PEACEFULNESS: A study by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Denmark 3rd of 121 countries for peacefulness, with Norway and New Zealand taking the top spots.
According to The Global Peace Index, a new study published by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Denmark is the third most peaceful country in the world. Only its very close neighbour Norway, and very distant neighbour New Zealand scored better in the peacefulness stakes.
The index rates 121 countries on 24 separate criteria including levels of violence, organised crime and military expenditure. The study, commissioned from EIU by the Australian IT entrepreneur Steve Killelea, is backed by international figures including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former US president Jimmy Carter, all winners of the Nobel peace prize.
The study found that small, stable countries that are part of regional blocs like the European Union are most likely to be more peaceful, with income and education crucial in promoting peace. The Dalai Lama said the new index could provide a useful tool for policymakers: “Compiling and maintaining an index of which countries are the most peaceful and publishing the results will undoubtedly make the factors and qualities that contribute to that status better known, and will encourage people to foster them in their own countries,” he said.
The rest of the top 10 countries on the list is: Ireland, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Portugal, and Austria.
The number of students starting courses at Danish universities has set a record this year. In total there were 27,300 freshers, which is 1,100 more than last year and corresponds to a
16% increase since 2001.
The Danish Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Helge Sander sees the rising figure as proof of the success of the government’s efforts to increase the numbers of highly trained graduates. The more of them we have, the better our competitiveness, says the Minister.
Aalborg University saw the highest increase with 19% more students, followed by the University of Southern Denmark with a 9% rise.
The rise in intake was especially marked on technical courses such as IT and engineering.
EMPLOYMENT: These days, Denmark produces more service products than physical goods. Since the service sector is more knowledgeintensive, the value of service exports is increasing accordingly
Denmark today employs three times more people in the service
sector than in the agricultural, construction and manufacturing industries combined. The service sector provides almost 2 million jobs, and the fastest growing segment is finance and
consultancy. Some 400,000 people in the service sector are producing services exclusively for exports, compared with 260,000 people producing goods for export.
New data from the Danish Chamber of Commerce shows that more services are being exported than traditional manufactured goods. These knowledge-intensive services are generating correspondingly improved revenues in IT, engineering consultancy, the advertising and film industry, architecture and economics.
In the last three years, the service sector has created around 100,000 new jobs compared with 6,000 new jobs in the manufacturing industry. Of Denmark’s 5.5 million inhabitants, 2.8 million (51%) are in employment.
| Agriculture | 90,000 | |
| Construction | 170,000 | |
| Manufacturing Industry | 400,000 | |
| Public Service | 800,000 | |
| Private Service and Retail | 1,150,000 |
“Globalisation is increasingly making Denmark a service society, with the physical production of goods playing a diminishing role. This is carried out in other countries, often based on input provided by the service sector,” says economist Christian Sestoft of the Danish Chamber of Commerce.
A two seater hydrogen powered car with a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 50 mph will be launched in October
In October, a new type of car began cruising along Danish roads. The name of the two-seater vehicle, Hywet, gives an initial clue as to the fuel it uses – Hydrogen. The Hywet vehicle is a further development of a Danish electric car called Kewet.
The new hydrogen powered car is the outcome of a public-private sector collaboration between Heat, Serenegy, Cemtec, Aalborg University and Mariagerfjord Municipality. The Hywet has a 13 kW electric motor that is powered by a combination of a high temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack and a rechargeable lithium ion battery. The car is designed to be capable of reaching 80 kph (50 mph), and can travel 160 km (100 miles) on a tankfull of hydrogen. When the car reaches mass production, the price will reportedly be in the region of USD 37,000. In Denmark, hydrogen fuelled cars have already been accorded tax-free status.
In practice the Hywet’s power system works like this: The car starts using the charged-up lithium ion battery, then after a short period switches over to the fuel cell stack, which reacts the hydrogen fuel with atmospheric oxygen to supply the necessary electrochemical power to drive the motor. While the vehicle is operating, the fuel cell stack also recharges the lithium ion battery, so that the car is ready for the next battery start. The fuel cell hydrogen/oxygen reaction produces pure water as its sole waste product, making Hywet a zero-CO2 emission vehicle. The positive environmental profile is potentially further strengthened by the fact that surplus power from wind turbines can be used to create the vehicle’s hydrogen fuel on a zero-CO2 emission basis from the electrolysis of water.
New statistics from Denmark’s wind energy industry show that exports from this sector now account for more than half of all Danish energy technology exports. And export revenues are
growing apace: in 2006, exports of wind - turbines, components and know-how totalled USD 5 billion, a 41% rise on the 2005 figure of USD 3.5 billion.
According to Danish Wind Industry Association director Bjarne Lundager Jensen, the figures evidence the farsightedness of the political decision taken years ago to invest in wind power for the domestic market, which now provides a shop window for demonstrating to customers worldwide that the technology works in practice.
Total revenues from the wind energy industry domiciled in Denmark were an estimated USD 6 billion, up 36% on the 2005 figure of USD 4.4 billion. On a global level, total 2006 revenues were USD 9 billion, up 25% on last year’s figure.
FLEXICURITY: When foreigners speak about the Danish Model, they are often thinking mainly of the Danish labour market, which many see as having a magic formula. Workers and other employees in Denmark enjoy good wages and social benefits. Nonetheless, Danish companies in many industries are among the most competitive on the world market.
The Danish workforce is among the most productive in Europe and no restrictions apply regarding overtime, allowing companies to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they wish.
At the same time, Danish workers are among the most highly organised in the world – 85% belong to a union. As the employers are equally highly organised, the labour market enters into agreements without state involvement. It also disciplines itself through a specially developed labour law system. This ensures robust agreements lasting several years, and few working days are lost due to conflicts.
A unique and crucial point is that Danish employers can fire employees at very short notice. This allows the companies to adjust to changing market trends without suffering losses. Those losing their jobs do not suffer either, as the state immediately steps in with unemployment benefits that are not very different from the original wages.
Moreover, the unemployed have a good chance of finding another job quickly, as Denmark invests heavily in further education and retraining. The retraining opportunities also mean that industries that are short of labour, or new industries, do not have to wait long for the necessary workers.
The employment rate for women is exceptionally high, perhaps the highest in the world: 73.1% in 2005 as against 79.4% for men. With most women in Denmark having full-time jobs, the labour market is consequently enriched with a lot of talent, which would otherwise have remained in the kitchen and nursery. The massive employment of women has become possible through gender equality and a public childcare system that allows both parents to have full-time jobs without worrying about who will look after the children.
Both employers and employees agree on the success of the Danish Model with its combination of flexibility and security, known as ’flexicurity’.
“But there’s always room for improvement,” says the chairman of the Joint Association of Danish Unions, Hans Jensen. “The way the principles have been practised for many years has produced only small and unimportant hurdles in the collaboration. And as long as the government accepts the labour market conditions and ensures security, then we accept the flexibility part.”
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THE DANISH MODEL Denmark is often called the Welfare State Denmark. Another expression often used is the Danish Model. What do they mean? In a way, it all started in the world of poetry. The clergyman, author and politician N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783-1872) wrote in a song about Denmark that a country has progressed far when “few have too much and fewer too little.” This is precisely the formula for the Danish welfare state. With taxes as a tool, an equalisation of income is achieved so that everyone has the necessary material framework for living a reasonable life. The model means that 33% of taxes (2005) is paid back to the citizens as transfer income and that the public sector is so large that it accounts for 30% (2005) of all employees. Nonetheless, there is no spirit of revolt against the tax burden in Denmark, although it was 50.1% in 2005 and thus one of the highest in the world. The people notice that they are getting something for their money – in addition to the transfer income, also virtually free education and free medical and hospital services. Moreover, the ideological debate about whether the public sector should become smaller or larger in relation to the private sector has almost disappeared. |
CAREER CHANGE: 10 years ago, Carlsberg was a brewery which was getting sidelined internationally. Then it appointed a new CEO. Over the last six years, Nils Smedegaard Andersen has engineered a turnaround, so that today Carlsberg is among the most prosperous breweries in the world. On 15 November he takes over the helm of one of the world’s largest conglomerates in shipping and oil extraction, A.P. Møller-Mærsk.
