Lars Has Powered His Career for Four Decades

“On one hand, our business is the same as always: a supplier to critical infrastructure at home and abroad,” says the Head of Powertech. “On the other hand, everything has changed. The market, customer expectations, the way we collaborate and communicate, the digital and green transitions. And right now, we’re in the middle of an electrification wave that demands enormous amounts of power for e.g. data centers and EV charging stations.”

For Lars Hoppe-Hagelskjær, this development is not just a professional journey. It has personal roots. Electricity runs in his veins; his great-grandfather was a power plant manager in Ølholm near Vejle. Perhaps that’s why he has always had a special understanding of the critical role electricity plays in society. And the changes have been tangible throughout Lars’ long career. The expansion of the power grid is happening on a scale Lars could hardly have imagined back in 1986 when, as a junior sales rep, he hit the road to visit his first customers. Back then, there were over 100 utility companies, and his bag was filled with low-voltage components for overhead lines. This was before the lines or cables were buried underground.

“That’s why I was given a company car, and as the first at Følsgaard, I even got a mobile phone. That was not an everyday thing 40 years ago. Since then, I’ve logged many kilometers and countless customer visits, even though online meetings have cut into the physical meeting calendar. They’re practical for many things.”

Lars recalls that in the past, there were many trips to suppliers with customers to test transformers. Today, colleagues handle many of those tasks online.

Flying to Camping Near Rostock

Sometimes, however, there was no way around getting your hands dirty, like in the mid-90s when Lars and his colleagues at Følsgaard had to deliver vital components for building 400 kV stations for ELTRA.

“It was for a station in Bjæverskov and a similar one in Rostock, and the work had to follow a tight schedule. So we took a small plane from Roskilde Airport and were housed in cabins at a campsite near Rostock so we could get the job done on time,” says the 40-year jubilarian.

For Lars and for his colleagues at Hans Følsgaard A/S, strong customer relations were everything.

“Those relations were the key to improving as a salesperson,” he explains. “Remember, I had an electrician’s education and business school studies under my belt, but not much hands-on experience when I started. So I was trained not only by my colleagues but also by my customers, who taught me about their business. There was perhaps a little more time for that back then compared to today, where everything is optimized and streamlined.”

Want to Buy the Company?

The celebrating executive proved to have a knack for sales and climbed the ranks at Hans Følsgaard A/S. He took over management of the utility department and eventually led the entire Powertech division, which supplies everything from high-voltage equipment to switchgear, transformers, control, and monitoring systems.

Still, he was surprised when then-CEO Jørgen Stenberg asked in 2005 if he wanted to join a management buy-out with three other executives.

“In addition to the Følsgaard Foundation, Otto Mønsted Foundation had been involved as owners. It wasn’t in the cards for me and my colleagues to get involved in the financial side, but when the opportunity arose, we seized it, and never regretted it. It was an exciting time, and I’m proud to say we’ve never had red numbers on the bottom line since.”

In 2014, ownership changed again when Swedish Addtech bought 90 percent of the shares. According to Lars, it was a perfect match: “Addtech has over 150 companies in its portfolio, each allowed to develop individually with extra capital behind them. That was the start of a new expansion phase.”

Opening the Warehouse at 3 AM

Lars knows his story risks sounding like a string of anecdotes, but he’s passionate about his many years in the industry and aware that modern Følsgaard stands on the shoulders of those who came before. At the same time, he sees the charm in the more hands-on era when improvisation was key:

“My old analog time manager calendar wouldn’t work today, where we’re constantly connected and operate in a digital flow with customers, suppliers, and partners. We’ve evolved alongside our customers in that respect, but that doesn’t mean things didn’t move fast back then. When a storm tore down power lines, we had to open the warehouse in the middle of the night to send out components to restore electricity to the countryside and cities.”

Technical Partner

Over time, we’ve become a full-fledged Technical Partner, Lars explains. We still supply many high- and medium-voltage components, but today we go a step further: we assemble them into complete, customized solutions. That makes us attractive because many customers don’t have the time or resources to specify individual products - but we do! We take responsibility for the entire process and deliver a complete solution with calculations, documentation, and design-in so the customer gets exactly what fits their needs.

Four Decades of Power and Stories

Forty busy years from 1986 to 2026 mean Lars has plenty of stories. Like the time a director walked off with the company’s biggest agency. Or the strategic shift that transformed Følsgaard from a wholesaler to a Technical Partner.

There was the salesman who tried to sell a fax machine. Lars thought it had no future and sent him away. Six months later, every office had one. Or the time a transformer for an airport had to be three meters shorter than usual - and we made it happen.

“We’re constantly hiring new people in Powertech, and it’s great to see that we’re still driving development forward,” says Lars. “But that’s Følsgaard in a nutshell. We’ve always evolved as a Technical Partner for businesses and utilities, and the mix of delivery reliability, capacity, and the ability to find solutions when standard products aren’t enough is still intact.”

Day to day, Lars is inspired by the younger talent joining the team. He’s impressed by their speed and ability to master new products.

“I start my day with a dip in the lake. The water is down to five degrees now. It’s incredibly refreshing and a great start to the day,” says the 40-year jubilarian. “Otherwise, home repairs and improvements keep me busy, so I still get to use my craftsman skills.”

His son and two stepchildren from his marriage to Trine also make sure of that. None of them chose a trade career.

“No, they call Dad when a lamp needs hanging,” Lars concludes with a smile.