Generational change of ownership
Much of Danish trade and industry is in the hands of older company directors and many of them will have difficulties selling their businesses at a satisfactory price – money which for many equates to their pension savings. There are several reasons for this.
”One of the reasons is that many of these companies were founded in the 1960s – a time when the demand for products exceeded the supply. Thus, it was sufficient for a company to manufacture products of a high quality at a reasonable price – and then they were certain to be sold,” says Henrik Holvad, the new managing director, going on to say:
”Today, there is ample supply – both from Danish and foreign companies – and there is no doubt that it is greater than the demand. Customers take it for granted that one can manufacture high quality products and supply on time. This in itself is no longer sufficient to retain customers.”
A new kind of company manager
For a production company to survive in the long term, it is necessary for the company not to simply see itself as a supplier, but rather as a cooperation partner for its customers. The company does not just sell products.
”Our role as a supplier is conditional upon our ability to successfully find our place with the customer, to be able to contribute with something of value – sparring and talents, to be able to collaborate, to be willing to take responsibility and have the ambition to deliver solutions,” says Henrik Holvad.
In practice, it means that the company needs to establish a dialogue with each customer, gaining an insight into the client company and thereby being able to suggest improvements and prepare a plan for the delivery of products. Improvements translate into savings for the customer, and planned deliveries can be effected more cheaply than ”rush” deliveries from one day to the next.
The employee – the thinking person!
”Basically, the company’s most important raw material is its customers! It is they who provide us with a living. But another important raw material is our employees. The best employees are motivated and flexible. It is they who give customers the necessary sparring.
To create a motivated and committed company culture, it is necessary to delegate responsibility and expertise to employees. The employees must therefore have the freedom to organise their own work and to choose how each task should be solved,” says Henrik Holvad.
When employees refrain from making decisions, it is often because they are used to being harshly criticised for any mistakes they make. If the employee asks his manager, he is thereby renouncing a certain degree of responsibility if the chosen solution results in a loss for the company.
”We provide our employees with sufficient space for ”the whole person”, because we know that there is more to life than one’s job. Young people also need to fulfil themselves in other areas – it might be wanting to go skiing in the Austrian Alps, design self-propelled sofas, play at festivals, rear Icelandic sheep or bring up a family. However, to make sure that our aim of becoming whole people is not just an empty phrase, it is necessary that the individual machines and functions can be operated by more than one person.
For this reason, we have prepared a plan and implemented a project in which we have trained a first reserve and a second reserve for every machine and function so that today we are fully covered and can provide the flexibility desired by our employees, management and customers,” concludes Henrik Holvad, and suggests that anyone interested in reading more about the company should visit RIVAL at
www.rival.dk.