When Carlsberg said farewell to Nils Smedegaard Andersen, 49, on 31 September this year, it parted company with a boss who six years earlier had taken charge of a slightly dusty brewery business, which was falling further and further behind its competitors in a number of areas. Despite several outstanding brands –according to the brewery itself ’Probably the best beer in the world’ – the group’s business was on the slide.
Six years later, one of Smedegaard Andersen’s last tasks for Carlsberg was to deliver the half year accounts, which were the best in the brewery’s 160 year history and showed a 240% value increase in Carlsberg shares since his turnaround efforts started to take effect. “Carlsberg today is a business making dynamic progress,” says Smedegaard Andersen. “The Group is advancing on all markets, especially the large growth markets in Eastern Europe and Asia. We are building and investing around DKK 5 billion in new breweries, and we are constantly on the lookout for acquisitions which can help consolidate our position. Not necessarily as the world’s largest brewery, but certainly the best.”
Nils Smedegaard Andersen, who is now shifting from heading 30,000 people worldwide, to 130,000 in the global A.P. Møller-Mærsk group, gives Carlsberg’s staff the credit for the impressive results, but acknowledges that the change of course took place during his leadership.
“I am proud to have been among the leading forces in the change of course, but it would never have happened, had not all the staff made an extraordinary effort – which they are continuing to do. Because the job is never finished. Hard work constantly needs to be done to improve the business.”
On the sidelines
Nils Smedegaard Andersen worked for Carlsberg-Tuborg for more than 20 years. He started as sales director of Tuborg International and became managing director of a number of Carlsberg and Tuborg companies. In 1999 he became a member of the group management, and from 2001, CEO.
“During the 1990s, Carlsberg was passed on the inside track by developments in the entire beverage industry,” he says. “Up to then Carlsberg and Tuborg, which merged in 1970, had only been market leaders in Denmark. Because of the indisputable quality of the products, they were represented on the world market either as export goods or as licencebrewed beers from many breweries worldwide. This provided stable earnings and a satisfactory business for the company for a long time.”
But in the early 1990s, a global acquisition wave started up, which put Carlsberg on the sidelines. The brewery’s small shareholdings in breweries around the world could not be used for anything, once the big players got hold of the share majority. The Danish brands were eclipsed by the big players’ own brands.
Russian golden egg
“In those days, we were forced to expand, enter alliances and make acquisitions ourselves which were not always that successful. We discovered for instance that we were simply not good enough to run our own breweries outside Denmark. It was a tough period, where many things went wrong.”
But in 2001 came a turning point. Six months before Nils Smedegaard Andersen became CEO, he was, together with Paul Bergquist, one of the architects of bringing the brewery activities of Norway’s Orkla in under the Carlsberg umbrella. Along with Orkla, Carlsberg gained a 50% stake in the Russian brewery BBH, which was a market leader in Russia. At a stroke, Carlsberg had become a market leader in the Nordic region, with prospects of strong growth in Russia.
“At that time, we set about making a number of development plans for a new strategy for Carlsberg,” says Smedegaard Andersen. “First and foremost we had to exploit our resources a lot better. We scrutinised the entire company, all the way from how we acted on individual markets to how we could most efficiently load and unload a beer truck, with best practice as the overall objective for everything we did. We looked at the entire chain from brewing and operation to sales and marketing. It was actually a large number of basic things, where it was a question of rationalising to improve efficiency and earnings, but where rationalisation didn’t become an end in itself, but a means of improving the entire company’s competence level.”
At the same time as the best practice exercise, the strategy formulation, management development and all the other initiatives aimed at improving the brewery group’s performance were running in top gear, the acquisition of breweries continued, especially in Asia, where China had become the great growth dynamo.
Strengthening capital preparedness
“Although we didn’t have any money, our owners allowed us to borrow quite considerably, ” says Smedegaard Andersen. “This has made Carlsberg a company that is very willing to take a risk, where we are constantly on the outlook for new acquisition opportunities which can help us gain a market lead in relation to our competitors.”
Recently the Carlsberg foundation has changed its trust deed, enabling the company to raise new capital at short notice, if it should become necessary in the ongoing consolidation process.
“With the current situation in the international brewery industry, where acquisitions and mergers happen almost every day, it is important for Carlsberg to have a capital preparedness which enables it to act,” says Smedegaard Andersen. “But I would also like to emphasise that while raised capital preparedness gives us some opportunities – it is not a duty. But if the situation arises, then we are ready.”
Must Win Battles
Capital preparedness forms a significant part of the development programme that Nils Smedegaard Andersen calls the company’s Must Win Battles.
“It comprises a number of areas where we have described where we get most out of improving ourselves. And it includes the organisational structure and capital preparedness. We constantly need to be ready to perform when required. But the most important factor was to create a completely new winner culture. To develop our staff so that they constantly take the lead in the market. We need to get better at building our brands. And that applies not only to Carlsberg’s own brands, but also to local brands gained from our acquisitions. We also need to be efficient and ready to understand what our customers want. Efficient at delivering the goods and being ready to supply the right service. We need to have the best installations, and customers must feel sure that we are there when they need us. And we must be innovative, and constantly develop new types of beverages and be at the cutting edge of a market which has never been more exciting than it is today.”
“Has Carlsberg during your leadership achieved the objectives you set when you became CEO six years ago?”
“No, although we have come a long way. We have got closer to customers, we have developed new products and we have become more efficient. But we can always do it better. We will never reach perfection.”
By Department Director Steen Bocian, Danske Bank
The Danish housing market has experienced a prolonged boom and a subsequent slowdown, which in many ways resemble the housing market boom and bust in the US albeit with a 6-12 month delay. Does this imply that the troubles in the US subprime market are a forewarning of what is yet to come for Denmark? At Danske Bank we don’t think so.
House prices in Denmark increased continuously from 1993 until the end of 2006. At national level average house prices almost tripled during that period, and thus increased more than in the US. Not surprisingly apartments in Copenhagen have been at the epicentre of the Danish housing boom – with more than a quadrupling of prices from 1995 to 2006. The Danish housing market gathered particular strength during 2005 when average house prices increased as much as 24 %.
The sentiment in the Danish housing market changed in spring 2006. The number of interested buyers fell and the number of homes for sale increased. This resembles the development in the US, although with a lag of 6-12 month. On the other hand the number of forced sales in Denmark is still at what can best be characterised as a historical low. This is in contrast to the US where foreclosures are increasing – in particular in the subprime market.
Financial innovation
Financial innovation has stimulated the housing market in Denmark as well as in the US. Denmark introduced adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) in 1996, interest-only mortgage loans in 2003 and loans with an interest rate ceiling in 2004. The introduction of these instruments has helped to give house purchasers a wider choice, although no-one should be able to get any kind of mortgage loan unless they can afford a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan.
The shift towards ARMs and interest-only mortgage loans has tended to make housing appear more affordable than it would otherwise be and has thereby boosted demand for owner-occupied housing and thus been supportive to increasing house prices. The shift towards ARMs and interest-only loans has also made the Danish housing market more sensitive to interest rate increases, although the widespread use of interest rate ceilings helps to reduce interest rate sensitivity.
