Details

August 2019

External investment speeds up Hjerno’s growth plans

Friday 23 August, Vækstpartner Kapital bought 2/3 of the shares in Hjerno Tool Factory.

The investment will kick off a significant upshift at Denmark's largest tool factory, which within five years plans to double both turnover and number of employees – mainly based on growth in the domestic market.

Hjerno Tool Factory primarily develops and produces high-quality injection moulding tools for the plastics industry and other industries. The position of northern Europe's leading supplier now needs to be further developed through investments in digital technologies, increased capacity and a strengthened organisation.

More powerful business
"We are undergoing a period of strong growth in our company. Within one and a half year, we have gone from 40 to 60 employees, but I would like to see us grow at an even faster rate. With this investment we can make Hjerno Tool Factory even more effective than today, which is what the market is asking for," says Managing Director Aage Agergaard.

He still owns 1/3 of the shares and he will continue as the managing director of the company. Furthermore, Aage Agergaard also invests a larger amount in the company.

Vækstpartner Kapital (VPK) is a Danish equity fund, which primarily invests in Danish growth companies.

"Hjerno Tool Factory has been in good and healthy development with a high-tech set-up and an impact that is not matched by other tool factories in Denmark. We are confident that our capital and competencies paired with the Hjerno's unique know-how can further accelerate the company's growth and harness the continued great potential that we see in the market," says Anders Tvegaard, partner in Vækstpartner Kapital.

Great potential in the domestic market
VPK's investment will, among other things, be used to strengthen Hjerno’s organisation and to increase both capacity and new technology in the production, including intelligent tools with built-in advanced electronics. Measures, which should enable the company to gain a foothold in new industries such as the fuel cell production as well as to grow in both export markets and in particular in the domestic market.

"The cooperation with Vækstpartner Kapital is a continuation of our journey from workshop to large factory. However, we do not want to grow just for the sake of growing, but because our customers and the entire market demand a powerful and innovative tool supplier with the potential to become even more competitive than we already are," says Aage Agergaard.

Between 2016 and 2018, Hjerno Tool Factory has increased its gross profit from approx. DKK 25m to DKK 33.75m and currently employs approx. 60 employees.