E.ON and Fortum choose filter bags from Nordifa. Again
Beautiful cars on insulating floor
An oasis of peace and quiet at Landvetter Airport
String – modern classic with new functions
New cars with built-in environmental responsibility New management team – all called Peter
Everything you need to know about fibre materials and their properties
ROBERT REFLECTS
Once again, a year ends and another begins, and it’s time to look both forwards and backwards.
2015 turned out to be a very good year, as we achieved almost all the ambitious targets we had set for ourselves. We have strengthened our position both in Sweden and in the rest of the Nordic region. The export percentage is increasing steadily, profitability is satis- factory and the equity ratio is very good.
Sales of moulded products are continuing to grow, and Business Area Filtration has maintained its position. We are strong in filter media for thermal power plants, and our customer satisfaction is demonstrated by the fact they are continuing to purchase from Nordifa.
We invest with purpose – both in knowledge and in equipment. In 2015, we spent several million Swedish Kronor on modernising our machinery, with the obvious intention of ensuring that we will be better equipped to face the challenges of the future and our customers’ increasingly stringent requirements. To enable us to remain at the cutting edge, we visited a selection of specialist trade fairs, including Filtech in Cologne, Techtextil in Frankfurt and ITMA in Milan.
2016 will be an exceptionally busy year. We will continue to beat the drum for moulding technology, explaining its benefits and capabilities. We are also see- ing increasing interest from arenas all over Europe for our Rinktex ice cover. They all want to see their rinks used more intensively, and Rinktex is the key.
We also expect filtration to make substantial pro- gress during the year. We are experts at improving the performance of filter media and in how to achieve the best and cheapest maintenance regimes for filtration equipment. We really, really want to share our knowl- edge! We also have some new products in the pipeline, and we know the market is just waiting on them.
But most of all, we are looking forward to spring ..
Robert Bornefalk, CEO
E.on and Fortum choose Nordifa. Again
Effective flue gas scrubbing is one of the keys to ensuring that combined power and heating plant pro- cesses function as they should. Nordifa regularly sup- plies filter media to both newly-built and existing combined power and heating plants throughout the Nordic region.
Once customers start using Nordifa filters, they don’t stop. The most recent examples of satisfied customers who keep coming back to Nordifa are Händelöverket in Norrköping, owned by E.ON, and Fortum’s combined power and heating plant in Högdalen. We will also be supplying Fortum with sup- port sleeves for the 1600 filter bags.
Both these orders were preceded by traditional public procurement procedures, resulting in Nordifa winning the contracts.
The special filter media used by E.ON and Fortum combine three vital properties – resistance to high flue gas temperatures, low pressure-drop guaranteeing a long service life and a high level of arrestance ensuring that environmental standards are met with ease.
Beautiful cars on insulating floor
The Classic Motor Marknad is Sweden’s largest indoor fair, attracting buyers and sellers from all over the world. The next fair will take place in March 2016.
The Classic Motor Marknad is held twice a year, in Västerås. The venue is the ABB Arena, which is normally used for hockey, bandy and other ice sports.
The ABB Arena faces the same challenge as every other arena and ice rink; converting the cold and slippery ice into a substrate suitable for other activities – concerts, corporate events, exhibitions, conferences etc. – in just a few hours.
The solution in Västerås – and every other arena should do the same – is Nordifa’s smart Rinktex ice cover. It is a thick, highly-insulating, synthetic fibre mat, which works on its own or as the underlay for a more exclusive sur- face layer. Rinktex is quick to deploy, is custom-made for the dimensions of the ice, and it enables ice rinks to increase their income from hires substantially. For most rink operators this should be reason enough to invest in a Rinktex floor.
Inspiration for interior designers
Many Nordic and European interior designers have already dis- covered Nordifa. We have a lot of projects under way, but, naturally, we would love to have more.
That is why, at the end of last year, we distributed a large portfolio showing what can be done with moulded felt, with the emphasis on furniture and interior fittings.
Moulded felt combines a traditional textile feel with advan- ced technology and almost unlimited possibilities. Our unique manufacturing methods enable us, for example, to produce a complete piece of furniture in a single moulding pass. And our process is environmentally-friendly, using no chemical binding agents whatsoever.
The result is stable products that still feel like textiles. Manufacturing a product with different colours on the front and reverse sides is no problem for us. until now, this could only be achieved through complex and expensive lamination.
This initiative has already won us a number of exciting pro- jects, and it will continue during the spring. Are you an interior designer? We would love to hear from you!
An oasis of peace and quiet at Landvetter Airport
Airports and shopping centres have two things in com- mon. First, the noise-level is high and, second, they are often extremely busy. This makes the whole environment stressful.
Landvetter Airport decided to do something about this. The result was the installation of a number of noise-dampening ”trees”, that not only reduce the noise level but also create a calm and pleasant space – ideal for relaxing and unwinding.
”Our products perform three functions”, says Johan Wahlström, CEO of Green Furniture. “Firstly, they create a genuine natural feeling, since we work solely with pure, natural materials, such as wood and wool. Secondly, they ensure a good acoustic environment thanks to effective noise reduction. Thirdly, they are designed to be attractive. In addition, our seating furniture takes up very little space, which is a must in many environments”.
”The Leaf Lamp absorbs noise, creating calm areas for conversations, waiting, resting and relaxing. It is no accident that architects from all over the world prefer to use products from Green Furniture.
You will, no doubt, already have guessed that the “leaves” are made from a special wool felt developed by Nordifa ...
String – modern classic with new functions
In 1949, Bonniers, the famous book publishing company, announced a competi- tion to create a bookshelf that would be inexpensive, easy to transport and easy to assemble. The winner was the legendary String bookshelf, designed by the architect, Nils Strinning. This has been sold all over the world since then.