Important dif ferences
Although there are a number of striking similarities between the housing boom in Denmark and in the US, there are also important differences. In particular there are fundamental differences in the way the financial system deals with mortgage lending.
First, Credit evaluation in Denmark is quite uniform and it is more thorough than in parts of the US mortgage sector. Danish mortgage institutions and banks can access detailed information on credit history, and will only grant a loan after sufficient and satisfactory documentation on salary and net financial position etc. is given. There is essentially no subprime sector in Denmark.
Secondly, the mortgage institutions in Denmark take the loans on their own books. The mortgage loans are then financed by the issuance of bonds with similar coupon and maturity. The credit risk is typically not resold and repackaged. In contrast, in the US it is common that the mortgage originator immediately passes the loan on to someone else. Often there can be a whole chain of institutions that repack and resell the risk in the form of securitized products. This practice implies that the first link in the chain is mainly concerned about increasing loan volume without focusing too much on the accompanying risk. This has resulted in teaser loans and liar loans, which are next to non-existent in Denmark.
The absence of a subprime market and teaser loans makes the Danish housing market more robust to house price falls. The ability of home owners to service their mortgage debt is generally not dependent on whether the value of their home increases further. This is in contrast to the US, where lax lending standards and the use of teaser loans, has put a substantial number of households in a stretched financial situation – where their ability to service their debt is dependent on continued house price increases.
Downward adjustment
As described above, the mortgage system in Denmark differs substantially from the US system. Some of the headaches of the US housing market are thus not present in Denmark. The Danish housing market is also supported by a buoyant economy with unemployment at a very low level and strong growth in disposable incomes.
Planned tax reductions will add further to disposable incomes. Future interest rate hikes will on the other hand dampen housing demand.
Based on this scenario we at Danske Bank foresee that nominal house prices will continue with a slow downward adjustment for the rest of the year followed by a stabilisation. Denmark may then face a prolonged period of stable nominal prices but slightly falling real house prices. In the event that interest rates increase more than we expect this will put additional pressure on prices in the areas where prices are most stretched.
Jytte Kaufmann Thomsen, Danimex
SATELLITE COMMUNICATION: When natural disasters or man-made crises strike, it is fortunate that international aid organisations are usually queuing up to help. But effective aid demands equally effective communication systems, and it is exactly these systems – if they exist in the first place –which tend to break down during natural disasters.
Over the past 15 years, the Danish company Danimex has specialised in providing communication equipment to humanitarian aid organisations and establishing communication systems in even the remotest and inaccessible parts of the world. The systems are based on two-way VHF/UHF radio, satellite telephones or digital radio systems.
“In the industrialised world, wellfunctioning communication systems are often taken for granted,” says Jytte Kaufmann Thomsen, managing director of Danimex. “But this is not the case in many other parts of the world. And when lack of communication is combined with the general chaos of a crisis situation, then things really fall apart.”
Rapid response essential
Today, Danimex is the world’s leading supplier of communication equipment for humanitarian aid organisations, including major UN organisations.
“When a crisis occurs, whether it is an earthquake, tsunami, typhoon or hurricane, or when people flee in large numbers to desolate regions in the world, a rapid response is essential,” says Jytte Thomsen. “And the systems must work, including across any existing systems. We constantly have people on the move who are ready to provide support and technical assistance throughout the world, if the need arises. But it is primarily our large stocks of equipment and efficient logistics that enable us to supply total communication solutions at very short notice.”
Making a dif ference
Although crisis preparedness has become Danimex’s brand, the company also supplies equipment and systems for public and private sector companies that operate in remote and inaccessible areas of the world, where the only form of communication is via satellite.
“I don’t think any other company has so much competence concentrated in this special area as we have,” says Jytte Thomsen. “We also have access to the very best equipment from Thrane+ Thrane, Motorola and Codan HF, and we can offer fullrange solutions for voice, internet and fax over the Thuraya, Inmarsat and Iridium satellites. Combined with rapidity, precision, service and support, we help to make a difference when the need, often at the most unexpected times, arises.”
DESIGN: Goldsmiths Ole and Charlotte Lynggaard – father and daughter – are rapidly making their names in the international jewellery world.
It is Danish design at its very best. And probably also the most expensive. Jewellery designers Ole and Charlotte Lynggaard – father and daughter – are experiencing the kind of success that have opened the doors to partnerships in the retail world beyond the Nordic region. The jewellery company plans to initially target the UK, then the US and Japan. Ole and Charlotte Lynggaard’s collections can already be bought in select stores throughout Scandinavia.
“We are seeing amazing interest in our collections worldwide,” says the jewellery company’s sales and marketing manager Michel Normann. “And that is both from our primary customers, which are top jewellery stores, and from the end users, who are women from 25 to 90 years.” Ole and Charlotte Lynggaard’s unique mode of expression has given them icon status among connoisseurs worldwide, according to Michel Normann.
“The combination of pure Scandinavian design and classic timelessness is what fascinates, along with a functionalism not seen with other jewellery artists,” says Normann, who points especially to Ole Lynggaard’s classic locking device, which in addition to being a piece of jewellery in itself, creates the opportunity for combining other individual elements from the various collections with each other.
“It opens up completely new and surprising opportunities both regarding jewellery combinations and clothing style,” says Michel Normann. “A piece of jewellery worn with an elegant evening dress together with a string of pearls suddenly gets a new life on a leather necklace with a T-shirt the day after. That is one of the reasons why customers return again and again, because the various collections can be expanded both according to taste and purse.” Ole and Charlotte Lynggaard’s jewellery is in the same luxury price class as Cartier, Bulgari and Dior. Most of their jewellery is made at the company’s own workshop north of Copenhagen. The two designers work closely with their 45 goldsmiths to ensure that each piece of jewellery gets exactly the right form and the right precious stones.
Ole Lynggaard, 70, is a trained goldsmith. He studied in Germany, France and the USA, and has travelled in a number of exotic countries. Ole Lynggaard’s jewellery in red and white gold have simple and elegant forms in a timeless design.
Charlotte Lynggaard, 40, orginally trained as a designer. She finds her inspiration in nature, art and textiles. One of her most popular designs is inspired by a piece of Parisian lace. The supermodel of the jewellery firm, actress Connie Nielsen, is seen here wearing Charlotte Lynggaard’s “Flower Bracelet” in matt red gold, decorated with 16 carefully selected diamonds.
BIOETHANOL: Weight for weight, sea lettuce contains as much carbohydrate as wheat or maize. Danish researchers will study whether sea lettuce can cost-effectively be grown in artificial basins
When the alga species sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca), which grows everywhere along coasts worldwide, enjoys some warmth, it starts to grow. When it reaches a certain size it sinks to the seabed, decays and accelerates oxygen depletion, causing fish to die. In other words, it is a harmful organism that threatens the health of marine environments.
But for all its sins, sea lettuce has a redeeming quality that will become the subject of thorough study in Denmark. When dried, it contains up to 60% carbohydrate, a figure comparable to wheat or maize. That makes it a potential candidate for the production of bioethanol to substitute fossil-derived petrol.
Replacing food crops
Sea lettuce is interesting as a subject of research because it could replace food crops, like sugar cane and maize, which are currently used for bioethanol production. Increasing production of bioethanol is swallowing up an ever-larger proportion of the world’s agricultural land, resulting in higher food prices worldwide. Another reason for the research is that problems with algae will proliferate in the coming decades because of higher temperatures and the associated global warming.
