Cranes, scaffolding and excavators are part of the landscape in many Danish cities, but the level of construction of new buildings has never been as low as is currently the case.

“We are seeing far more renovation than new-builds at the moment. This is a situation that we have never seen before, and it very much affects the members of the Federation of Danish Building Industries,” says Industry Director Elly Kjems Hove.

The majority of the approx. 450 members of the Federation of Danish Building Industries manufacture building materials such as windows, doors, vapour barriers, foundations stones, floors and all the other elements that are required in new-builds while the rest of the federation’s members are developers and owners of DIY centres.

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The industry director explains that building materials are, of course, also required for renovation work – but not on anywhere near the same scale as for new-builds.

The Danish construction industry builds new homes for about DKK 25 billion a year and renovates for about DKK 50 billion – and this is largely what the market has looked like for the past five years.

Exports to the rescue
Fortunately, many members of the Federation of Danish Building Industries have been able to boost their exports and avoid many of the adverse effects of a shrinking market.

Since the 1970s, Denmark has focused on energy-saving technology and the members of the Federation of Danish Building Industries have been good at developing products both to save on and streamline energy consumption.

- Browse through Danish solutions for Energy-Efficient Building technolgies

Exports of building materials have increased by approx. 7% since 2009 and currently constitute approx. DKK 39 billion per annum. Sweden, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom are four of the largest markets for exporters of Danish building materials.

“In Denmark, we are world champions at making buildings more energy-efficient – both in terms of efficient thermal envelopes – which means everything you can do to the facade of a building – and technical solutions and management,” explains Elly Kjems Hove.

Enhanced cooperation on digitisation
Despite the solid increase in exports, the Danish construction industry is still struggling with poor growth of productivity, conflicts and weak revenue.

The industry director emphasises that the members of the Federation of Danish Building Industries have a lever at their disposal to boost business: enhanced cooperation.

Irrespective of whether members are building new buildings or renovating old ones, many players in the market are required to work together to complete a construction project on time. Dealing with different industries, professional groups and cultures can be a challenge.

“Digital tools may be among the solutions that can contribute to enhancing cooperation. These tools are able to ensure that everyone is in possession of the same information – at the same time. This can contribute to increasing productivity and revenue in the industry,” she says.

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This is where we can help
To help its members, the Federation of Danish Building Industries has focused on digitisation for the past 18 months and has organised member events on everything from e-business, disruption and IT tools to document management, scheduling and troubleshooting across the value chain. Members are also able to receive assistance in making construction products and buildings intelligent.

The Federation of Danish Building Industries has also focused heavily on the sale of construction materials. The majority of the Federation of Danish Building Industries’ members are manufacturers of building materials or wholesalers – and construction materials have to meet a range of stringent requirements. For example, a requirement for CE marking – the common European benchmark for how building materials need to be declared.

“We have an employee who works more or less full-time on product regulation – both in terms of assisting members and working with government authorities. And always in close cooperation with our members,” says Industry Director Elly Kjems Hove from the Federation of Danish Building Industries. 

For more information, please contact Director Elly Kjems Hove from the Federation of Danish Building Industries: 
Direct: +45 3377 3575
Mobile: +45 2949 4500
E-mail: [email protected]

Source: The Federation of Danish Building Industries (DI Byg)