Business news in brief: Uggla snags top Maersk job

In other news, Danish company invests millions to curb pollution in China, Jutland the most business-friendly place in Denmark and Infuser wins top Danish business prize

Uggla next in line at A.P. Møller Holding

Robert Uggla, 38, is the new head of A.P. Møller Holding, a major owner in the shipping giant A.P. Møller-Maersk .  Described as one of the top jobs in the Danish business world, Uggla is now in charge of a company that had turnover of more than 262 billion kroner in 2015. Uggla has until now held a variety of positions within the Møller-Maersk empire. He is the son of Ane Uggla, the daughter of Maersk founder, Arnold Maersk McKinney Møller.

Danish company invests millions to curb pollution in China

Danish company Haldor Topsoe has invested nearly 600 million kroner in an advanced catalytic converter plant in China’s Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area. “Topsoe is strongly committed to China, and it is no coincidence that this plant – our largest investment ever – is located here,” said Topsoe head Bjarne Clausen. Clausen said China was an important growth market for the company. The plant produces advanced catalytic converters that clean the exhausts from heavy-duty diesel engines in trucks, buses and other vehicles. Topsoe has been operating in China since the 70s.

Jutland the most business-friendly part of Denmark

Jutland, and particularly the municipalities in central Jutland, is the most business-friendly place in Denmark, according to an analysis done by Dansk Byggeri, the Danish construction association. “There is a tendency for smaller municipalities to do better than the larger ones when it comes to business,” said Lars Storr-Hansen, head of Dansk Byggeri. “Copenhagen should look to Jutland to learn what it means to be business-friendly.” Storr-Hansen cited higher taxes and longer processing times as some of the reasons that municipalities in and around Copenhagen are considered less welcoming to businesses.

Infuser wins new business prize

The clean-tech company Infuser was Copenhagen’s number one in innovation at the first-ever presentation of the new business prize, Københavns Erhvervspris. The company manufactures air cleaning systems based on technology from the University of Copenhagen (KU). In the space of a few years, Infuser has attracted over 70 million kroner in international investments, and opened offices in several countries. Professor Matthew Johnson from the Department of Chemistry at KU, invented the so-called GPAO method, which mimics the atmosphere’s natural self-cleaning properties. The technology is owned by KU, and licenced  to Infuser.