“In Denmark alone, we estimate that we can annually harvest around 100,000 tons of sea lettuce from natural habitats,” says senior advisor Michael Bo Rasmussen of the National Environmental Research Institute at the University of Aarhus. “And if production of sea lettuce is systematised in artificial basins, we calculate a yield of 500 tons per hectare. These basins could be placed near combined heat and power stations where the hot returned water from the cooling cycle can be exploited. At the same time, CO2 rich flue gases from the stations could be piped into the basins and agricultural waste or biogas could be supplied as nutrients. Our initial calculations show that 100,000 litres of bioethanol could be produced per hectare of cultivated sea lettuce.”
Valuable source for bio-ethanol
World-class green energy
Michael Bo Rasmussen acknowledges that there is still a long way to go before research into the potential of sea lettuce as an energy feedstock can be commercialised.
“Besides laboratory research into maximising the carbohydrate content of sea lettuce, significant work needs to be done on economic analyses,” says Michael Bo Rasmussen. “If it turns out to be cost-effective regarding both the environmental benefit of cleaner sea water and the production of bioethanol, then we have an energy source which is almost unlimited in quantity. It could become world-class green energy.”
BIO-DIESEL: Bjarne Simonsen is Denmark’s largest manufacturer of environmentally friendly bio-diesel. Seeds from around 100,000 hectares of rapeseed fields will this year end up in giant piles at his oil refinery in Emmelev, Funen, where the seeds are pressed and converted into bio-diesel. This year he will produce 100 million litres, all for export. Next year, Bjarne Simonsen expects to double production, thereby saving the environment half a million tons of CO .
A radical change is taking place in Danish – and European – agriculture: From growing corn for food to growing rapeseed for fuel. The fields of yellow are spreading ever further as the small seeds become big business, with more and more farmers aspiring to join the exclusive club of oil sheiks.
It’s all about bio-diesel. Green CO2- friendly oil is pressed out of the seeds, and after a simple chemical treatment -known as transesterification - the oil’s glycerol is replaced by alcohol and can be poured directly into the tank of a diesel-powered car.
“Many cars run on 100% bio-diesel while others run on various mixture ratios with traditional fossil-derived diesel,” says director Bjarne Simonsen of Emmelev A/S. The Danish company is among Europe’s largest manufacturers of bio-diesel with an annual production of approximately 100 million litres.
Bio-diesel – a winner
“Diesel engines like rapeseed oil,” says Simonsen. “When the French car manufacturer Peugeot recently carried out the first large-scale test of some of its small diesel powered cars, using a 30% mixture ratio of bio-diesel and conventional diesel, the results were startling. All the test drivers reported more engine power, smoother running of the engine and lower fuel consumption. But most importantly of all, CO2 emissions fell by as much as 50%.”
Not surprisingly, Bjarne Simonsen believes that in the longterm bio-diesel will win the battle against bioethanol, hydrogen and electricity to become the transport sector’s preferred source of power.
Diesel overtakes petrol
“Diesel technology has become highly sophisticated,” says Simonsen. “Its success can be measured by a constantly decreasing consumption of petrol and a corresponding increase in consumption of diesel. For the first time in history, less petrol than diesel was sold in Denmark in 2006 – 2.3 billion litres of petrol compared to 2.5 billion litres of diesel. And that trend will continue as far into the future as I can see.”
With new targets set by the European Union for increased use of bio-fuel, the industry is growing rapidly. Bjarne Simonsen forecasts global growth of 30% annually, and he plans to double production at Emmelev by 2008.
The domestic market waits
“Up to now, our entire production of bio-diesel has been exported, first and foremost to Germany which takes half of it, and to Norway, Sweden and Iceland,” says Simonsen. “The reason why we have not had a domestic market so far is due to the duty policy. In Denmark the duty on bio-diesel and fossil-derived diesel is still the same. But with the Danish government’s recent decision to reach a bio-fuel consumption figure of almost 6% by 2012, there will be a domestic market in the future.”
The strong growth in the production of bio-fuel requires more and larger land areas growing mainly rapeseed. A development not all, especially environmentalists, agree with. But to Bjarne Simonsen, that is an unavoidable consequence of agricultural developments in Europe.
Saving CO2 emissions
“As agricultural subsidies in the EU are gradually reduced, food production will be increasingly taken over by the developing countries. But the land still needs to be cultivated, and in Denmark rapeseed is an excellent crop. By using rapeseed as a rotation crop every fourth year, it has made yields of wheat and barley 25% higher because of rapeseed’s ability to bind CO2 in the soil. So it is clearly a benefit, both for the agricultural sector and for bio-diesel production.” Rapeseed is currently grown on about 200,000 hectares of land in Denmark, and Emmelev takes just under half of the crop for its production of bio-diesel. The rapeseed growing area is expected to increase to 300,000 hectares by 2008. But that is still too low in Bjarne Simonsen’s view.
“It would be both desirable and realistic if 500,000 hectares were exploited for rapeseed,” he says. “That area could produce 625 million litres of bio-diesel per year and at the same time save more than three million tons of CO2 emission, to the benefit of the global climate.” Approximately 125 million litres of bio-diesel can be produced from rapeseed grown on 100,000 hectares of land. When the rapeseed is harvested, the seeds are separated. 350,000 tons of straw is combusted in combined heat/ power stations, while the seeds go for pressing. The residual product after pressing is 220,000 tons rapeseed cake, which is used as animal feed. The squeezed oil goes through a process of transesterification to produce bio-fuel that can be used in diesel-powered cars.
ENERGY SAVINGS: A lot of money is being spent keeping old pumps going. New, energy efficient pumps can pay for themselves in just a few years.
The tremendous growth in that part of the food industry, which manufactures more or less ready-made foods, requires more and more pumps in processing plants. Grundfos has prepared a new service product called ’Pump Audit’ to provide its customers with a thorough check of pumps in customers’ production plants.
“The energy to run the many pumps in a production plant costs a lot of money, and the requirements for energy-efficient pumps are constantly increasing,” says Roy Olesen. “With our ’Pump Audit’ programme we offer a thorough efficiency check, which most often results in very significant savings for the industry. By replacing old and inefficient pumps with new and energy-efficient ones, an average dairy or brewery can often save so much money that the repayment period can be as little as 1 or 2 years for a new pump.”
Grundfos is represented throughout the world, with sales companies in more than 45 countries. The company has its own production facilities in 14 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. In 2006, Grundfos generated revenues of approx. EUR 2.1 billion.
Old, worn out pumps are expensive on energy. By replacing them with new, energysaving pumps, the repayment period can be as little as 1 or 2 years
Following Grundfos' acquisition of the German Hilge Group three years ago, Grundfos has added production efficiency to Hilge as well as access to a global sales network, and both have benefited from the synergy resulting from the merger between the two.
Grundfos was already among the world leaders in all other pump types, including circulator pumps, submersible pumps and other centrifugal pumps. Hilge's stainless steel sanitary pumps opened new markets in an area that is seeing tremendous growth.
“Hilge was already a well-respected name, especially in the brewery industry,” says Mogens Roy Olesen, Segment Director at Grundfos. “While Grundfos has comprehensive knowledge and an innovative attitude to pump technology in general, Hilge had found a niche in that part of the food industry that makes high demands on pump quality. Most recently, a newly developed pump has been marketed for viscous foods such as ketchup, mayonnaise and dressings.”
Mogens Roy Olesen, Grundfos: “We are well on our way into the food industry”
Keeping the pumps going
With the sanitary pumps added to its portfolio, Grundfos has become an all-round supplier for the food industry, which at the same time is offered the worldwide service to its customers.
