Over 60 percent of the supplier contracts on the Fehmarn project have gone to Danish companies. The Fehmarn Belt Development Foundation cannot take credit for that alone. But they have had a hand in the game. The foundation’s articles of association state, among other things, that Fehmarn Belt Development will “contribute to the development of business life and the labor market in Region Zealand / Fehmarn Belt Region”.
No “Buy Danish clause”
– After all, you cannot introduce a “buy Danish clause” when you’re creating a Fehmarnbelt connection, because the EU does not allow it. But you can work to secure pole position for Danish companies. Since 2010, we have run a large number of competence development courses, where 400 companies have gone through. And 400 supplier contracts have been concluded, says director of Femern Belt Development, Stig Rømer Winther.
Three successes
What are your biggest successes?
– In 2011, we persuaded the government to speed up the work to prepare the construction site. And we also convinced them that the tunnel factory should be located on Lolland and not in Poland. And it has always been our ambition that Denmark should be a world leader in mega-infrastructure projects. This is now being realized in a knowledge and learning center with collaboration between universities and education programs, says Stig Rømer Winther.
The element factory will remain in Lolland
Right now, it is a continuation of the Fehmarn Lighthouse project and expanded cooperation on regional growth that is at the top of the fund director’s desk. And making the element factory in Rødbyhavn permanent:
– I don’t think the element factory should be left behind after the Fehmarn construction. I know it, says Stig Rømer Winther.
Both lobbyists and advisors
Are you a lobbying or consulting company?
– Both. But we make it transparent. We advise companies on specific issues, and we work to promote the Fehmarn Belt region. And it’s not to brag, but Femern Belt Development is today the organization in Denmark with the largest German network, Stig Rømer Winther tells.
“How the heck do they manage it?”
What has surprised you the most over the past 15 years?
– The scale and complexity. When you stand up on the platform and look out over the construction. I can’t help but think “How the heck do they manage that?”, but they do. You can only be wildly impressed, says the fund director.
Small part of a large whole
What is your advice to a small, local company that would like to make its presence felt in the Fehmarn project?
– You have to realize that you become part of a whole. It’s like a puzzle with 100,000 small pieces. And in that account, 50 is good. Many give up trying because they think that “it’s too big for me”. But then we answer that “You are talented; why shouldn’t there be something for you?”. And sometimes we take them by the hand and take them down to the consortia. And it’s funny that they came here driving an old Mazda, and then we see them a few years later in a BMW, and they say “Thank you so much for kicking my ass,” concludes Stig Rømer Winther.
Facts about Fehmarn Belt Development:
- The Femern Belt Development Foundation was founded in 2008 by Region Zealand, Lolland Municipality, Guldborgsund Municipality and Danmarks Erhvervsfremmebestyrelse.
- The fund is supported by the EU’s regional development fund.
- The foundation, with its eight employees, is based in Rødbyhavn.
