They survived
Dozens of service and repair workshops had to close down when Esbjerg’s proud fishing fleet withered away, but many survived by adjusting in time and entering the offshore industry.
They have seen ship yards, blacksmiths and service companies close down one after the other as they refused to accept the development and adjust in time when Esbjerg faced the end of its days as a proud fishing town.
Esbjerg Harbour is reflecting a remarkable development. From the great days of 604 fishing vessels in 1969 to its present 30-40 units Esbjerg has developed from a fishing town into Denmark’s leading offshore centre with a turn-over amounting to billions of DKK and the abi-lity to serve operators in the North Sea and other oil and gas producing areas.
Companies planning ahead reacted to the development. Some adopted a conscious strategy to lessen their dependence on fishing, -others started getting requests from the offshore companies in the 80es and sensed that something big might be underway.
“From 1983-84 fishing really lost momentum, so the
following years we prepared ourselves by investing
millions of DKK. We got an automatic wire cutter and
started servicing lifting gear and establishing a test bench
in 1990,” explains Peter Harbo. At the beginning of the
90es his son, Claus, joined the company.
Photo: Niels Husted
“If we had not had the offshore industry when fishing collapsed, we would have been in a situation similar to Liverpool and Hull, loosing shipping and fishing, respectively,” explains Museum Director Morten Hahn-Pedersen, The Fishing and Maritime Museum. “If we had not had the incredible luck to see an entirely new industry with a giant growth potential creating more jobs than we lost, Esbjerg would have had a gloomy future.”
He arrived at Esbjerg in the end of 1987 at a time, when the decrease in fishing long ago was a fact. Every month the workshops in the harbour could see vessels disappear and their chances for surviving getting smaller and smaller. They had to go out and find new customers, or they would wither away.
Offshore overtaking fishing
A young man in his 20es, Peter Harbo, in 1973 still had such strong belief in fishing that he invested in a former ice house without windows and floor. Placed on a reed and cinders floor at an area at H.E.Blumes Vej it became his first primitive workshop from where he would supply the fishermen with wires and rope.
A few years later Peter Harbo had his first approach from the Maersk-company, Danbor, wanting to buy hand-spliced rope slings, casing strings and pipe straps. And soon the coating factories lined up in the queue, too.
“From 1983-84 fishing really lost momentum, so the following years we prepared ourselves by investing millions of DKK. We got an automatic wire cutter and started servicing lifting gear and establishing a test bench in 1990,” explains Peter Harbo.
At the beginning of the 90es his son, Claus, joined the company, and at that time offshore provided a higher turn-over than fishing. 1993 saw new requirements for certification of lifting gear, and Peter Harbo actively took part in formulating the new rules for the branch. The improved requirements gave the company a further lift, the number of employees grew, and the company at Olievej expanded.
“When I joined the company, I did not want to do exactly like my father,” states Claus Harbo. “I wanted to add visions and ideas, and one of the first ones was to give our company a broader range of customers. Some of the products we sold to fishing and offshore might be attractive to other industries, perhaps even abroad.”
Turn-over tripled
Peter Harbo A/S has grown into a company with a broad range of products and services. Its customers in Denmark, Norway, Qatar and the Far East account for 25-20% of its turn-over, while industry/marine/fishing account for some 70%
Since 2004 the fishing-related activities have been handled by the affiliate, Perfect Fishing A/S, where 13-14 employees are pro-ducing trawl boards and selling equipment for trawling.
As early as in the mid-90es the Esbjerg-company bought Fredericia Surringsservice, and from here maritime customers and industry will be provided with lashing material and service. At present a new 1,000 m² workshop is being constructed near the motorway. In June 2007, when finished, it will make the name of Peter Harbo visible at one of the areas in Denmark seeing most traffic, thus likely to attract new customers and sales staff.
The first many years Peter Harbo’s strategy was to meet the demands of the customers and not go ahead on his own. But lately the company has set the course itself in order to develop into a leading company within handling and lifting gear. Since 2000 the turn-over has tripled, but growth is not an aim in itself.
“We would rather like to say, that in 20 years we shall still be here, than saying that we shall double our size in 5 years. The development indicates that we shall handle more special assignments, and be able to cope with large and dirty cargo. Our men are often coated in oil when their working day is over,” smiles Claus Harbo.
Offshore educates
If you need three kilometres of 104mm wire weighing some 140 tons transferred to a winch on board a ship at Fredericia Harbour most people in the branch know to get hold of the specialists in Esbjerg. It was here Peter Harbo and his son, Claus, learnt the tricks of the trade, when they encountered the remorseless requirements for quality, safety, service and documentation required by the offshore industry.
“Close cooperation with our offshore customers has given us a good internal education. You have to be ready at short notice, and service is a must – at night and on Sundays, too. Fortunately we have a fantastic team aware of this fact and prepared to meet the challenge.”
By now Peter Harbo has reached a level of quality where the company acts as an assistant to Det norske Veritas with regard to testing and re-certification of lifting gear.