“Take for example a large modern brewery that produces between 5 and 10 million hectolitres of beer annually,” says Roy Olesen. “Such a brewery typically has more than 200 pumps installed in its production facility. If just one these pumps breaks down, the entire production could grind to a halt, and that is not acceptable in a modern production facility. An operation and service guarantee is thus an important parameter in the assessment of a pump's quality.”
ALCHEMY: A small Danish metal company, FJ Sintermetal, has developed and patented a new material which matches high-speed steel in terms of density, hardness and wear resistance. But at a significantly lower price, and with properties that can be tailored exactly to the components’ use.
As the name suggests, FJ Sintermetal manufactures geometrically complex metal components via sintering. This is a process where metal powder is compressed under high pressure into a completed item. The item is then sintered at a temperature just below the melting point. Before sintering the item is brittle and porous, but heating starts a process where the molecules in the powder alloy fuse together and form carbides which make the item hard and wear resistant. “Sinter technology is a relatively young technology, which is seeing rapid growth,” says director Søren Weis Sørensen of FJ Sintermetal. “Up to now the technology has been used for manufacturing items that would otherwise require a lot of processing. Sinter technology can produce very large batches and is thus significantly cheaper. Sintered items are for example extensively used in the automotive industry, such as for the production of gearbox cogs.”
Eliminates costly process
Sinter technology has many advantages. There is no material waste and the more complex the item is, the more money is saved. But the technology has – or rather had – a disadvantage.
“Conventional sintering does not make the density as high as in solid steel,” says Weis Sørensen. “When the metal powder is compressed, small air pores are created in the metal. Up to 15% of the item can be air pores. In most cases this has no importance, but in some cases there is a need for a material with high density as well as high wear resistance. We have solved that problem with our new patented powder alloy, Weardens®, which without subsequent processing reduces the porosity to under 2%.”
Weardens® is the result of a focused research effort at FJ Sintermetal, which has experimented with many compositions of additives and high-speed steel with added hard carbides. The result is a milestone in the development of sinter technology, since the alloy’s unique composition of chromium, tungsten, molybdenum and vanadium carbides eliminates the need for the alternative, costly vacuum process that conventionally sintered items need to go through to achieve high density.
Alchemy at high level
“An interesting aspect of our technology is the opportunity to tailor materials with properties that precisely fit the task and the environment in which the item will be used,” says Weis Sørensen. “We can do that because we mix the powder which is used for the production. That is alchemy at a high level.
The technology, which FJ Sintermetal is the only company to offer worldwide, is a gift for industries requiring cutting tools exposed to hard wear, such as the asphalt, forestry or drilling industries. There are great savings to gain from the
new technology, even with relatively small batches.
SMOKE-FREE: Greetings, smokers! Now you can bury your bad consciences because here it is, the harmless cigarette that tastes of tobacco, satisfies the nicotine craving and can – almost – replace the conventional cigarette. The only thing it doesn’t provide is the main health damager, the smoke.
With nearly 1,800 Europeans dying every day as a result of smoking, the announcement of the smokefree cigarette sounds like the answer to health authorities’ longstanding prayers for an end to smoking. The new invention may well achieve that, believes the inventor of the considaret, pharmaconomist Anders Leonhard Jensen. He is busy getting final approvals and reckons that the first 40,000 packs of the smokefree cigarette will reach the market around Christmas 2007.
“We are currently in the process of fitting out production facilities while we wait for final approval from the Danish Medicines Agency. When it comes, smokers can puff away with a clear conscience.”
Tobacco taste
Anders Leonhard Jensen, 47, is a smoker himself and has been since he was 16. For the last 8 years, he and an old school friend have experimented with the idea of developing a replacement cigarette, which tastes of tobacco and satisfies the need for nicotine, but does not create the harmful smoke.
“In contrast to smoking cessation products, the considaret, as we call it, contains not only nicotine but an originallydeveloped flavouring which satisfies the smoker’s need to enjoy a cigarette,” says Jensen. “The nicotine, which is a liquid, is extracted from ordinary tobacco and encapsulated together with the flavouring in a small aluminium capsule which is placed in a plastic tube. A small device perforates the capsule, whose contents are then inhaled. The effect lasts for about 10 minutes, just like a conventional cigarette.”
’Souls’
To make the illusion of smoking without smoke as convincing as possible, the cigarette tubes will be wrapped in cigarette paper and sold in a traditional cigarette pack. The price will probably be the same as for cigarettes.
“Smoking dependency has many aspects,” says Anders Leonhard Jensen. “But two key parameters are the physical dependency on nicotine and psychology. Smokers react like Pavlov’s dogs: situations, sounds and taste experiences make smokers reach automatically for a cigarette. So if a replacement cigarette is going to work, it is important that it both looks like and tastes like the real thing. And so does our ’Souls’, which will be the name of the considaret.”
MANOR FOOD: Five of Denmark’s historic castles and manors have joined forces to produce food and drink according to the old virtues that characterise good and simple craft, proud traditions and respect for the quality and taste of the ingredients.
Food is not only to be eaten, but also to be experienced, with everything that involves of aromas and visual impressions. Part of the experience is knowing the origin of the ingredients, while the focus is on quality and taste based on simple principles. A fresh chicken that has been bred using common sense and given good, varied and natural food, tastes, all other things being equal, best.
This history and experience carries through when you put your teeth into aromarich, tender and juicy manor chicken from one of Denmark’s largest manors, Frijsenborg, which is located in scenic surroundings in the forests of central Jutland. The more than 300 year old estate is part of a collaboration between five of Denmark’s largest castles and manors. Each of them has their own speciality that forms part of a unique product programme, covering everything required for a Danish lunch table.
The collaboration and brand De 5 Gaarde [The Five Farms] comprises Schackenborg Castle in southern Jutland, Frijsenborg and Constantinsborg in central Jutland, Gyllingnæs in eastern Jutland and Wedellsborg on Funen. The castles and manors are part of more than 500 hundred years’ Danish history.
“The agricultural production in the estates signals all the old virtues that characterise good and simple craft, proud traditions and respect for the quality and taste of the ingredients,” says head of sales Erik Jensen of De 5 Gaarde A/S. “We see that consumers are willing to pay what quality costs. We will under all circumstances not compromise. And that applies to every step from earth to table. Animal welfare, hygiene at the production locations, traceability and durability are allimportant. Consumers need to know what it is they are eating and where it comes from, as well as enjoying a good taste experience.” The product range from De 5 Gaarde currently comprises flour and bread, chickens, sausages, cheeses, potatoes, beers and distilled spirits.
“We constantly carry out product development to help broaden the collaboration,” says Erik Jensen. “One of the next products, from which we expect a lot, will be meat production from young bullocks grazed on the meadows of Schackenborg, Prince Joachim’s castle. We will pick up the thread from the earliest Danish agricultural exports, which were live bullocks for the European market. Now it will be as ingredients in highly processed food.”
Oak aquavit from Schackenborg
Schackenborg Castle
The latest product from De 5 Gaarde is a unique aquavit from Schackenborg Castle. The aquavit has been developed by HRH Prince Joachim who owns the castle whose history dates back 350 years. The castle is run as a modern agriculture and forestry company. When some several hundred year old oak trees had to be chopped down, Prince Joachim used the heartwood to give flavour to an aquavit, which has been praised by connoisseurs. The aquavit consists purely of barley malt, water and oak wood, with the barley malt being distilled in Denmark’s new micro distillery, Braunstein. In each bottle, a tiny oak rod is placed, which after a couple of months develops a distinct taste and colour, making the aquavit an exceptional taste experience. The bottle is labelled with a forest map and exact GPS coordinates of where the tree grew. During 2007, the oak aquavit will be marketed on Denmark’s neighbouring export markets, where collaboration partners currently are sought.
