We generate millions from household plastic waste – while others still believe the green transition is expensive.
Ground protection mats. Boards you lay down so excavators and heavy machinery do not turn lawns, construction sites and fields into mud and wheel tracks. It does not sound particularly exciting. And yet, here in Karup, I am reminded every single day just how wrong that assumption is.
DANREC produces ground protection mats. Full stop.
But we produce them from 100 percent recycled plastic. And we have built a business that proves sustainability is not a cost – it is a competitive advantage.
When I joined as CEO in 2021, DANREC had revenue of around DKK 30 million and 16 employees. Today, we have surpassed DKK 100 million, more than doubled our workforce and operate with a profit margin above 15 percent.
That is not a coincidence.
A story that almost came to a halt
DANREC was founded with great ambitions. In the early 1990s, the company was to become Denmark’s first facility for sorting household plastic. With EU funding, German capital and commitments from municipalities, the factory in Karup was meant to become a green flagship.
It did not.
The plastic never came. Municipalities failed to deliver as promised. The factory stood ready – without raw materials. For more than a decade, plastic waste was imported from Germany, processed in Karup and sent back. It was costly, inefficient – and ultimately unsustainable.
In 2002, the German owners pulled the plug. Twenty-seven employees were laid off, and production stopped.
Three employees and one machine remained in a corner of the production hall. Three days a week, they produced plastic boards for agriculture. Not because of a grand strategy. But because customers remained. It was modest.
But it kept DANREC alive.
When time had stood still
When I took over nearly 20 years later, it was clear the company had survived – but not evolved.
No one had occupied the CEO’s office since 2002. Folders and archives bore witness to an organisation at a standstill. There was almost no IT, no structure and no shared direction.
But there was a product with potential. Production that could be scaled. And a business already circular – without using the word.
That is where the work began.
We modernised processes. Invested heavily in production. Built a professional sales organisation with local presence in export markets. And made a clear decision: DANREC should prove you can manufacture in Denmark – and make money doing it.
We have built a business that proves sustainability is not a cost – it is a competitive advantage.
– Henrik Immerkær Ohm, CEO
Green business – black on the bottom line
Today, around 80 percent of our production is exported. We sell through distributors and building supply chains across Europe. Demand is growing, and we continue to invest.
In new production lines.
In process optimisation.
In robotics and automation.
And in data and AI where it creates real value.
If you want to manufacture in Denmark, there are no shortcuts. You must constantly invest in efficiency, quality and scalability. It is not easy. But it works.
At the same time, we invest in our green foundation. We produce using 100 percent recycled plastic. We are self-sufficient in green electricity through our own solar panels and energy contracts. And we document our footprint – not for appearances, but for management.
Our ambition is clear:
DANREC must become Denmark’s greenest manufacturing company.
The future lies in Karup
My goal is that within five years we will surpass DKK 200 million in revenue. Not by moving production abroad – but by expanding it here in Karup.
That means more investments.
More machines.
More automation.
And more local jobs.
Let others continue telling the story that the green transition is expensive, complicated and dependent on subsidies and excuses.
We do it differently.
We manufacture in Denmark.
We recycle plastic waste.
And we make money from it.
Henrik Immerkær Ohm
CEO DANREC A/S
