HE-VA builds in times of recession...

We've heard about it – these are times of recession in the agricultural industry…

The media has reported on it and we have heard of layoffs. Unfortunately, it is a reality. In general, in the industry, there is approximately a 30-40% drop in turnover and at HE-VA it is not much different, yet a new warehouse is now being built.

The family business has, for a number of years now, expanded production at the 2 factories on Mors in Denmark. It started in 2018 with a 1,200 m2 hall in Nykøbing. In 2020, a new 1,800 m2 painting facility was built in the Ørding department. Again in 2022, a 1,800 m2 steel hall was built in Nykøbing to ensure capacity in the future - and now in 2024 - a new warehouse of almost 1,600 m2 will be built in Nykøbing, incl. a smaller 150 m2 extension to the administration building.

And how can that be? Well, the construction itself was planned before it was known that there would be a downturn and so HE-VA chose to complete the project rather than stop it. For Villy and Heine Christiansen, father and son, it is a matter of seeing the possibilities rather than the limitations and also they are loyal to their customers.

"We are sending a strong signal to our customers that HE-VA is a company you can count on. We have had a lot of progress here, also in recent years while the world has been affected by corona, the energy crisis and war in Europe. We cannot avoid the fact that we are experiencing a significant decrease in orders, but it is natural that it had to come at some point. That does not mean we will not make progress again – and when we do, we will be ready!” - says Villy Christiansen, CEO at HE-VA.

And being ready is important at HE-VA, where they are expecting progress again in the future, which is why they are building now.

Well, we are building a new warehouse so that we can free up some space to expand the assembly department. This is necessary not only because of the number of machines that need to be installed, but also because the machines we receive orders for are getting bigger and more space is needed to assemble them. And because the warehouse is being built right next to the office building, it made sense that we also make a small extension for the administration. Here we get approx. 150 m2 for a new canteen and a large meeting room with modern equipment. There will be space for 70 people and we feel that this is needed, because we are increasingly visited by larger gatherings" - says Heine Christiansen, technical director at HE-VA.

In addition to the extensions, HE-VA has also invested in several other things in recent years, such as welding robots, milling machines, cutting machines, solar cell systems and a new truck. The Danish company is constantly looking to facilitate the production process and create room for progress.

"At HE-VA, we are optimists," says Heine in conclusion.