Business is going well at Hanstholm Skibssmedie, and there is plenty to do. Owner Jesper Pedersen tells us this when he makes the interview appointment with DOI.dk. This has something to do with the wind industry, because in February, Hanstholm Port signed an agreement that the port will be the base for six special ships. They will service the large offshore wind farm Doggerbanke.
- I have already made a million-dollar turnover in three months and, among other things, sold six large aluminum houses for the ships. Two have already been delivered, says Jesper Pedersen and explains what this has also meant:
- I have hired four new employees, so we are up to 27 employees.
And Integrated Wind Solutions (IWS), as the wind company is called, does not only use Hanstholm Skibssmedie when the ships are in town.
- We are contacted even when they are at sea. They also contact us when they are in England, he says.
No coincidence
What may initially sound like a coincidence is also due to the fact that the companies in the Port of Hanstholm were prepared and ready to "step up", as Jesper Pedersen told DOI.dk in the fall of 2021. His company was certainly ready and has stepped into the wind industry as a subcontractor. The necessary certifications were already in place at Hanstholm Skibssmedie two years ago, and ISO is particularly important.
- I can feel that it is becoming a requirement with ISO 9001. ISO is a good management tool, and it is maintained every year, and we follow all the new standards, says Jesper Pedersen, who does not stop the company's development there:
- We have started to calculate CO2 emissions from our work. It will be on our bills after the summer holidays.
He is also sure of one thing about the wind area.
- This is only the beginning with wind, there will be much more, says Jesper Pedersen.
Overall, the second-generation owner-manager expects a future with more development, and it has already begun.
- My business has developed more from 2020 with corona than in the last 30 years. Just think about how much you need to navigate now, says Jesper Pedersen.
The port's situation
The situation of Hanstholm Port is also something that is on Jesper Pedersen's mind. He is a member of the port council and his gut feeling for the port's future is good.
- The port has a strategy and a path that it wants to take. It hasn't been like this before, where I think there has been a zigzag course due to changing directors, he explains.
Last year's controversy surrounding the closure of an illegal surf bar in the port area and the subsequent media coverage between the entrepreneur of the surf bar and Thisted Municipality's then technical director has not escaped Jesper Pedersen's attention at all.
- I believe that surfers are an important asset, but there must be room for both, both the traditional port industries and the experience economy with surfers, says Jesper Pedersen and concludes:
- If we take care of this, we can have a new Mecca here for both surfers and the business community.
The waves were particularly high in Hanstholm last year. The question was whether it should be the surfer bar and the surfers or traditional users of the commercial port that were allowed to fill up.
- It reminded me of the USA with Trump and Biden, where it divided families, whether you were for one or the other, he says and promises one thing about Hanstholm with its approximately 2500 inhabitants and the time with for or against the surfers:
- We are in a different place now.
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