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Leading Danish Companies

A.P. Moller-Maersk, an Danish company. Learn more about these companies do and how they create products and serve their customers. It's not just the products that make these businesses successful.

Danfoss

Danfoss is a private, global engineering group with headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark. It produces and offers technology solutions to industries across the globe. Its products and services include air conditioning and heating systems, climate control and electronic motors. Today, the company employs more than 24,000 workers around the world. The products it makes are used in a broad range of applications and include cooling and heating systems, heat pumps, and drive systems.

Danfoss is committed to fighting global warming and reducing carbon emissions. It has made a commitment to become carbon-neutral by 2030. It will therefore use less energy to make its products. Danfoss is constantly looking for opportunities to connect its factories with district heating networks. By pursuing these opportunities, Danfoss is making an important contribution to the global movement of world-class businesses that are aiming to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Arla Foods

Arla Foods, a Danish dairy company, is headquartered in Arhus. More than 17,000 people work for the company that is owned by more then 10,000 milk producers in Denmark/Sweden. It exports its products in over 100 countries. Arla Foods, a major producer of cream cheese, sells its products under the brand name BUKO. Its creamy spreads are popular with professional bakers in Japan.

Arla is expanding its innovation efforts to meet the increasing demand of customers. It is planning to establish an innovation center in Aarhus that will hire 120 employees. The company is planning to invest more than $25 million into the new facility. Arla's innovative strategy aims to be the world's most renowned dairy producer and researcher. This initiative is intended to assist the company in keeping in the midst of the intense global market.

A.P. Moller-Maersk

A.P., a Danish shipping company, was established in 1904. Moller bought the name Maersk for its shipping operations.  Maersk is a combination the maiden name of the mother, Marsk, and has since grown into one of the most famous shipping names in the world. The company started with just 35 ships and eventually added tanker operations. The fleet of the company grew to 46 vessels by the 1930s. The deadweight capacity of the entire fleet was more than 160,000 tons.

The Danish company is active in a variety of sectors that include infrastructure, oil and gas, and shipping. Maersk Line has a large international presence, having around 25,000 employees as of 2012. In 2013, the company ranked as the largest overseas cargo carrier in the world, with over 600 vessels and 3.8 million Twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU) capacity.

Lego

Lego is a renowned Danish company, employing more than 1,000 employees at its Billund headquarters. In the early 1970s, the company had a turnover of $50 million each year and accounted for a small portion of Danish industrial exports. As sales increased, the company reorganized its administrative structure and opened new foreign subsidiaries. Its growth was further accelerated through the acquisition of smaller companies.

The Lego Group began international distribution of its toys. They began by establishing wholesale agents in Germany and other European countries. They set up their first overseas sales subsidiary in 1956. By the end of the decade, they had established offices in more than 40 countries. Lego believes that Europe their home market today and uses its European base to expand overseas sales.

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is one of the largest companies in Denmark, and has been in existence for over 150 years. The company produces insulin which is a type of medicine that can be used to treat diabetes. The first product from the company was developed in a former dairy cellar. It was sold in forty countries and produced from pancreas derived from animals. Insulin was initially transported using refrigerated automobiles, later railway vans or lorries. The modern factory of the company was designed by Arne Jacobsen.

The company also participates in public-spirited activities, including investing in infrastructure and raising awareness of diabetes. The company is also looking to expand its operations to emerging markets, like Iran with huge potential.

Coloplast

Coloplast is a Danish healthcare company with a global reach. The products it makes are used in many areas of healthcare, including wound care and interventional Urology. The company employs more than 12,500 people around the world, and owns all rights to its products. Its goal is to improve the quality of life of its customers through better patient care.

Established in 1957 by Aage Louis-Hansen, Coloplast is one of Denmark's biggest life sciences and medical technology companies. Although the company is publicly traded however its ownership structure remains largely controlled by family members. Niels Peter Louis-Hansen is the son of the founder, Aage has 41% of the voting rights and holds 20% of the company's shares.