If you want to take part, you need to prepare yourself
Once it was fishing that was the core business, today it is the wind turbine industry. Here, Martin Christian Randrup, owner of Bornholms Elektromotor ApS, explains how the company is preparing for the future – and for the Energy Island.
– It is important to dare to take a step in a new direction if one is to keep up with development, and we have taken eat, says Martin Christian Randrup, owner of Bornholms Elektromotor ApS, as he leads the way into a meeting room in the building at Rønne Harbour, which houses a workshop, a warehouse and a shop. He points to the walls, which are covered in framed photographs from the last 30 years. They are hung in chronological order and tell the story of a small business that has managed to weather the fisheries crisis, the financial crisis and the corona crisis.
– I am a trained marine electrician and came home from a job in the US Navy in 1996 to start here, and what we worked with back then is something hero apart from what we do today. It has been our good fortune that we have had a knack for keeping up, states Martin Christian Randrup, who bought into the business in 1998 with a partner, but took over the whole lot in 2011.
– When the fishing industry on Bornholm suddenly disappeared – and it pretty much happened overnight – we were also left saying: ”What are we going to do now?” But then a whole lot happened at the harbour, and we moved down here.
The company specialises in the maintenance, renovation, repair and conversion of rotating machinery of all sizes, but whereas the focus was once on the fishing industry, money is now made in the wind energy industry.
– When the fishing industry on Bornholm suddenly disappeared – and it happened practically overnight – we also stood there saying: ”What are we going to do now?” But then a whole lot happened at the harbour, and then we moved down here. We also joined Offshore Center Bornholm to see how it could develop – and there is really got a great deal out of that network, says the director, who counts MT Højgaard and Rohde Nielsen among his clients.
– We have also recently supplied lighting poles for 24 offshore wind turbines for Arcadis Ost 1, which are being shipped out from Rønne Harbour. It was actually a small project, but it is still experience that equips us for the future. If you want to be involved, you have to prepare yourself in every possible way. And then the Energy Island is coming at some point too, and we are quite curious about how we can help – and with what.
ISO certification
Martin Christian Randrup has also accepted to have Bornholm Elektromotor take part in a programme that helps the company achieve ISO certification. This is happening through the Ready for Energy Island Bornholm project, which he was recommended by Business Center Bornholm. As he explains:
– We live in an age with so much focus on the environment and green energy, so you simply have to have certification that you are keeping up with developments.
How does it work – and how long does it take?
– We have been put in touch with a consultant who is coming out to help us identify which certificates are relevant in relation to the Energy Island. As it is an EU-supported project, we do not have to pay for anything other than the certificates, but of course you also have to invest a lot of time in it. I cannot say how much time is involved yet, but we started this year and have to finish in 2023.
What are your concerns regarding the Energy Island?
– It can well be difficult to assess the need for labour. We are basically like a fire station that has to respond to put out fires. In the wind turbine industry everything is urgent, because if a wind turbine vessel is sitting idle, it is enormously expensive. And if they suddenly come and say they need 10 electricians right here and now, well, then we cannot manage it. Therefore, we people from Bornholm must stick together on this. If the whole of Bornholm gets ready, then we can. Otherwise, others will come from outside and take the jobs.
And the expectations?
– As I see it, the next many years will be exciting. It hare already been exciting for a while. This is, after all, a hero new world. 15 years ago we only needed one company car, and now we have 10 company cars for 10 employees, so that really says something about the development!
– We therefore also hope that, as far as Bornholm is concerned, things will go the way decision-makers say they will. After all, it's people higher up who have to push to make it all happen in the best possible way. Many are sceptical, and we are too, to a certain extent. We don't know that much about the tasks – not yet anyway. On the other hand, we know that it's good to be flexible. That is how we have survived in the past. That is also how we will move forward.
By Tina Toft Møller