By Henrik Skovrider

When the customers are in Greenland or in the Faroes there are many factors to consider.

Safety in deliveries is the Alfa and Omega for Arctic Import. Because if it happens that the trade and service company in Nørresundby sends off the wrong goods, it can have major consequences to the customers, who all are in Greenland and in the Faroe Islands.

Originally it all started in 1978 with special deliveries to tradesmen in Greenland. Two employees from the former Lindholm Trælasthandel – Mr Ole Nielsen and Mr Poul Jørgen Nielsen – established a firm in Nuuk at the end of the 1970ies delivering products and solutions which the tradesmen had difficulty in getting anywhere else.

New Requirements

In 1982 the activities were extended with an office in Nørresundby in order to be able to handle the increasing demand from the customers and in order to get a base close to the Greenland Port and the airport in Aalborg. Thereafter Arctic Import explored the ground for new areas in the market in Greenland. This led to wholesale of groceries to supermarkets, grocers, and kiosks, and in 1991 the company started to deliver furniture and materials to institutions and hotels.

Especially owing to the customers’ demand such two completely different lines of business became part of the business together with sales of tools and machines. – You can say that the customers have created the range of products, says Mr Gunnar Laursen, managing director.

 
Safe Supplier

Arctic Import has no plans to rush at new lines of business in the near future. In stead the firm aims at expansion in the Faroes, where it established permanent representation in 1999. – Our strategy is more oriented towards growth in markets similar to Greenland, and which are remote and hard to get to, says the manager, who thinks that the firm’s force is just to be the safe supplier in a market which carries the stamp of being isolated.
The majority of the consignments are shipped to different harbours in Greenland and in addition a number of packets are sent by plane.
- The keyword is confidence. The customers must feel certain that the right goods will be delivered in the right places. Just imagine that they cannot get the goods changed right away. The consequence is extreme if we fail, says Mr Gunnar Laursen. 
Furthermore, several of the towns are closed for a number of months a year and that means that the employees have long working hours when the first or the last ship of the season sails.

A Different Culture

Both Mr Gunnar Laursen and Mr Lars Hansen, who is sales manager in Arctic Import, have worked in Greenland for several years. Hence they know everything worth knowing what it takes to be able to sell goods on the island.

- The personal relations are extremely important. In this office there is not much difference, but for the salesmen it is different. They experience a completely different culture and it does not help to turn up dressed in jacket and tie, says Mr Lars Hansen who has several salesmen in Greenland under him.
Besides, the firm spends much time making sure that its employees have taken into consideration that a job as a salesman means that you are away from your family for several “periods” annually. And it is not easy to find those who want to spend a great deal of their career to travel far away.
Young people have different priorities today. Firstly, most of them have travelled abroad and secondly, they put families, friends, and leisure higher than earlier. When you are away from wife and child for three weeks at a time you have to have your backing in order, says Mr Gunnar Laursen, who can sense an increased focus on Greenland after Nuuk has become one of Aalborg’s towns of friendship as well.

In the course of this autumn Arctic Import with 60 employees will celebrate their 25th anniversary with activities in Denmark and in Greenland.