denmark, DSB has also developed the unique ticket system which allows travellers to combine different forms of transport on the same ticket. DSB is currently developing an electronic ticket system which will ease customers’ ticket payments.

If DSB succeeds in gaining the contract for the two British railway lines, it will mean a virtual doubling of the numbers of train kilometers the company will be running. DSB currently runs 60 million train kilometres a year in Denmark. The two British lines will add close to 55 million train kilometers run annually.

http://www.dsb.dk

Update

Anders Fogh-Rasmussen

Anders Fogh-Rasmussen

Government wins second term

Following the general election in Denmark at the beginning of February, Denmark’s Liberal- Conservative government has won a second term under the leadership of Prime Minister, Anders Fogh-Rasmussen. The Liberal and the Conservative Parties have formed a coalition government over the last three Major player on the energy market The pieces now seem to be in place for the creation of a large Danish energy company, which will become a key player in both oil, natural gas and electricity. Danish Oil and Natural Gas, DONG, is in the process of gaining control of the Danish national grid through acquisitions of a number of electricity companies. DONG is already the largest Danish player in the oil and natural gas sector. Since its establishment in the early 1980s, the company has been publicly owned, but a partial privatisation of DONG is on its way through a stock exchange listing. years with parliamentary support from the Danish People’s Party. The February election gave the government and the Danish People’s Party an unchanged number of seats. The Liberal Party, the party of the Prime Minister, lost four of its original 56 seats. The Conservative Party on the other hand gained two seats to bring its total to18, and the Danish People’s Party also gained two seats. The government and the Danish People’s Party today have 94 seats out of the 179 in the Danish Parliament. At the election, the Christian Democrats lost their representation in parliament as the party didn’t gain the necessary 2% of the vote. The election term in Denmark is four years. The next election must take place at latest 8 February 2009.

Party leaders step down after election defeat

The general election on 8th February was a fateful day for Since DONG projected and constructed the overall natural gas and oil transport system in Denmark, it has continuously expanded its activities. There are now DONG offices in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland and Great Britain. Trade in oil and gas is based on both production from its own fields, and on oil and gas from other producers. DONG’s own reserves are growing strongly. Recently the company acquired a share in Northern Europe’s second largest gas field in Norway. DONG participates in oil and gas exploration both inside and outside Denmark. A growing part of DONG’s activities concern renewable and environmentally friendly energy from offshore wind turbines, and development of geothermal energy. two prominent Danish politicians. Mogens Lykketoft, leader of the Social Democrats and the opposition’s prime ministerial candidate, announced his resignation as party leader. Following the defeat he acknowledged responsibility for the party’s loss of five seats. Holger K. Nielsen, the leader of another opposition group, the Socialist People’s Party, similarly announced his resignation as party leader. The Socialist People’s Party lost one seat in the parliament.

Mogens Lykketoft was a key figure among the Social Democrats for many years. During several election periods where the Social Democrats were in power, he was Minister for Finance and Minister for Foreign Affairs respectively. He had been the party leader for two years. Mogens Lykketoft replaced former Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who in his turn had replaced Svend Auken. The continuous changing of party leaders, and internal struggles within the party, are considered by political observers to be one of the main reasons for the party’s decline.

Mogens Lykketoft

Holger K. Nielsen led the Socialist People’s Party for 12 years. Under his stewardship, the party changed its attitude to the European Union, with the majority of party members today being in favour of an enlarged European community.

Major player on the energy market

The pieces now seem to be in place for the creation of a large Danish energy company, which will become a key player in both oil, natural gas and electricity. Danish Oil and Natural Gas, DONG, is in the process of gaining control of the Danish national grid through acquisitions of a number of electricity companies. DONG is already the largest Danish player in the oil and natural gas sector. Since its establishment in the early 1980s, the company has been publicly owned, but a partial privatisation of DONG is on its way through a stock exchange listing.

Since DONG projected and constructed the overall natural gas and oil transport system in Denmark, it has continuously expanded its activities. There are now DONG offices in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland and Great Britain. Trade in oil and gas is based on both production from its own fields, and on oil and gas from other producers. DONG’s own reserves are growing strongly. Recently the company acquired a share in Northern Europe’s second largest gas field in Norway. DONG participates in oil and gas exploration both inside and outside Denmark.

