“Only he who has a legacy in the past has a grounding in the future.”
Mads Clausen
The motto of Danfoss founder Mads Clausen will take physical form, when the Danfoss Museum re-opens on March 23, 2018. The cutting-edge changes to the museum has been made possible thanks to a donation from Bitten & Mads Clausen's Foundation.
The Danfoss Museum is located in Mads Clausen’s childhood home in Nordborg. As a young boy, Mads Clausen spent time in his great-grandfather's workshop, and this is where his interest in engineering began. The dining room contains the table where he told his parents about his ideas. And in the loft is Mads Clausen's first and favourite office, which he kept until his untimely death, and where he tested the very first expansion valve in a bucket of water, which dripped into the dining room below. Mads Clausen was scolded for the wet floor, but the valve was tight, and 1933 saw the beginning of Danfoss. The rest belongs to industrial history and can be seen at the museum. Today, Danfoss is a global company employing more than 26,000 people.
Engieneering tomorrow
Danfoss engineers technologies that enable the world of tomorrow to do more with less. We meet the growing need for infrastructure, food supply, energy efficiency and climate-friendly solutions. Our products and services are used in areas such as refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, motor control and mobile machinery. We are also active in the field of renewable energy as well as district heating infrastructure for cities and urban communities. Our innovative engineering dates back to 1933 and today Danfoss is a world-leader, employing more than 26,000 employees and serving customers in more than 100 countries. We are privately held by the founding family. Read more about us at www.danfoss.com
This is a re-opening and a complete upgrade of the existing museum, which animates and updates the history of Denmark’s largest industrial company through audio-visual and digital effects. The museum opens at a time when Danfoss finds itself in the midst of its own digital transformation.
And the Chairman of Bitten & Mads Clausen's Foundation, Peter Mads Clausen, highlights the importance of Danfoss being rooted in history – while the company is on a journey of change:
“We feel the greatest respect for maintaining and continuing our history. Our heritage helps realise the Danfoss DNA; it reflects our thinking, our CSR policy, our credibility, and our significance. In order to have a base for the future, it is necessary that we know about our origins,” says Peter Mads Clausen, adding:
“The historical aspect is of major value to us, and I am convinced that the Danfoss Museum is entirely in line with the spirit of my mother and father. Our history is fantastic; we maintain it, and we want to show it.”
It is the quantity and quality of the historical materials that make up the framework of the Danfoss Museum. Right from the beginning, the company has benefited from the efforts of forward-thinking and dedicated people, who have seen the necessity of maintaining all the items which tell the story of Danfoss’ industrial adventure. Many former employees still work for the museum, via the Danfoss Historical Association, making considerable, voluntary effort to preserve history.
The new museum
The museum is maintained under the auspices of Danfoss Historical Archives, which has more than 60,000 black & white photos, 100,000 negatives, and 40,000 old photos kept on glass plates; to these can be added digital photos and more than 100,000 written sources and physical objects, including all the old Danfoss products, such as the first expansion valve, the first radiator thermostat, the first VLT drive, and first hydraulic motor.
