A strong wind is blowing from the west in Lem in West Jutland, where I meet Henrik Sillesen from the company Hydraspecma, which makes hydraulic solutions for the wind turbine industry, buses and trucks, agro and the maritime sector. Henrik Sillesen is group director for the company, which is located in the neighboring town of Skjern about 12 km away.
The company has 1250 employees and is represented in China, Brazil, the USA, India, Sweden, Finland, Norway, England and Poland in addition to Denmark.
The wind is actually the reason why Henrik Sillesen has made the trip to the neighboring town, because he is visiting his colleague Peter Pallishøj, who is CEO of Baettrs. The company makes, among other things, main shafts, hubs and base frames in cast iron for wind turbines. The 1050 employees work from factories in Denmark, Sweden, China, and a new factory is under construction in India.
Both Hydraspecma and Baettr are connected by the wind as subcontractors to the wind turbine industry. They are well-run modern companies that have thought about the green future in addition to supplying wind turbines.
A call with an invitation
- Green already filled a lot of our time, but then one day last year Peter called me, says Henrik Sillesen, about the call from Baettr's CEO Peter Pallishøj.
Henrik Sillesen remembers how the proposal on the other end of the phone sounded about the green development in the direction of more sustainability and reporting in climate accounts.
- Peter said he thought we should go faster. He suggested that we create a network, says Henrik Sillesen.
It may sound like a slow and tedious process, but that's not the case in West Jutland, where words are not far from action.
- We are in a production country. We are used to standing together and getting things done. Peter took on those he knew, says Henrik Sillesen.
At the same time, the consulting firm SustainX was hired for the task, but it wasn't because there weren't already competencies in the companies, but collaboration in a network provides something different.
- We have the competencies, but this way we don't have to go out and hire one or two employees in each company. Everything must be reported in the climate accounts, and we do not want to be left out of the green transition, says Henrik Sillesen.
It is not only the large wind turbine manufacturers that demand action on the climate.
Henrik Sillesen is experiencing that applicants for positions in Hydraspecma are making a new type of demands in job interviews.
- Young people ask about our CSR and sustainability when they are interviewed. This is important to them. Our generation makes demands on salary, but the current generation makes demands on sustainability, he says.
2020 Momentum Network
CEO Peter Pallishøj from Baettr comes along and talks about his reasons for reaching out to the other companies and creating a network a year ago.
- We needed to move forward in the green transition. This is a competency that has not existed for many years. That's why it makes so much sense to want to take responsibility together, says Peter Pallishøj, who was quick to act.
- We called around to those we know. Two days later we had gathered the first eight companies, says Pallishøj about the first members of Momentum Network, which has now grown to 17 members.
It has provided a number of advantages, which are also financial.
- It's a bit like the sharing economy and at the same time a way to create momentum for us towards the green transition, says Peter Pallishøj, who is to that extent a founder of the network.
Peter Pallishøj also mentions that Baettr's upcoming factory in India, for example, will use green electricity from the time it opens. It is simply cheaper to negotiate good prices now rather than switch later.
Henrik Sillesen also sees opportunities that involve making ourselves attractive to the large wind turbine manufacturers.
- It should be best in class for the wind turbine manufacturers. They should say, we want to do business with them, concludes Henrik Sillesen.
The Momentum Network currently includes these 17 companies that are subcontractors in the wind turbine industry. This is a requirement to be part of the network:
Baettrs, Hydraspecma, KK Windsolutions, Polytech, Nissens Cooling Solutions, JSB Group, LJM Lind Jensen, Niebuhrs Gears, Jupiter Bach, Cotes, Fiberline Composites, BSB Industry, Nordmark, Aluwind, Dangard, Haco A/S, Norsea.
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