Brødrene Dahl
Brødrene Dahl always delivers
Established in 1917, Brødrene Dahl is a leading supplier of plumbing and hydronic heating supplies in the wholesale sector.
Based in Norway, it is Scandinavia’s leading wholesaler within the plumbing, water supply and contracting area. The company also has a strong position within industrial areas supplying pipes, tubes, fittings, sanitary appliances and valves to the oil and gas, healthcare, and shipping industries, as well as providing non-ferrous metals, and equipment for water supply and sewerage. Brødrene Dahl reaches customers all over Norway through its 55 branches, each of which has a product range tailored to meet local demands.
Sales manager for the industrial department in Nordvest, Rune Misund says: “We don’t manufacture products ourselves – what we do is supply wholesale. One of our core business areas focuses on delivery for the shipping industry and here we supply the whole range of parts such as pipes, pipe fittings, valves and remote control valves. We have access to shipyards in Norway and we also export to Brazil, Spain, Romania, Poland, India, China and Russia so we are an international company, at least in the business area related to the shipping industry. Though we are dealing mainly with shipyards and ship-owners, we are also involved in supplying equipment for cooling companies, such as the equipment needed to install coolers inside big supermarkets.”
Brødrene Dahl is part of Saint-Gobain Building Division. The global Saint-Gobain Group, a producer, processor and distributor of materials, owns Brødrene Dahl. Brødrene Dahl is the leading stockist within Northern Europe of sanitation and heating materials, municipal products, industrial products, and professional tools. The industrial department In Ålesund is the main office for the shipbuilding industry and has a large stock ready for immediate supplies of industrial materials such as products for cooling, welded seamless tubes, fittings and flanges in carbon steel, stainless steel, plastics, and industrial valves. It is a leading supplier to the shipbuilding industry for the purposes of new building, spare parts and ship repair with approximately 90 per cent of the department’s turnover related to shipbuilding. Two other important areas are the supply of components and materials for the building of new industrial plants and the maintenance of existing plants.
Brødrene Dahl industrial department in Ålesund has accumulated more then 30 years of experience from deliveries to shipyards building fishing, research, seismic, tank and offshore vessels. It places great importance on acquiring a highly skilled staff with maritime experience, and the company has built long-standing, co-operative partnerships with classification companies, shipyards and ship designers.
The company operates under a simple philosophy – to make business more straightforward and profitable for its customers and suppliers, which it achieves by focusing on reliability in service and delivery, availability of the right products and competence throughout the company. It combines years of experience and knowledge with a highly successful logistical operation to deliver high-quality, durable materials efficiently, on time, and at competitive prices.
Besides offering a reliable service, R&D is also key to the company’s success and considerable finance is invested in innovation, says Rune: “We are always involved in looking for new products, improved variants and products with more competitive prices. We have representatives throughout the world who scout for new products, particularly in the Far East at the moment.”
This year, Brødrene Dahl will celebrate reaching a milestone that brings it closer to a century of trading. “The big development that is happening this year is our 90th anniversary,” says Rune. “To commemorate this, all of our employees, between 700 and 800, will get together for one weekend in September in Oslo, so this will be a massive event.”
The company’s ability to remain active for such a long period of time is due to a mix of important factors, believes Rune: “One key strength is our strong presence in the Norwegian market and the great deal of power we have to ensure processes get even better, for instance negotiating a lower price for the products we buy. Our logistics operation is extremely good and we always make sure that we have our stock filled up so we are ahead of developments in the market.”
Looking to the future, Rune thinks the company will grow steadily, coping with any challenges it faces: “We see further growth potential for the shipyard industry in Norway and also in various other parts of the world where we have full order books. The order books for the Norwegian yards are almost full until 2010 so it’s a very active market for us and the forecasts are excellent. I think the main issue will be our continuous search for new products and the pressure to meet customers’ high expectations. We need to ensure we always have knowledgeable staff working towards the designs and therefore require a high level of competence. That is one of our main differentiators – the fact that we have the right people experienced in the same business as our customers.”
With regards to future plans, Rune says: “Our major goal is to continue to take care of our customers in the best possible way and to look for new business opportunities. We are also looking forward to the Nor-Shipping Exhibition in Oslo, Norway on 12th to 15th of June 2007 and believe that this will provide us a lot of opportunities.”
Brødrene Dahl
Products: Wholesale supplier of pipes, tubes and valves
Sites: 54 in Norway
Employees: 800
www.dahl.no