Nearly 200 of the South Sea Islands’ leading business figures are seated in the large hall at Nykøbing Theatre, where I, too, as a representative of the press, slip in as the weak link.
This is where it will take place: the presentation of the Lolland-Falster Business Award, which has been awarded every year since it began in 1983.
Back then, BOWA – Bojesen & Wamberg from Nørre Alslev won the honour, and tonight the contest is between Primagruppen, Dem Fra Nordlunde, estate agency Dennis Frederiksen – Danbolig, Lalandia and RM Fintech.
I am among the first to arrive and stand on the first floor, watching all the leading figures come up the stairs. Almost all the gentlemen are wearing dark suits, while the women display a broader colour palette. I spot Stig Rømer Winther with a glass in his hand; Mikkel Wesselhoff kindly comes over to shake hands, while the mayors mingle and chat.
Most of them know one another. Hands are shaken and witty remarks exchanged, while conversations about everything from leased cars to possible lunch appointments can be heard throughout the well-filled bar area in front of the hall entrances.
Inside the hall, I take my seat at table 10. I am seated with Mikkel Madsen, who works with start-ups and entrepreneurship at Business Lolland-Falster, and who talks in detail about the many different types of businesses he is in contact with every day.
Seated next to him are Sabine and Joachim Esfandiari, the couple behind TrygHjemmehjælp, who later in the evening receive the StartUp Grant of DKK 10,000. They offer private home care, focusing on creating security and stability in everyday life for those who need assistance.
“We lived in Copenhagen for many years, but we have now returned to our home region, and we run the company from Sakskøbing,” says Joachim Esfandiari.
And the winner is …
On stage, another representative from Business Lolland-Falster, Klaus Larsen, does an excellent job as master of ceremonies, guiding us through both the presentations of the evening’s nominees and the otherwise quite excellent menu.
And it is Primagruppen that takes home this year’s business award. The company has developed from specialising in roofing work to now covering several trades and employing more than 100 people in, among others, Primatag, Sonny VVS and Tømrerfirmaet Stoffregen.
Michael Nielsen, one of Primagruppen’s two directors, is thus following in the footsteps of his father, Kurt Peter Nielsen, who headed Primatag for 45 years and won the business award in 1998.
“I am enormously proud, I really am. The other candidates were very good, so it actually came as a surprise that we won. We work hard to be visible locally and make a difference for young people, and I think that is also one of the reasons why we took the victory,” says Michael Nielsen, before continuing.
“Tomorrow morning, all employees will receive an email with a big thank you from me, because without them, none of this would be possible.”
In addition, Peter Dan Petersen, chairman of Nakskov Handel & Erhverv, receives one of this year’s two Initiative Awards for his long, loyal and tireless efforts on behalf of the business community in Nakskov and western Lolland.
“Peter shows just how great a difference personal commitment, perseverance and the ability to bring others together can make,” says Mikkel Wesselhoff about the award.
The other Initiative Award goes to Den Lille Fede Festuge.
The evening concludes with magician Sunny Cagara, who demonstrates both card tricks and mind reading from the stage, and as always, I feel that slight fear of becoming one of those selected to be an assistant. Fortunately, I avoid this, despite being seated right in the middle of the auditorium.
When I step out onto Østergågade again after the ceremony, I can hear a radio interview taking place on the balcony above my head. The evening’s winner is being congratulated on the business award.
