Made in Kolding :
Danish Rubber Industry is investing heavily in the wind industry – expanding in the USA

There is momentum at Dansk Gummi Industri in Kolding, and the company's speed is reminiscent of the speeds on the motorway nearby. The central location is a contributing factor in the fact that recruitment is not a problem at all, even though the growth in the wind sector has helped to increase the staff significantly over the past year.

- We are in a great location here, and our colleagues come from all over Southern Denmark, and we even have a colleague who comes from Aarhus, says marketing manager Claus Albertsen about the recruitment and adds:

- We have grown to 65 employees today, and 15 new colleagues have joined us over the past year.

Wind fills

Dansk Gummi Industri began producing for the wind industry 15 years ago. The area already fills so much that it constitutes 60 percent of the turnover, with other areas being the production of wheels, rollers and other moulded parts for the food and machinery industries. The products for the wind industry focus on protection during transport of parts for a wind turbine.

- What we would like to help with is the protection of blades, nacelles and towers. Blade protection is the headline, and it makes good sense for the OEMs to protect the parts, because projects can be delayed by damage, and it is very expensive, explains Claus Albertsen.

But it does not stop at protection, because the company also makes rubber seals for the nacelles and boat landings for offshore turbines. The company also often finds the solutions for - or together with the customers.

- We are close to the OEMs, and we develop together with them, and we see them as our partners. Some also see us as their development department, says Claus Albertsen.

The company's own development department was established in 2022, and it already has an important role.

- Our development department with six employees is our driver with mechanical engineers, material specialists and designers. I also think we will see more and more custom-made solutions in the future. With our development department, we take our customers by the hand in that process. So that they get what they need made, explains Claus Albertsen.

High end – made in Kolding

Dansk Gummi Industri is truly a Danish sunshine story, because the company began as early as 1915 as a bicycle shop in Kolding. Today, the fourth generation owns and runs the company, where the brothers Christian and Peter Thomsen are respectively CEO and development director.

And it is being insisted that the production of rubber and polyurethane parts should take place in Kolding, where the company today has two factories right next to each other.

- It is made in Kolding. It will be more expensive to produce everything here, but there are just so many advantages to producing here. These are high-end products, where there is high quality control, and each product has its own production number, says Claus Albertsen and shows an invention from 2018:

- Pro Pads are our core product, which function as building blocks that can be put together.

Pro Pads are rubber mats that are used to place windmill blades on during transport.

The marketing manager is completely unfazed by the competition from China.

- You can get something similar to them in China, but it is not the same quality at all, he says.

However, Dansk Gummi Industri can also make products in materials other than rubber and polyurethane.

- We can also produce in plastic, foam and metal, but metal is through a subcontractor, says Claus Albertsen.

Stability and very high goals

The family-run company is, despite the company's age is anything but stagnant, because it's not just the products that need to be high-end.

This will happen together with the employees, because the company has an understanding and vision that employees drive growth.

- Our vision is that we want to be the best workplace in Denmark for our employees. We have many colleagues who have been here for 20, 30 years, and that's quite common in production, he says.

At the same time, the finances of the family business are completely under control.

- We are a financially sound company. This means that we don't have to go to the bank and ask permission if we want to build a new factory, says Claus Albertsen about something that can facilitate growth ambitions.

The boom market in the USA

Although the beginnings in wind started in Denmark, it now looks completely different.

- We have been paying attention to the Danish market, but that has now changed abroad. We are starting a special department in the USA, where we are currently experiencing the greatest growth. Our salesperson will have an office in Atlanta, which is close to many of our customers, he says about an export adventure that begins in August.

- The American office will also cover South America, where the largest market right now is Brazil, says Claus Albertsen about the company, which is at the forefront of the green transition in the world.