Danfoss A/S

Danfoss logo
Type	Private
Industry	Fluid control equipment, pump, seal & valve manufacturing
Founded	Nordborg Denmark
Headquarters	Nordborg, Denmark
Key people	Niels B. Christiansen
Products	Refrigeration & air conditioning, heating & water, and motion controls
Revenue	kr 19.4 billion (2006)
Net income	kr 1.601 million (2006)
Website	Danfoss.com

The Danfoss Group is a global producer of components and solutions for refrigeration & air conditioning, heating & water, and motion controls. Danfoss has net sales of €2,600 million (US$3,400 million) and employs approximately 22,000 people worldwide with headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark.

Danfoss was founded in 1933 by Mads Clausen, and is today almost entirely owned by The Bitten and Mads Clausen Foundation. In 2002 Danfoss joined the United Nations Global Compact, consisting of nine principles with social and environmental responsibility.

Danfoss's production is approximately 250,000 items daily in more than 50 factories located in 20 countries, and its sales network consists of more than 110 sales companies and 100 agents and distributors.

Danfoss headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark.

Cutaway model of Danfoss' first automatic valve

Company history[link]

• Danfoss founder Mads Clausen was born in 1905 on a farm in the southern part of Denmark, near the German border. In 1933, after graduating in engineering, he returned to his birthplace and started up a company in the attic of his parent’s farm house.

• In the 1930s, helped by high customs barriers and import bans on certain products, Clausen was successful in producing and selling a long list of automatic valves for refrigeration plants, which had previously been imported from the United States.

• In the 1940s an expansion of the factory was completed and Danfoss agents were set up in Belgium, Norway, Finland, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and England.

• In the 1950s piecework was introduced at the factory and the number of employees rose above 2,000.

• In 1966 Mads Clausen died of a heart attack at the age of 60. His widow, Bitten Clausen, continued to lead the company as Chairman of the Board with Andreas Jepsen as President and CEO.

• In 1983 Danfoss celebrated its 50th anniversary and the 1,000th employee to reach 25 years of service.

• In 1996 Jørgen M. Clausen, son of Mads Clausen, was appointed President and CEO of the Danfoss Group.

• In 1997 sales exceeded €2,200 million and the number of employees reached 18,200.

• In 2000 Danfoss’s business segment Mobile Hydraulics merged with the German company Sauer, Inc. to form Sauer-Danfoss. Jørgen M. Clausen became Chairman of this company. Danfoss currently owns 55.4% of the stock, which is traded on New York Stock Exchange.

• In 2005, 100 years after the birth of its founder, Danfoss headquarters is still located in the rural village of Nordborg, and the Clausen family's old farmhouse has been transformed into a science theme park.

• In 2007 the Danfoss group expanded its facilities around the world – in particular in Denmark, Canada, China, United States, Romania, Poland and France – with about 130,000 sq m of production, warehouse and office facilities.

• In 2008 Danfoss celebrated its 75th< anniversary and the 40th anniversary of the VLT frequency converter. Jørgen M. Clausen retired as CEO at his 60th birthday. Niels B. Christiansen became the new CEO.

Executive committee[link]

• Niels Bjørn Christiansen, Chief Executive Officer
• Kim Fausing, Chief Operations Officer
• Nis Storgaard, Chief Development Officer

External links[link]

• Danfoss company website
• Sauer-Danfoss company website
• Danfoss Universe - Science and experience park
• Danfoss Turbocor - U.S. joint venture to manufacture oil-free, high efficiency compressors