Offshoreman Verner Andersen has had a long career in the offshore industry, starting in Esbjerg in 1994. As a trained electrician and later an electrical installer, he found his way into the offshore industry somewhat by accident after being laid off.
He has been particularly happy at Semco Maritime at the moment, where he spent 12 years as vice president, where he was part of the management that led the company through a period of great growth, where revenue increased from one billion. DKK to five billion.
After a long career, Verner Andersen has also said goodbye to the job as senior advisor at the age of 71, which he has had since 2021. This happened at a closed reception for a specially invited crowd in September. But Verner Andersen would like to talk about the industry that he still can't quite say goodbye to.
Do you smoke hash?
It all started late in 1970, after 17-year-old Verner Andersen had finished 10th grade in the summer, and had spent time playing bass guitar with his friend Allan. But in November, Allan's father thought that now was the time for the two boys to get started.
Actually, Verner Andersen had always thought that he would go sailing, because he comes from a maritime family. But Allan's father quickly used his connections in the city to arrange interviews for apprenticeships for the two boys. The friend ended up with an interview for an apprenticeship as a machinist, and Verner ended up with an electrician. He remembers it like it was yesterday.
At that time, the trendsetters had long hair, and Verner Andersen was one of them.
- I stood there for the interview and was very shy, says Verner Andersen, who remembers one question very clearly:
- “Do you smoke hash?” asked the master electrician. I stammered out a “no”.
But the impression can’t have been entirely bad, because the final message was understandable.
- “You can start on Monday”, he said, says Verner Andersen about the beginning of his apprenticeship.
The other apprentices, however, were not used to long hair.
- They asked me, “Did you get money from the master to get a haircut?”, but six months later they had all grown long hair. And I got my hair cut, Verner Andersen laughs today about the beginning of his apprenticeship.
After the apprenticeship, Verner Andersen ended up taking the electrical installation training, because the one and a half year training could be completed in Esbjerg.
Firing opened the way into offshore
While the oil and gas industry was booming throughout the 1980s, Verner Andersen worked at KJ Maskinfabrik as a project manager not far from his home in Hjerting. A new Swiss owner and a change of strategy ended with the factory going bankrupt, but before that came, there were several rounds of savings.
- I was happy and satisfied where I was, and it came as a shock to me to be fired, says Verner Andersen.
But two months later he already found a job at an electrical installation company. Eager to get started again, he started three days before he was actually supposed to start. But there was just one open application that had not been answered.
- On Saturday morning, I got a call from Monberg & Thorsen. I had applied for a job that required experience in oil and gas. And I actually only knew five percent of what was in the job description, says Verner Andersen.
The offer was so tempting that he couldn't say no, even though it was a difficult decision. This is where Verner Andersen's wife Bente comes into the picture.
- Bente said: You have to follow your gut feeling, and I did, says Verner Andersen, who had agreed to quite an assignment.
Grown to 19 employees in one year
Monberg & Thorsen already had a department in Aalborg that worked for Mærsk, but the company had no activities in Esbjerg.
- I was supposed to start a company competing with Semco and ABB, says Verner Andersen about a beginning that was quite humble:
- I started alone in a shack at the Port of Esbjerg in 1994 as a department manager after being trained in Aalborg.
Maybe he didn't live up to the job advertisement, but he turned out to have the qualifications.
- I applied every time there was something to do. offshore, he says.
Verner Andersen also has a bright mind, which can rub off on other people.
- My advice for life is: Don't get ahead of your sorrows and worries. And a stranger is a friend you haven't met, he says. Both certainly helped when he started in the offshore industry in a scrapyard.
After a year in the offshore industry, Monberg & Thorsen's new department was able to grow.
- Esbjerg had been a black spot on the map of Denmark for Monberg & Thorsen, but after a year we had 19 employees, says Verner Andersen about the effort that opened the way into the offshore industry.
On the way to Semco
The work effort led Verner Andersen to a similar position at ABB in 1997, and in 2002 he moved on to Pon Power.
- I became sales manager at Pon Power within the sale of generators for offshore, says Verner Andersen.
But in 2009, his career culminated with the position as vice president at Semco Maritime. A prestigious job with power and influence, although that was never the goal.
- It has never been my intention to be a front figure, I have always pursued knowledge, says Verner Andersen and talks about his time at Semco:
- When I joined Semco in 2009, we had a turnover of one billion. DKK – when I stopped as vice president in 2021, we had a turnover of five billion. DKK. It succeeded despite crises.
One thing is certain about the time at Semco Maritime.
- It is one of the best things I have worked with, and it also has a lot to do with Semco and the way it treats its employees, says Verner Andersen.
In 2021, the position of vice president was replaced by a position as senior advisor, but the work on exciting tasks continued.
- I have ended my career working with Project Greensand CCS and finally Topsøe's PtX project, says Verner Andersen.
There is also one thing that he thinks is forgotten in a time when oil and gas are facing resistance.
- Oil is a fossil fuel, but it is also a natural product, even though it emits CO2 when burned, he says.
Keeping the door ajar for more work
But the career is not over yet.
- I would like to help small companies, and I have already received three offers for coffee meetings, says Verner Andersen, who, however, has conditions:
- It is not at any price, and it must not harm Semco.
Verner Andersen does not need to say it, because between the lines one thing shines clearly. He is a distinct family man for his wife, son, daughter and grandchildren in addition to the rich working life within offshore. The latter has also required many hours, as his wife Bente noted at one point.
- My wife said at one point: "Couldn't you just become a permanent employee offshore? Then you would have time off too" - because I was always working. And that hit me hard, says Verner Andersen.
Now there is time for family life, golf and trips in sea kayaks in Ho Bugt with Bente, when the offshore industry is not calling with coffee in the pot.
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