Bread with traditions
Frijsenborg
In addition to producing manor chickens, Frijsenborg grows most of the corn used for the production of bread from De 5 Gaarde. Frijsenborg is among Denmark’s largest landed properties. The estate has developed a number of cereals, which are used for baking rye bread, one of Denmark’s traditional types of bread for the lunch table. The breads are sold through the bakeries of COOP, Denmark’s largest supermarket chain. In addition to producing cereals, Frijsenborg is one of Denmark’s largest producers of decorative greenery. The castle is owned by Count Bendt Wedell, who is the 12th generation of the castle’s original owner. The Constantinsborg manor, which is 350 year old and beautifully situated in an old moraine landscape in eastern Jutland, is one of the farms that supply the wheat for the light bread.
Beer with taste
Gyllingnæs
Danes’ liking for good beer dates back to the Viking age and Danish beers – with names such as Carlsberg and Royal Brew – are known throughout the world. In recent years, there has been a strong increase in the number of new microbreweries that help to set new standards for beer quality with novel types of beers. De 5 Gaarde has developed a range of speciality beers, which are associated with the location of the manors, since the names of former owners and supervisors have been used to name the various beers. The label on each beer has a small history about the person. The beers are brewed according to a simple method where the focus is on the raw ingredients: the barley malt from their own fields, with added hops, yeast and water.
Finely crafted cheese
Constantinsborg
Gyllingnæs manor is located in one of Denmark’s most beautiful countryside areas, with meadows and beach areas overlooking the Kattegat. The manor breeds the dairy cattle which supply the milk for the De 5 Gaarde’s production of Kirstine cheese, a mild, soft and tasty cheese of the Danbo type. It is stored for 10-12 weeks before it is supplied to restaurants and COOP supermarkets. The cheese production itself is carried out in a neighbouring dairy, where the cheese is matured according to the best craft traditions.
Gyllingnæs is the youngest of the manors in De 5 Gaarde. The estate was established in 1801 and the current main building is from 1865. Its extensive fields and meadows are a paradise for game and wading birds.
The Danish Lunch
Wedellsborg
The basis of much of De 5 Gaarde’s product range is selected cereals from Wedellsborg, a manor with 4,000 hectares of land used for growing cereals and for forestry. The estate is beautifully located on a peninsula projecting into the belt, which separates Funen from Jutland. The main building of the estate is more than 500 years old.
The corn from De 5 Gaarde is cultivated without using straw shorteners, and all foods are produced using the fewest possible additives, so that the original taste of the ingredients is maintained.
One of the successes is a range of castle bread, with which a complete lunch can be prepared comprising experience-rich products from the farms. The Danish rye bread with coarse seeds is especially a delicacy, which has played a part in making Danish open sandwiches worldrenowned.
POULTRY SLAUGHTERING: If a chicken is thriving during its life, transported in a humane way, and slaughtered according to the latest methods, it reflects in the quality of the finished product
“To us, the primary aim is to supply top quality in a cycle which starts with animal welfare and ends with safe quality food,” says Morten Lindholst, managing director of Linco Food Systems.
“The finished product starts with animal welfare on the farm and humane transport to the slaughterhouse, and then continues with a good working environment at the slaughterhouse, traceability and optimal hygiene for the sake of food safety,” says Lindholst. “It all hangs together. That is why we think in totalities, instead of just producing good individual products.
Leading in fish and poultry
Linco Food System A/S is among the world’s leading manufacturers of machinery for the poultry meat processing industry. Until a few months ago, the company was No. 3 worldwide in terms of its size and turnover. In August 2007, Linco merged with Germany’s Baader Group, a market leader worldwide in fish processing machinery, which also has a very strong position on the North American market for poultry processing machinery. The merger has made Linco and Baader the world leaders in fish and poultry processing machinery.
Holistic approach
Linco’s position on the world market is the result of the company’s holistic approach to the process from farm to finished consumer product. Linco’s patented Maxiload transport system is recognised as the most humane animal transport system in the world. Linco was also the first to develop the Controlled Atmosphere Stunning (CAS) process, where before slaughter the poultry is stunned with concentrated CO2 instead of an electric shock. CAS is now becoming the standard in poultry slaughterhouses throughout the world.
PRECISION: When 60 grams of grated cheese is spread on a pizza base, it must be 60 grams. If it is 55 grams, customers are sold short, and if it is 65 grams manufacturers are giving cheese away free
Virtually all manufacturers are familiar with the issue of “Give Away”. For manual spreading of cheese on pizzas, “Give Away” is generally 8-12%. And although the industry regards grated cheese as a relatively cheap ingredient, a company producing 250 pizzas per minute using manual labour to spread the topping, will have given away so much in just six months that the manufacturer could have bought a fully automatic machine which not only spreads the cheese precisely but also doses it accurately.
The traditional recipe of a Neapolitan pizza is a crispy base, thick tomato sauce and 60 grams of grated cheese. If local pizza manufacturers use manual labour to spread the topping, they are probably depriving themselves of significant profits. Nearly all surveys show that pizza manufacturers, fearing any accusation of giving short measure, put more topping on the pizza than is stated on the label.
Customised automation
“Such a pizza manufacturer is very typical of our customers,” says director Lars Skov of the Danish engineering company Bilwinco, which specialises in customised solutions in weighing, filling and packaging for both the food and non-food industries.
“It may be a butcher who has a good idea for a ready-made dish, and prepares it in the kitchen at home. But at some point in time, he realises that in order for his business to grow, automation is necessary, and here we provide the right solutions for weighing and packaging his product.”
Handling greasy products
Bilwinco’s experience in food texture and consistency has attracted a growing number of customers. All manufacturers of convenience foods know the problems of handling the various ingredients in a ready-made meal, where solid and fluid elements need to be placed precisely and in the right amount on the plate or plastic tray. Kraft Foods in the US has recently chosen a Bilwinco solution.
“Kraft Foods had developed a poultry product, which was a bit greasy and sticky in the finished version, and there was no process machine on the market that was able to handle the product in the right way,” says Lars Skov. “We developed a unique solution for them which not only handles the product precisely, but also helps to present it invitingly and hygienically after packaging.”
Trouble-shooters
All Bilwinco’s solutions are specially designed, with typically 40% being new applications targeted to a specific task. The remaining 60% are standard components, which are an important part of customer-differentiated design.
LUXURY BEEF: The Danish meat wholesaler Kurt Skare was the first in the world to pack meat cuts in vacuum packs. Today the term Skare Quality is recognised by the international meat industry
If consumers want to buy guaranteed tender and juicy beef or veal, they need to make sure that the animal was slaughtered and the meat vacuum packed at least four weeks, and preferably five or six weeks, before it is handed over the counter. Because not until then is the meat fully tenderised.
If you disregard the date stamp and look instead for the Skare brand, the result is the same. A perfectly cut, perfectly packed and perfectly tenderised piece of beef. This has made Skare Meat Packers one of the most sought-after meat suppliers to leading hotels, restaurants and catering companies in Europe.
Expensive, but tasty
“The international meat industry is even operating with the ’Skare Quality’ term”, says Kurt Skare, director and owner of the Skare Group. “And that is not just a marketing gimmick. The ’Skare Quality’ term allows us to be positioned at the premium-priced end of the market, where our customers look at quality rather than price.”
Kurt Skare was the first in the world to introduce vacuum packing of meat cuts for sale in supermarkets. Since then, supermarkets have taken over the role previously occupied by butchers.
Perfectly tender
“Vacuum packing of meat cuts for sale to supermarket consumers was something completely new at the time,” says Kurt Skare. “It was a big step towards better food hygiene.