Maersk acted as the locomotive
According to Museum Director, Morten Hahn-Pedersen, this development is characteristic for a number of the companies in Esbjerg taking up the challenge from the offshore industry. Many of the ones joining in the boom years at the beginning of the 80es have stayed and grown with the demands.
“This professionalism is typical for the individual company and the entire environment and a must to comply with for the companies joining the industry,” states Hahn-Pedersen. “It is a modern industry requiring more sub-contractors as a lot of things are going to happen in the Danish sector of the North Sea and in the international world of the oil and gas industry. To a large extent Maersk Oil has acted as a locomotive, and this has resulted in a chain reaction.
Gains and risks
He divides the development of the Danish offshore indu-stry into three phases: First came the large operators of the 1970es, where Maersk Oil and gained experience and know-how from its partners in Danish Underground Consortium producing the first oil in the Danish sector. Then came the new service companies of the boom years in the 80es like Esbjerg Oilfield Services, exploitation of the know-how gained in the North Sea and establishing of a network. And as the third wave we see small and large companies choosing the offshore industry as a strategic aim accepting two to five years without seeing any profit.
“Offshore quickly became a strategic goal as the fish meal factories started
closing down. In Esbjerg the companies not seeing the writing on the wall, died,”
states Erik Madsen, second generation in the company, who is running the company
together with his wife, Lone Tækker.
Photo: Niels Husted
“If you make a dramatic entry into the offshore indu-stry, you may earn a lot of money, but if you fail you are likely to be broke. Esbjerg has few companies aiming at offshore only, as the fluctuation in the investments required are such that you must have a solid permanent income. Another way of levelling the ups and downs may be to go international,” suggests Hahn-Pedersen.
His survey of the offshore industry in Ribe County shows that in 2000 43% of the companies were working internationally, and he assesses that this figure is now 50%. A total of 250 companies in the region are involved in the offshore industry, and 90% of them are situated in Esbjerg.
Madsen chose offshore
One of them is family-owned Madsens Maskinfabrik, Esbjerg ApS established 30 years ago to serve the three fish meal factories in Esbjerg. Its products typically were transport systems, silos and rinsing columns made of stainless steel. The only remaining fish meal factory is still a customer as are some factories in Scotland and the Faroes, too.
Mergers and closing-downs in the fish meal industry at an early stage made Madsens Maskinfabrik look for other types of customers, and more than 20 years ago the first requests from the purchasers of the offshore industry were encountered. Stainless cupboards for several purposes and reels for hoses were among the first products delivered to the growing industry.
“Offshore quickly became a strategic goal as the fish meal factories started closing down. In Esbjerg the comnies not seeing the writing on the wall, died,” states Erik Madsen, second generation in the company, who is running the company together with his wife, Lone Tækker.
The company at an early stage established its own drawing office and implemented quality assurance systems, as the offshore customers required comprehensive documentation and systematic, and this has been a benefit to Madsens Maskinfabrik.
“You may say that we had our play pen at Esbjerg Harbour, but here we learnt to increase the demands to our company. Anyone who is involved in offshore and able to meet the demands, can make a living in the big world.”
Suitable size
During the years more and more products have been delivered to the offshore industry such as light sea water resistant aluminium bridges, and sales to the Maersk-companies, Hess, DONG Energy, and other customers today account for half of the turn-over. If the contacts established in Norway develop into contracts this share may increase even more in the 20-staff company.
“I like our present size, as our strength is personal contact to our customers and our ability to change direction at short notice if necessary. Our customers are generally impatient, but we are able to start constructing a component in the morning and ship it off with the 6 o’clock helicopter on the same day, if need be.”
50-60% of the production is export to Ireland, England, Scotland, the Shetlands, the Faroes and Sweden. Offshore, producers of sweets, the fish meal industry – and the whisky distilleries – are important customers.
A Scottish whisky distillery required a transport system that could be ATEX-approved. This requirement could be met by Madsens Maskinfabrik, and now the process is in use for constructions to other parts of the world.
Cooperation makes stronger
Madsens Maskinfabrik has understood that the oil and gas industry must not be too dominating a customer. The ups and downs in activities are too dramatic, and the company is not sufficiently international to level them out. That is why the com-pany is aiming at a broad range of customers.
“It spreads like ripples in the water if Maersk is idle. Fortunately we have a good cooperation with other companies in the harbour. We know what they can offer, and we hope that they know how we can assist them. In all I think we are cooperating with some 30-40 companies handling various jobs,” claims Lone Tækker.
Facts about Peter Harbo A/S:
Established in 1973. Repair, service, test re-certification and rental of lifting gear for offshore, industry, marine and fishing. 62 employees. 47 at Peter Harbo A/S in Esbjerg and Fredericia, and the rest at Perfect Fishing A/S handling the fishing-related activities. The family-owned company owns part of Marine Safety Supply in the UK.
Facts about Madsens Maskinfabrik:
Established in 1977. Development and production of mainly stainless products for offshore, industry and fish meal factories. The company is owned by Johannes and Erik Madsen and has a staff of 20. Turn-over in 2006: 12 million DKK.
