FL jubilæumsbog EN 101123 web - Flipbook - Side 14
FINANCIAL MUSCLE
The next step was an analysis of the customers.
Which ones did Frode Laursen A/S make money
from, and which agreements led to a loss?
Slowly but surely, over a couple of years, the
results started to show. The accounts returned
zero before the first black figures appeared on
the boom line. It was a milestone when profits
passed DKK 10 million for the first time four to
five years later.
“Thorkil and I looked at each other and said:
‘We’ll never earn DKK 10 million again.’ We
were euphoric,” says Anders Balle, the company’s CFO at the time.
However, profits in the tens of millions
became a recurring feature. The financial muscle grew, allowing Frode Laursen A/S to make
acquisitions. Initially, the company mainly took
over smaller hauliers, but in 1998 Frode Laursen
acquired Gunnar Henriksen A/S, a haulier that
specialised in transporting building materials.
Thorkil Andersen
and Niels Laursen at
Frode Laursen’s 40th
anniversary
First off, it was about stopping the economic
bleeding. Deals were struck with creditors,
so some bills could wait a lile before being
paid – however, they all got paid. Frode Laursen
A/S cut its number of own trucks as well as its
workforce.
In addition to the financial problems, it was
also revealed that the company was tainted with
a culture in which a number of employees as
well as some customers and suppliers had been
able to threaten management into giving them
favourable terms. But Thorkil put a stop to that.
“I was determined not to be afraid. If a driver or customer said, ‘I’m leaving if I don’t get
this or that,’ I would reply, ‘Then go.’ I used the
power of example. Even if it cost a lot of money,
nobody was going to threaten Frode Laursen.”
12
READY FOR THE NEXT 25 YEARS
Vien had gradually become too small for the
company and, in 1997, Frode Laursen bought up
the bankrupt carpet factory Weston in Hørning,
which was also more suitable for access to the
motorway and ferries.
Even back in the old Frode Laursen days, it
had become apparent that customers wanted
warehouse space. They no longer wanted to pay
to own many square metres themselves to store
their goods. Instead, Frode Laursen offered
solutions for transport, storage, repackaging
and other types of service.
Frode Laursen was now ready to launch into
the next 25 years.
FRoM LocAL HAULIeR to InteRnAtIonAL LoGIstIcs coMPAnY
