Skovtrolden aims to double revenue with support from kompasbank

Denmark is home to many trees, and there’s a solid business in helping the government and private landowners maintain forest areas. At least, that’s the case if you’re Torben Hansen, owner of Skovtroldens Udkørsel, who focuses on customer satisfaction and business development.

The machinery is almost constantly in use at Skovtroldens Udkørsel, who help both public and private clients in maintaining their forest. In recent years, the company’s services have become so sought after that revenue nearly doubled, increasing from 13 million DKK in 2021 to 20 million DKK in 2022. “We are very pleased with this development – and we expect to continue at this pace in the coming years. We have focused on developing our business to offer a comprehensive solution, which has attracted more customers and added a new revenue stream,” says Hansen, and adds:

“We have expanded our services from tree felling, extraction, and soil preparation to also include the purchase of timber under certified conditions and facilitating the planting of new trees. This means that customers only need to contact us to ensure the maintenance of their forest areas, while we also profit from selling the felled timber to sawmills, timber buyers, or as wood chips,” says Hansen.

Torben Hansen took over Skovtroldens Udkørsel in 2015, where he had been employed for 16 years before. He purchased the business from the previous owner, who had retired, and has since focused on developing the business, which now boasts 14 machines and 13 employees spread across the country.

Financing accelerates business development

In line with the business’ development and Skovtrolden’s services, Torben Hansen chose to take a loan from kompasbank to ensure the company’s liquidity for purchasing timber and new machines. 

“We aim to continue doubling our revenue annually and grow to around 20-25 employees within the next 3-4 years. To achieve this goal, we decided to seek financing from kompasbank, which has allowed us to advance much faster than we could have without a strong partner. We used the loan to purchase two new machines and six hectares of forest, which positively contributes to our growth without impacting our liquidity,” says Hansen.

The collaboration with kompasbank has mainly been managed through Torben Hansen’s accountant, allowing him to spend time working in the forest – precisely as he prefers.

“It’s been an incredibly smooth and quick process. I want to spend my time in the forest, and our advisor Martin from kompasbank fully understood that and worked closely with our accountant on the financing. We received the funds within two weeks of the first meeting, so we could move forward quickly” says Hansen. 

In addition to his ambitious goals for employee count and revenue growth, Torben Hansen plans for his daughter, who is a trained farmer and employed by the company, to eventually take over Skovtroldens Udkørsel.