A year or so ago, String Furniture AB decided to market the String range for offices and public places. The new product line, String Works, is the brainchild of designers Björn dahlström and Anna von Schewen. The traditional range has been supplemented with ergonomic desks, storage and so on.
The company also wanted to create a good acoustic environment. A number of noise-reducing felt products were developed in collaboration with Nordifa. They screen off and improve the work environment, and this provides added value to the innovative Works range.
New cars with built-in environmental responsibility
At the end of the year, Nordifa renewed its car fleet. Some of our Volvos, with several years’ solid service behind them, have been replaced by seven environ- mentally-classified Volvo V70 Classic d4Es.
The new cars comply with the Euro 6b environmental standards. They are fit- ted with an automatic Start/Stop system, and emit only 117 gm of CO2 per km. Fuel consumption is only 0.45 litres per 10 km.
“We help our customers to improve their environment, so we really have to do the same ourselves,” says Robert Bornefalk, CEO of Nordifa. “We are wor- king closely with our customers in the Nordic process industry, and our choice of vehicles is one the factors which show our total commitment to the environment in every part of our operation.”
Our new business system benefits both us and our customers
”For too many years, we have been struggling with a business system that really doesn’t suit a company of our size”, says Peter Henrysson, CFO of Nordifa. “Our operation now is totally different from how it was 10–15 years ago. Replacing the business system, however, required careful consideration, and we have given it a great deal of thought. But now it’s time to take the plunge”.
”Our aim is, of course, to enable us to work more efficiently, faster and, above all, with greater customer-orientation. We want to streamline our calcula- tion and quotation system, simplify planning and improve our control over the different stages of our production pro- cess”.
“We also want to be more effective in our marketing, using a CRM system which supports our sales reps in their work. Finally, we want to make extrac- ting the precise information we need to make good decisions a rapid and simple process”.
”The system we have decided on is Pyramid Business Studio, developed by unikum datasystem AB in Skåne in the south of Sweden. It is a system with a 20-years proven track record. We now have an all-in-one system – from finance and production management to sales support and analytical tools”.
The system is extremely flexible, and makes it possible to customise procedures, forms and reports in the tiniest detail to suit our current working meth- ods and our future requirements.
Pyramid Business Studio is a modu- lar system, and this makes it extremely simple to scale up as the company grows and our operation changes. A great deal has happened at Nordifa in recent years, and we know that further change is inevitable.
New management team - all called Peter
A totally new manage- ment team has taken over at Nordifa in the past six months. The aim of the recruitment was to find people with solid experience of operations similar to Nordifa’s, i.e. the deve- lopment and sale of customised solutions for a range of sectors, including the process industry, sport and leisure and interior decorating.
Peter Åkerblom,
Sales and Development Manager
Chemical Engineer and Market Economist.
Previous posts: Development Engineer at Boliden, Market Segment Manager at Stokvis Tapes, CEO of Nolato Lövepac, Sales and Marketing Manager at Elwis Royal A/S.
Personal info: 50 years old, married, two daughters.
Home: Former farmhouse out- side Jonstorp.
Leisure: Golf, HiFi and music.
Peter Wallgren,
Production Manager
Mechanical Engineer and Marketing.
Previous posts: Purchasing Manager at Micor AB, Marketing Manager at Micor AB, Production Manager at KWA AB, CEO of KWA AB. Personal info: 43 years old, lives with partner, daughter.
Home: House in Blåkulla in the Municipality of Laholm. Leisure: House and home, golf.
Peter Henrysson,
CFO
Economist.
Previous posts: CFO for a num- ber of companies in various sectors in Halland.
Personal info: 45 years old, married, two children and a dog.
Home: House in Oskarström. Leisure: Lots of football, trainer for a boys’ team in Oskarström, caravanning adventures with the family.
Everything you need to know about fibre materials and their properties
Choosing the right textile for a special application is pure science. The starting point for the choice is always the technical properties of the mate- rial – thermal resistance, strength, chemical resistance etc.
To make the selection process easier, we have produced a guide to the majority of suitable materials, listing their most significant technical pro- perties.
The Materials Guide is on our website (of course!), and also on our product literature. If you work in construction, design or operation and maintenance, you will find the guide a very useful aid. Order it now!
Nordifa’s logo revealed!
The symbol in Nordifa’s logo consists of four equal squares. People have been wondering what the symbol means, so here is the explanation.
Three of the squares represent Nordifa’s three classic business areas – smart solutions and products for sports floors, advanced industrial textiles and filtration.
The fourth square stands for our soft- ware, i.e. the experience and expertise that enable Nordifa to collaborate with customers in every conceivable sector – from large thermal power stations and events arenas to interior design and machine production.
In other words; products + expertise = satisfied customers. And all that is shown in the logo ...
Traditional christmas lunch at Nordifa
On 17 december, everyone at Nordifa had a foretaste of Christmas when the company served up a magnificent Christmas buffet with all the goodies that make Christmas special.
duringthefestivity,twomembersofstaffwhohaveworkedfor Nordifa for 25 years were each presented with a gold watch. Nordifa treasures tradition!
Nordifa donates SEK 50,000 to Världens Barn
Just about the whole of Sweden was glued to their sets to watch the TV Gala broadcast on 2 October, for the benefit of Världens Barn [the Children of the World], the umbrella organisation for children’s charities in Sweden. The fantastic sum of SEK 43 million was collected during the Gala broadcast. The donations continued to roll in, reaching SEK 75 million in only a few weeks.
Nordifa donated SEK 50,000 during the broadcast.
”We really wanted to support this very important cause,” says Robert Bornefalk, CEO of Nordifa.
