Multinational engineering company Danfoss has celebrated its thirtieth year of operating in South Africa.

The global company, which celebrates its ninetieth birthday this year, was founded in 1933 by Danish engineer Mads Clausen and has since grown to employ over 40 000 people in more than 100 countries, with 97 factories in 20 countries.

Celebrating the milestone in Johannesburg on May 9, Danfoss sub-Saharan Africa country manager Emil Berning said one of the main focus areas of the company currently was to drive energy efficiency through innovative solutions and technologies for various industries.

“We have a big focus on helping our clients and customers decarbonise through energy efficiency, electrification and many other applications so that we can help them grow,” Danfoss Turkey, Middle East and Africa regional president Ziad Al Bawaliz added.

The focus on energy efficiency is in line with the company’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2030, reducing its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas emissions to zero through energy efficiency measures, the reuse of excess heat from processes and buildings, and the sourcing of renewable energy. Berning said Danfoss would only use offsetting as a last resort.

“The greenest energy is the energy we don't use,” he said.

Danfoss engineers solutions that increase machine productivity, reduce emissions, lower energy consumption and enable electrification across three main business divisions: Danfoss Power Solutions, Danfoss Climate Solutions and Danfoss Drives.

Berning said the company was aiming to create a network of Engineering Tomorrow (ET) Hubs, which would showcase the innovations that Danfoss has implemented around the globe.

“This will involve showcasing of products but will also be an opportunity for customers and students in particular to come and touch and feel our products. We will use these ET Hubs for training and development,” he explained.

So far, Danfoss has successfully rolled out one of these ET Hubs in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

Bawaliz noted that the company was also aiming to focus on South Africa as a base from which to build out new young talent and upskill the next generation of Danfoss engineers for Africa.

“Africa is the most important part of our plans for growth,” he said.

The starting point for this growth in Africa was South Africa, he explained.

“This is because we have a bigger team here and we have stronger partners here. We have a lot of good plans for South Africa, how to improve our presence here, how to improve our business, how to improve our marketing and our partners and how we can also develop people,” he said.