When freshly slaughtered meat is exposed to oxygen, a spontaneous growth of bacteria starts on the surface of the meat. By packing the meat so that it is completely airtight, the tenderising takes place from inside outwards. And after four weeks it is simply perfect.”
“We concentrate on good meat, which after our processing becomes really exclusive products in consistent sizes and quality,” says Kurt Skare. “We also have flexibility in our company that enables our customers to get specialities, which large industrial companies cannot supply. In addition, we have refined our logistics with the right quality, in the right amounts, at the right time. And naturally with the assurance that the cooling chain is not broken at any point. This helps to make us competitive, even with relatively high-price meat.”
More convenience
75% of Skare Group’s production is sold outside Denmark. High-class restaurants in Paris, Madrid and other large European capitals are major customers of Skare’s beef tenderloin. The company is also increasingly selling processed products, of which four Carpaccio variants have become very popular in Italy, the homeland of Carpaccio.
“Demands for efficiency and productivity are increasing everywhere, including in hotels, restaurants and canteens,” says Kurt Skare. “So if you can offer a product like Carpaccio, which is time-consuming to prepare, in a consistently high and uniform quality as we do, then you really have added value in a big way.”
DELICACY: Those sitting around in the café probably thought the small espresso cup looked a little peculiar, with its slightly thick and slightly rustic appearance. But when the coffee drinker finished off the espresso by eating the cup – with obvious pleasure – there was no end to the puzzlement. They wanted such a thing too, and the success of the Danish “Eat-a-Cup” was thereby established in Italy.
The small crispy cup is baked from wafer dough and coated inside with a layer of chocolate, which makes it leaktight as well as giving it a taste of paradise, which fits perfectly to ending an espresso. And what started as a bit of a gimmick for one of Europe’s major manufacturers of ice cream cones, Frima Vafler A/S, has now become a giant success throughout the Mediterranean countries.
“It is basically a question of baking technique,” says Frima’s managing director Carsten Hoffmann. “How we do it is a secret, but it’s easy when you know how.”
In addition to its wafer bakery in Denmark, Frima has production in Sweden and Poland, and exports its cones worldwide. Customers include the countless kiosks on beaches, squares and streets, as well as the increasing number of ice cream bars that sell homemade ice creams.
Real vanilla does the trick
“Many try to imitate our quality,” says Hoffmann. “But no wafer manufacturer has yet managed to maintain the pure vanilla during baking, at the same time as maintaining the special crispiness after the ice cream has been put into the cone. It is our technology that decides the matter, because while everyone
else uses vanilla flavour, we use the real thing, combined with real butter, coco-oil and other natural ingredients. And that is simply the decisive factor. If consumers are willing
to pay a premium for homemade luxury ice cream, then the wafer must also be good. That is our competitive parameter.”
Frima produces about 80 million cones annually in various sizes depending on whether they are for soft ice or oldfashioned ice scoops. The figure varies from year to
year, according to the weather.
Sales of luxury ice cream increased
“It is a typically seasonal product and so a cold, wet summer such as the one we experienced in northern Europe in 2007, can cause sales to slump. On the other hand, sales in southern Europe have beaten all records due to the heatwaves. To be able to maintain production with such major fluctuations in a single product, we have developed a range of products
that are not so weatherdependent.
They include tortillas and tacos, most often as supermarket chain ownlabel brands.” In general, Carsten Hoffmann sees a slightly declining trend in sales of massproduced ice cream, while sales of luxury ice cream are increasing.
“The number of ice cream bars that offer home made varieties for cones of various shapes and sizes is growing apace. And this is exactly where we can deliver the goods.”
NEWBUILD: An old container terminal centrally located in Denmark’s second largest city Århus is set to become one of Europe’s most fashionable city quarters over the next 3 or 4 years. It will also boast Denmark’s tallest building
Until the end of September 2007 it was a busy container terminal with all that entails: large cranes, slightly shabby warehouses and the occasional weed struggling up through the concrete-clad ground, the whole area ringed with drab fences to keep the curious away from the colourful, but far from romantic containers. And all of it garnished with the constant noise and clatter of forklifts and trucks – sights and sounds familiar in harbour towns throughout the world.
In 3 or 4 years, all this will change. Århus container port, Denmark’s largest, has moved some kilometres away to a new and better location from a traffic perspective. And the old container port is set to become one of Denmark’s most spectacular and modern residential areas, where the interplay between the sea, city and waterfront has been built into the plan from the start.
The project in Århus has attracted international attention not only because of its architectural qualities, but also because the project’s approach to port renovation and city planning is seen as groundbreaking.
Denmark’s tallest
Furthermore, the new development will sport Denmark’s tallest building, which will stand at the southern tip of the port area. It will be a landmark not just for the new city quarter, but also for Århus as a whole. The tower will be 142 meters tall and have 200 apartments, a restaurant and public access to the view of the Bay of Århus from the top floor of the building.
“142 metres may not sound so impressive seen with international eyes, but in a Danish context it is a very tall building,” says Morten Langbjerg, director of the property company Frederiksbjerg Ejendomme in Århus. The company has joined forces with the local department of Arbejdernes Andelsboligforening, Boligforeningen Ringgården and Keops Development in the Light*House consortium.
“The tower block is only part of the first stage of the waterfront building project,” says Morten Langbjerg. “The entire project comprises 63,000 square meters of floor space, of which the tower block comprises 20,000 square meters. The rest is buildings of 6-9 floors, including a hotel, offices and residential homes, which will be placed in clusters around open squares and promenades. At street level, there will be small shops and cafés, which will help create a lively environment.” The internationally renowned architects firm 3XN has designed the project together with the Netherlands’ UN Studio and Gehl Architects in Copenhagen, and Grontmij Carl Bro is the consulting engineering firm on the construction. Completion of the building project is scheduled for 2010-2011. When the entire container terminal has been developed, the construction on the waterfront will cover more than 700,000 m2.
http://www.lighthouse.aarhus.com
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OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO TALL BUILDINGS Denmark has never had a tradition for high-rise buildings. A single building in Copenhagen of 102 meters has been the country’s tallest residential building for almost 40 years. “But now it looks as if we have become mature,” says division director Søren Larsen of Grontmij Carl Bro, the consulting engineering firm on the forthcoming construction on Århus waterfront. “And by mature I mean that giving space for more high-rise buildings in Denmark has been well considered and thoroughly reviewed.” According to Søren Larsen it is not technology that has prevented Danes from building high-rise construction. Several Danish architects are currently involved in very tall building projects, for example on the Arabian Peninsula and several places in Europe. The reluctance to build tall buildings in the Danish landscape is more to do with attitudes. “But now a movement has started regarding the architecture of cities, and we will probably see a lot more high-rise buildings in the future,” he says. In Århus there are plans to build two more high-rise buildings in the northern part of the city. In Randers, north of Århus, there are plans for a 90 meter high residential building, and in Horsens there are plans for an 80 meter high building by the harbour. In addition, the capital Copenhagen has considered plans for a 102 meter high hotel by the Tivoli amusement park, and in Ørestad, Copenhagen’s new city district, a number of high-rise buildings will be constructed. Because of its proximity to Copenhagen. |
By the Danish Minister for Foreign Af fairs Per Stig Møller and the Minister for Employment Claus Hjort Frederiksen
 Minister for Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller |
 Minister for Employment Claus Hjort Frederiksen |
In recent times, Denmark has gained a reputation as an economic role model. Our strong economic growth and low unemployment has attracted Europe’s attention, which we are naturally pleased to see. The strong growth is generating opportunities for qualified foreign labour, and as a member of the EU, Denmark respects free movement of labour between member states. We value workers from other countries who can help maintain the positive developments in Denmark.
