Danfoss celebrates 80 years
DENMARK: Today marks the 80th anniversary of the formation of Danfoss by Mads Clausen in his parent’s farmhouse in Nordborg, Denmark.
Since then, the business has grown from a one-man business into one of the world’s leading hvacr suppliers, employing a staff of 23,000 and with sales in more than 100 countries.
Originally called Dansk Koleautomatik og Apparatenfabrik (Danfoss Refrigeration Controls and Apparatus Manufacturer), the company changed its name to Danfoss in 1946. With a limited home market, it is no surprise that the company has had an international outlook from the start.
The company began to export to other European countries as early as 1939, and in 1949, Danfoss set up its first foreign sales company in Argentina. During the 1950s, Danfoss established itself in USA and Germany, and when globalization began to pick up speed in the 1990s, Danfoss was prepared, with factories and sales companies in both Russia and China. Today, these four countries are Danfoss’ biggest markets.
From a UK perspective, Danfoss signed a distribution agreement with Dean & Wood in 1945, before setting up a UK subsidiary in London in 1952. Dean & Wood eventually became part of the Danfoss Group in 1979, a situation which remained until 2004 when the UK distributor was sold to Swedish company G&L Beijer.
