Three out of 1,000.
That is how few companies from Lolland-Falster and South Zealand appear on Børsen’s list of Denmark’s largest companies by revenue. And you have to go all the way down to number 910 before the first local name appears.
That prompts Morten Jasper, business editor at Børsen, to point to the other end of the country.
- It is striking how few of Denmark’s largest companies are currently based on Lolland, Falster and in southern Zealand. By comparison, a relatively small town such as Skagen at the other end of the country has three companies on the list on its own.
The highest-ranked local company is Storstroem Bridge Joint Venture in Vordingborg, which is behind construction of the new Storstrøm Bridge. The company ranks 910th with revenue of DKK 667 million.
It is followed by RWE Wind Services Denmark in Rødbyhavn at number 989 and DLF Beet Seed in Holeby at number 992. Both have revenue of DKK 595 million according to the rounded figures in the list.
The modest representation contrasts with the region’s industrial past, and Morten Jasper highlights Nakskov Shipyard, the sugar factories and other major companies in the food industry.
- Many of the large industrial workplaces have since disappeared, and the region has not managed to create or attract new companies on a scale capable of offsetting the loss of the industrial giants of the past.
At the same time, he sees a trend in which large companies are increasingly concentrated around Denmark’s biggest cities.
- Part of the explanation is that Danish business has changed character as a result of globalisation. This has helped shift the centre of gravity from the old industrial towns to the major urban areas, where companies have easier access to highly educated labour, capital and specialised skills.