When Denmark opened its labour market to the new EU member states, no compromises were made concerning working conditions. This has given some workers the impression that it is difficult to get a job in Denmark, but it is easier than many might think. The Danish government works continuously on new initiatives to make it attractive for foreign nationals to seek work in Denmark. One of the initiatives already in place is the multi-language website http://www.workimport.dk which offers information on the many job opportunities in Denmark, as well as advice on searching for work. The website gives answers to frequently asked questions e.g. concerning work and residence permits, and can be used to apply for specific jobs. Danish embassies in the EU member states also provide employment-related information.
Denmark has a unique labour market. Collective bargaining between employers and trade unions is applied to many things, where other countries legislate instead. This ensures good salaries and a good working environment, and foreign workers and companies can also join Danish labour market organisations. In Denmark, wages and employment conditions are the same for foreign workers as for Danish workers. And there are further advantages – for example after just three months, foreign workers qualify for access to primary healthcare free of charge.
Job seekers from eastern Europe can stay in Denmark for a period of up to six months on a self-support basis. Once employment has been found, a work and residence permit is then normally required before starting work.
However this requirement is waived if the employer is one of the 2000 companies that have been approved in advance to employ eastern European labour.
Many foreign workers are impressed by the surprisingly informal tone of communication in Danish companies, as well as the culture of independence that is encouraged so that individuals can exert influence on how their work is done. Shifting jobs within a year requires a new work and residence permit, but this requirement does not apply after one year’s continuous work – the objective being to keep new staff for a reasonable length of time. Foreign workers will gain useful experience, which can benefit their homeland when they eventually return.
Denmark has a lot to offer. The country not only has good jobs with good working conditions and good salaries, but also offers something beyond work and wages – a rich variety of experiences for life.
The following Company Profiles have been submitted by the Advertisers in this issue
Danske Fragtmænd a.m.b.a.
Søren Frichs Vej 51
8230 Åbyhøj
Phone: +45 70220340
Fax: +45 70 22 03 50
Email: info@fragt.dk
http://www.fragt.dk
Danske Fragtmænd is Denmark’s largest national distribution and logistics company. 118 independent carriers have shares in Danske Fragtmænd, which has a total of more than 4.000 employees. The company operates 23 cargo terminals and 20 warehousing facilities across Denmark from which over 40,000 consignments are despatched daily.
Danske Fragtmænd offers a wide range of effective IT-services to our costumers. The IT-services ease waybill administration and save time in busy companies. Danske Fragtmænd can provide all companies, regardless of size, with an IT-service that will boost the efficiency of waybill administration and thereby also the company’s daily working routines.
J. Lauritzen A/S Shipowners
Amager Strandvej 60
P.O. Box 2147
2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark
Phone: +45 33 96 80 00
Fax: +45 33 96 80 01
http://www.j-lauritzen.com
J. Lauritzen A/S (JL) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest, but also one of the largest Danish shipping companies. Domiciled in Copenhagen, Denmark, JL has overseas offices in Stamford (USA), Tokyo (Japan), Bilbao (Spain), Shanghai (PRC), and Singapore.
JL is focused on continuous development of its various business activities worldwide with unfailing emphasis on customer service, safety at sea, and environmental protection. JL owns and operates bulk carriers, gas carriers, and product tankers. JL alone and together with associates controls a combined fleet of about 200 vessels and employs a total staff of 600 persons.
JL is engaged in ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide through Lauritzen Bulkers, transportation of petrochemical and liquefied petroleum gasses (LPG) through Lauritzen Kosan, and in ocean transportation of refined oil products through Lauritzen Tankers.
Master in Management of Technology
Executive MBA
Aalborg Universitet.
Fibigerstræde 16.
9220 Aalborg Ø
Denmark
Phone: + 45 9635 8953
Email: jette@production.aau.dk
http://www.mmt.aau.dk - http://www.cip.aau.dk
Executive MBA in Technology
Management (MMT)
This part-time, 2-years programme at Aalborg University trains managers or to-be managers to understand and deal with complex development issues. A holistic approach is adopted when developing and implementing innovative solutions with due regard to business potential and change management.
Semester projects in own company serve as a vehicle for meaningful learning development skills. At the same time the company will also benefit.
Montana Møbler A/S
Akkerupvej 16
5683 Haarby
Denmark
Phone:+45 64 73 32 11
Email: montana@montana.dk
http://www.montana.dk
Montana is a Danish family-owned company based in Haarby on the island of Funen. Montana Møbler A/S has since 1982 produced and sold the Montana storage system designed by Peter J. Lassen.
The Montana design system allows for freedom to create your own room. The users can express their own style and design their own personal solution by choosing between and combining 42 basic units, 4 depths, 42 lacquer colours and 6 veneers. Montana is suitable for all creative and flexible interior solutions in your home and at workplaces.
Environmental considerations and a good working environment are integrated factors in the fundamental values and management spirit in Montana Møbler A/S. Montana has achieved environmental certification under the ISO 14001 standard and Montana’s working environment is certified according to the OHSAS 18001 standard. Furthermore, Montana is certified according to the Indoor Climate Label issued by the Danish Technological Institute.
Plass Data Software A/S
Tåstrup Møllevej 12A
DK–4300 Holbæk
Phone: +45 59 45 50 00
Fax: +45 59 45 50 70
E-mail: ch@plass.dk
Web-site: http://www.plass.dk
Disasters whether nature, technological or man-made, are unfortunately a fact of life.
One aspect common to them all is the necessity of many police, technical, medical and other investigations that follows.
The purpose of the DVI System is to promulgate good practice in respect of one type of investigation conducted when lives have been lost - The Disaster Victim Identification.
Plass Data is the sole deliverer of the DVI System International, used to identify victims after disasters by police forces all over the world. The present quality of the DVI System is a result of Interpol’s official DVI standard forms which combined with a dental page of the IT program for dental clinics we made years ago, make up the software program which was introduced to Interpol’s member states for the first time in 1995.
In 2005 Plass Data DVI system was used in the centre for the Tsunami Victim Identification in Thailand and for the identification of victims after the London bombings july 7th.
Today the program is used by Interpol and Police Forces all over the world. It is being developed in close collaboration between the different DVI Groups within Interpol. The development and future alterations of the program is in agreement with Interpol and DVI Teams in several countries around the world, which subsequently cooperates with Plass Data Software A/S who implements the alterations.
DONG Energy A/S
Kraftværksvej 53
Skærbæk
7000 Fredericia
Denmark
Phone: + 45 99 55 11 11
http://www.dongenergy.com
DONG Energy’s business is energy. We guarantee a reliable supply of energy and a responsible utilisation of our natural resources. DONG Energy is founded on many years of experience. For more than a century, we have been supplying electricity and heat – and since the early 1980s natural gas – to customers in Denmark and neighbouring countries.
We have more than a million customers. The largest of our markest is Denmark, but in recent years sales have increased significantly in Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. Our customers range from private households to large-scale industrial companies and public-sector customers, and they all require different energy solutions. For this reason, DONG Energy provides target-oriented products, services and advice to meet the needs of each individuel customer.
Innovation is a natural part of our everyday work. For more than 25 years, DONG Energy has been involved in the extraction of the oil and gas reserves in the North Sea, and our power plants are now among the most efficient and least polluting in the world. As a pioneer in establishing and operating offshore wind farms, DONG Energy has amassed powerful expertise in this area, and today the company is a world leader in wind energy. Furthermore, we participate in the development of cutting-edge technologies such as fuel cells, solar energy and wave power.
