Vikan A/S – Skive Børstefabrik

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Vikan A/S was founded on May 1, 1898 and is today a leading player in the world market for specialty brushes and other cleaning tools, especially for the food industry. Vikan was originally founded as “Skive Børstefabrik”, locally the company is often still called “Børstefabrikken”.

Early history

Anders Peter Pedersen (typically referred to as A.P. Pedersen) started manufacturing and selling brushes on May 1, 1898 in Thinggade 3, after Skive Avis moved out of the premises.

At first, sales were made from a shop at the production facility in Thinggade 3, but A. P. Pedersen worked hard to gain customers – from farmers, grocers, cooperatives and businesses.

He visited customers to see what their needs were. After the visits, special brushes were developed, which led to the factory getting a contract with the Danish Dairy Association’s Joint Purchasing Department and the Joint Association of Danish Grocery Associations. A large part of the company’s sales soon came to lie outside Skive’s natural trading area.

There was general growth in the company. The biggest challenge in the company’s history was in 1918, when the factory burned down. The high growth in the previous years had left the company underinsured, and it required large sums of money to restore production.

In 1929, the neighboring property was confiscated and Thinggade 3 and 5 became one large property that stretched across to Østergade in 4 floors. The new building was designed by Skive architect H. Toft Hansen.

On the company’s 35th birthday in 1933, the factory was handed over to sons Gunnar and Carl Vilhelm Pedersen, at the same time A. P. Pedersen retired – he was 64 years old. In 1949, the company was transformed into a limited company.

Relocation to Viborgvej

As production developed, the conditions at Thinggade/ Østergade were no longer suitable. Larger machines were needed in production, and when they were put in place, the whole building shook.

The site at Viborgvej 7 (formerly Jernbanegade) just opposite the old central station was purchased by Skive Municipality back in 1944. It was not quite optimal. It was small, so you had to build in 2 floors, the ground was soft and it had to be piloted first, but it was the only developed site the municipality could allocate for industry. It wasn’t until 1955-56 that the first part of the relocation became a reality, as the war had slowed down the pace considerably. The second stage of the relocation took place in 1960. During this period, there had been talk of moving the factory completely out of Skive. The new factory was also designed by H. Toft Hansen.

Name change

The name “Vikan” originated when A.P. Pedersen in the 1920s bought a patent and leftover stock for a floor scrubber with a removable head so that the scrubber could be turned when it was worn crooked. The brush head and handle were labeled with a cleaning lady and a floor scrubber with the text “We can” – the floor scrubber and cleaning lady together. When the stickers were reused, the name partially stuck. After the sons took over, the name slowly began to be used, and at the new factory on Viborgvej, “Vikan” was written in large letters on the gable. After this, the name was “Vikan A/S – Skive Børstefabrik”. The last part of the name was only abandoned in 1997.

New relocation to Egeris

In 1969, the factory moved from Viborgvej to the corner of Rævevej and Frisenborgvej in the new industrial district. The old two-storey factory could not be expanded and modernized for the kind of machine industry that brush manufacturing had changed into. The old factory was purchased by Skive Municipality to accommodate the BOMI training workshop.

The new factory in Egeris was located on a 40,000 m2 site. The factory hall of 7000 m2 on one level was designed by director Gunnar Pedersen’s son-in-law, architect Steen Zinck, Nivå.

Modernizations and new standards

The first plastic brush model was made in 1965, but by 1968 the first – more hygienic – brush made entirely of plastic was already a reality. This meant that animal hair and wood, which the original brushes were made of, were not quite so central anymore.

The new focus on plastic brushes was a landmark in the transformation of the company to focus on optimizing the hygiene of brushes.

In collaboration with the Danish Meat Research Institute, VIKAN initiated development work that led to the development of the “white series” with plastic handles and nylon bristles.

This also led to the invention of color coding of the brushes in 1989, according to what the brushes were to clean. This has since become the global standard.

Vikan is acquired by Bay & Vissing

Gunnar Pedersen retired as CEO in 1976 and the management was taken over by Niels Kaiser. Niels Kaiser was the son of Gunnar Pedersen’s late brother Carl Vilhelm Pedersen and had been with the company since 1954 – from the late 1950s as co-director. When Niels Kaiser retired, no one in the family wanted to join the company, and in 1986 the 9 family members sold the majority of the shares to a consortium.

The sawmill and plastics factory were separated. After two years – in 1988 – the majority shareholding was sold to Bay & Vissing A/S (later Vissing Fonden – see below), which continues to operate Vikar at the same location in Skive in 2024. 90% of the shares in Vikar are now owned by the charitable family foundation Vissing Fonden, which was established in 1979.

Acquisitions of other companies and international expansion

In 1972, Thorsager sawmill was acquired; the sawmill had previously had Vikan as its primary customer. This resulted in a lot of waste wood, which ended up being used to make products that had nothing to do with brushes, such as curtain rods.

In 1973, a plastic goods factory was started in Stoholm in the former dairy buildings. Originally named Vikanplast, later Kaiserplast.

Since the 70s, Vikan had a more export-oriented focus. In 1992-93, the largest competitor in the UK market was acquired, and although production in Bristol was closed in 1996, it was used as an entry point to increase sales in the UK market. Also in 1992, subsidiaries were established in Germany and Sweden.

In 1998, a French subsidiary was established, and in 2016, sales companies in Japan and Russia were started up. However, the company in Russia was liquidated in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In 2018, VIKAN acquired the North American distributor Remco and in 2023 the Australian-New Zealand company Wells.

New expansions

With increased production, there have been several major expansions of the warehouse and production at Rævevej – including in 1973, 1997-98 and 2022-23.

The Vissing Foundation

In 1924, Mogens Vissing and Poul Bay established the company Bay & Vissing, which later became Bay & Vissing A/S. Bay & Vissing A/S became known to many for the Tandex toothbrush and Specter paintbrushes. Both brands were later sold off.

In 1988, Bay & Vissing A/S acquired the brush factory Vikan A/S in Skive.

Jenny and Mogens Vissing, who were among the founders of Bay & Vissing, had no children, but a great desire to continue the company for the future. Therefore, they chose to establish the Vissing Foundation in 1979 and transfer the shares in Bay & Vissing to the Foundation.

Today, the Vissing Foundation owns 90% of the shares in Vikan A/S. The Vissing Foundation supports 3 purposes: medical research, sustainable energy research and children and young people.

Directors

A.P. Pedersen 1989-1933

Carl Vilhelm Pedersen & Gunnar Pedersen 1933-1951

Gunnar Pedersen 1951-1976

Niels Kaiser 1976-1988

Christian Skov 1988-1995

Hans Riisager Holst 1995-2008

Carsten Bo Pedersen 2008-

Sources

Forfatter vedelslund