He emphasises the culture among the employees as a crucial factor for success.
Employee co-determination is an important factor
According to the director, one of the reasons for the progress is solidarity in the workplace. The individual employee has a say in running his or her own small "business" in the large business. It helps motivate employees and provides ownership for their projects. In addition, the great work effort and good partners have been another reason for the growth and for happier customers.
He adds that especially the new business area Steel for Construction has been a decisive factor for the great result in 2019. We are experiencing a great demand for the services we offer within Steel for Construction. The competencies the company has developed have been spot on to cultivate the area even more. To ensure that the company keeps up, the staff has been increased to be able to meet the demand.
2019 has been a record year
The poles business area has been a significant contributor to the positive result in 2019, despite some difficulties in connection with the acquisition of the competitor Priess Ltd and the merger with the subsidiary MILEWIDE. The expansion of the business area has proven to bear fruit and we expect to harvest even more fruit in 2020, says the director.
2019 has also been a year in which the business areas Road Safety and Noise Reduction Solutions have been constantly busy, with DAV NORDIC having a significant market position. DAV NORDIC received a significant share of the road projects and many of the tenders fell out in favour of the company.
- We are really happy with the result for 2019. It is strong to deliver such a good result, says Ulrik Toft Marcussen.
Expansion equals sales growth
The director explains that it was absolutely crucial to get the engine behind the business upgraded to keep growth up. Both for expansion, web development and sharp collaboration agreements. Particular emphasis has been placed on the online appearance, where the site has been upgraded to support the name change and the new face on the outside.
- We want to focus more on our online presence and reach out to the media where our customers are and demand our products, says the director.
DAV NORDIC has built a completely new domicile in Silkeborg, which was inaugurated at the beginning of January. In addition, in 2019 the company acquired Priess' pole department and placed MILEWIDE under DAV NORDIC. The new domicile has been future-proofed by buying the neighbouring plot so that the space conditions will be secured in the future.
At the same time, there are development projects in the pipeline, for example, work is being done on several products where sustainability and innovation are considered.
- Our products must be even more sustainable, but at the same time at a competitive price, comments Ulrik Toft Marcussen.
There is a focus on developing the company's foundation. This means that the company constantly focuses on development. The product range is expanded so that the business maintains its competitiveness. According to the director, DAV NORDIC has the ambition to increase its visibility in the railway area, where the company already sells a number of products. The dream scenario is that in the future DAV NORDIC will have the same market position on railway projects as the company has today on road projects.
Optimism for 2020 despite uncertainty about infrastructure investment and the corona pandemic
As it looks right now, DAV NORDIC has started off well in the current year, but the company is looking into a reduced-order portfolio compared to 2019. This, of course, gives an uncertainty, but right now it is very difficult to assess how 2020 will end.
- We look forward to continuing the development of our business base, which we have been working on in recent years. It is a work that has been going on in several areas for some time, says Ulrik Toft Marcussen.
The uncertainty of the lack of infrastructure investments will be felt if the necessary decisions are not made that will promote the infrastructure in Denmark. Improved infrastructure will increase growth across the country, but also alleviate the massive job losses created by the corona pandemic.
That said, we also experience that the public sector and the government have listened to us and will advance construction projects. This pleases DAV NORDIC, which also calls on the government to take advantage of the fact that the municipal buildings and roads that need renovations or repairs are currently almost completely empty. It provides good opportunities to work on the basis of the authorities' recommendations for increased distance and stricter hygiene.
- Based on the latest announcements about the disposal of the construction limit, we are excited to see what specific projects the municipalities and the government will initiate from their pipeline and we are ready to act on their proposal, Ulrik Toft Marcussen concludes with enthusiasm.