A growing part of DONG’s activities concern renewable and environmentally friendly energy from offshore wind turbines, and development of geothermal energy.

View the picture in full size

Unchanged economic policy after general election

By Steen Bocian, Chief Analyst, Danske Bank

The Danish economy is in a stable and healthy phase. After a couple of tough years with minimal economic growth and rising unemployment, the Danish economy is back on track. The general election on February 8 has not had much impact on the economy. As predicted in the polls, the incumbent Liberal-Conservative coalition government was returned to power, and when the newly re-elected government presented its ambitions in their programme for the coming years, there were few surprises. Economic policy will continue on the same course as before – at least for now.

So, the tax-freeze is to be maintained, and economic policy will continue to be based on the “2010 plan”, the main goal of which is the shaving of government debt in order to reduce the challenges presented by the changing demographics of the coming decades. The means to this end is to increase employment by 60,000 people in the period up to 2010 while keeping public spending in check.

The 2010 plan and its predecessor “Pioneering Denmark” have been the cornerstones of economic policy since the mid- 90s – in other words already under the former Social-Democrat- led government. As well as preparing the Danish economy for the ageing of the population by reducing government debt, these plans have also played a very significant role in ensuring consistent medium-term Danish economic policy. This has meant that Denmark, despite an economic downturn and rising unemployment, has managed to maintain a solid budget surplus

The 2010 plan is now to be made more concrete. An outline has been presented of how the employment target is to be reached. Increasing the number of people in work by 60,000 requires the labour force to be expanded. With jobless numbers at current levels, employment can only increase by 20- 30,000 before unemployment dips to around structural levels. The remaining 30-40,000 must be found among those people currently outside the labour market. It is this part of the 2010 plan that is now being fleshed out. The steps outlined are: intensified efforts to integrate immigrants, which should contribute 25,000 people to the workforce; young people to complete their education earlier, giving 5,000; reduced absenteeism due to sickness will add 2,000; delaying departure from the labour market, 7,500; and, finally, a better functioning labour market should contribute 5,000 people to the expansion of the workforce that the 2010 plan demands.

That said, the government is contemplating a revision of the 2010 plan when the Welfare Commission’s work is completed in autumn 2005. The Welfare Commission consists of independent economic experts. It was set up during the Liberal- Conservative government’s first term in office to investigate the long-term challenges facing the Danish welfare state. The preliminary reports coming out of the Welfare Commission have already suggested the need for major adjustments to the Danish welfare state, and the government is opening up to the idea of more real adjustments in economic policy in spring 2006, after the commission finishes its work. The magnitude of any changes is, though, open to question, as they are unlikely to be popular.

The government’s programme for the new term contains no plans for reductions in income taxes. A policy statement mentions that tax on labour should be reduced if there is the economic leeway for it. A number of minor tax alterations have been planned though. For example, a much-needed simplification of the taxes on profits derived from share trading is being considered, as is an easing of taxes on entrepreneurs and a restructuring of the taxes on automobiles. The government’s programme also contained a number of minor adjustments to economic policy, including a reduced administrative burden for business, cheaper childcare, increased family allowance, and so on.

The overall course of economic policy seems set to continue, and the election and its results have had no significant effect on economic conditions in Denmark, where the barometer is indicating “fair weather”.

View the picture in full size

This page forms part of the publication 'Focus Denmark' as Entire publication with graphics

Publication may be found at the address http://www.netpublikationer.dk/um/5166/index.htm

Top | Print

Focus Denmark

Colophon

Table Of Contents

Copenhagen is bubbling with fashion

A Royal Designer

Function, comfort, quality, and fun

Smart clothes in supersizes

Jacket with built-in protection

Comfort, quality and style

When only the best is good enough

Quality linen gets trendy

Small is beautiful

Taking us into the ICE age

The mother of all sofas

The art of mobility

A tenth of the world’s freight is transported by Danish shipping

MoMA goes Danish

Herbal medicine scientifically documented by Danish technology

Rosehips help fight arthritis

The transport corridor to and from the entire Baltic region

Harbour collaboration in transportation hotspot

Earning money on aviation

Airfreight to Denmark is booming

Fly as you like

Copenhagen Airport the best in Europe

Danish Railways becomes international

Update

Unchanged economic policy after general election