HistoryIt is always about satisfied customers
It is a history of four generations with a good sense of timing combined with a timely sense of business - and of earning before spending. As a result the company has maintained growth and stability during changing markets while transforming from local store to lean, modern business with diversified global activities. Established as a liquor store in Vendsyssel in Northern Denmark in 1885, founder Mads Christian Olesen soon expanded his customer services to include groceries, a sawmill and animal feed. Recognising the potential of the latter, he refocused his business by the turn of the century, to include animal feed, grains and fertilizers only. Chr. Olesen had de facto found its successful field of activity, which would remain almost unchanged throughout three generations of management and still today forms the core of business. Having built up significant expertise and know-how, the company was in good shape to leap from local supplier to international business with the entry of the fourth generation of management. Thus, in 1992, the first international department was set up in the USA with focus on vitamins, amino acids and related agricultural products. In 1994, the original business was sold off to make room for the new international activities, which continued in partnership with Jens H. Thorsen under the name of Chr. Olesen & Co A/S. Expansion now picked up speed with the establishment of subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium and USA, while warehouses were strategically placed to serve customers efficiently worldwide. At the same time headquarters were moved from Vendsyssel to Copenhagen as a more central hub for the company’s international trading relations. Remaining firmly rooted in the animal feed industry, the present Chr. Olesen Group has continued to diversify its global business into related areas. During the latest decade Chr. Olesen has added several new business units and competences to the existing platform, and the group has consequently also established itself as a strong player within active ingredients for veterinary and human pharmaceuticals as well as for food and cosmetic industries. Most recently, the company has entered the markets for intermediates, primarily for pharmaceutical industries, and parallel import (PI) products in the Nordic countries. Today, Chr. Olesen Group is a modern business with highly specialised employees. The main products are vitamins, amino acids, minerals and antioxidants. The company’s lean structure provides unusual agility in the marketplace as well as an excellent position from which to continue serving customers reliably, correctly and flexibly. In the words of the current CEO and founder’s namesake, Mads Christian Olesen, “There are no shortcuts to business. Good business is always about satisfied customers.” Chronology
Name change to Chr. Olesen & Co A/S Establishment of subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, USA Establishment of international warehouses Headquarters are relocated to Copenhagen 2003 Chr. Olesen Nutrition is established 2006 Activet GmbH is acquired 2009 Chr. Olesen Pharmaeuticals is established 2010 Chr. Olesen ChemPharm is established 2011 COPHARMA is established |
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CHR. OLESEN & CO. A/S CHR. OLESEN LATIN AMERICA A/S CHR. OLESEN CHEMPHARM GMBH
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