100 years of experience behind us

1893

A Factory is Founded

Philip Jensen's Motor Factory, founded in 1893, produced gas and petroleum-powered engines for electricity generation and for operating other machines, such as pumps. They were especially recommended for "Craftsmen and small industrialists, as no separate permission from the authorities was required for their installation."

Philip Jensen ran his business for just over 25 years with up to a dozen employees at its peak, before selling the factory on June 15, 1919 and - according to tradition - entering the silverware industry, which was thriving in Horsens at the time.

1905

Enter young Villiam into the story

While Philip Jensen starts a factory in Horsens, the main character of the story begins his journey towards becoming a factory owner in what turns out to be a business that continues through many generations.

The main character is Villiam Petersen. He is born to a machinist, and the young Villiam apprentices at the same factory where his father works in 1905, when he is only 14 years old.

The journey towards becoming a self-employed entrepreneur

After five years of apprenticeship at the Møller Jochumsen factory, Villiam received his journeyman's certificate and a call to military service in the navy, where he was assigned to the Torpedo Yard at Holmen in Copenhagen.

After his military service, Villiam stayed in Copenhagen and worked at the Naval Shipyard until May 1917, when he received his citizenship, a necessity for starting his own business.

During World War I, where Denmark remained neutral but with import restrictions on many goods, young people like Villiam took initiative. Together with a friend, Villiam started his own business as a manufacturer. The spread of electricity in Denmark required contact points, and that created a demand.

During the war years, the two friends mass-produced bakelite contacts and established a successful business based on this production.

1918

William buys the factory in Horsens

Villiam sold his share of the factory in Copenhagen and returned to Horsens, where he married the young Clara in Klosterkirken in 1918. Clara was the daughter of master blacksmith Carl Rasmussen.

The following year, in 1919, the enterprising young Villiam invested the money he had earned during the war in the production of bakelite connectors, purchasing the Philip Jensen Motor Factory.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Villiam focused on the automotive industry. He expanded his business and employed more workers at the factory by specializing in the renovation of car engines.

1938

1938 - Horsens, an industrial city

Horsens, an industrial city

In the 1930s, Horsens had developed into a true industrial city. Factories of various types dominated the cityscape, since industrialization truly took hold back in the 1870s. Villiam Petersen's factory was one of these industrious industrial factories that contributed to the city's growth and development.

Many repairs offered by the factory

According to the price catalog from 1938, so many car models have been listed that almost none have been overlooked. An example is a complete renovation of a Chevrolet V8, which costs 250 kroner.

1943

Soon a 25-year anniversary as a manufacturer

Villiam Petersen is approaching his 25th anniversary at the factory, when in April 1943 he hires the 14-year-old apprentice, Erling Jensen, who is part of the story of the factory. Even though he is close to 50 years old, the factory owner is at the helm of a well-established and well-functioning production factory centrally located in Horsens, more specifically on Allégade.

The respect for the factory owner is great among the employees, both for his authority and his skills. With Villiam's daily attire of a suit, white shirt and tie, his position is clear, but the craftsmanship has not left him. When he steps in at the machines, he puts on a yellow overall and works on equal footing with the other employees, if his experience is needed.

Style and experience

The factory owner lives the good life. A morning walk to the barber is a daily routine, and he reads the newspaper at the Handicraft Association's premises across the street. He spends his lunch break at home on Mosegaardsvej in the upscale Thorsvang, where he bought a villa in 1934.

He is the proud owner of a Frazer Nash, an impressive English carriage, which he enjoys driving. It is such a prestigious vehicle that the mayor of the town borrows it for parades through the city streets.

Things are going quite well for Villiam Petersen.

Erling Jensen

Erling Jensen has been a witness to the story of the factory throughout a century, and later in his career becomes a union representative at the factory.

1945

The factory is blown up

World War II was experienced by many as a difficult time, and companies struggled to obtain materials. The occupation also did not go without drama for Villiam Petersen's factory.

The apprentice Erling was sleeping in his apartment on Nygade when he was woken up by muffled explosions around the city on the night of January 22, 1945.

When he arrived at work the next morning, he was faced with a factory that had been blown up. There had been a fire on the roof, the windows were blown in, and several of the factory's machines were destroyed.

Several factories in the city were hit that night, all targeted for sabotage because they had, in some way, collaborated with the German occupation.

For Villiam Petersen, it was because the factory had produced chain wheels for Pedershaab Maskinfabrik in Brønderslev. The work order stated "for winter combat", but everyone knew it was for snow plows on the German Eastern Front.

In addition, several of the truck drivers who had their engines repaired at the factory had served with the Germans.

The last years of the war

In the last years of the war, several employees fell away. Some joined the resistance movement, while others went underground. This trend was also evident in other factories, and therefore the resistance movement had a good knowledge of the companies they believed should be targeted. However, they would not attack their own factory, and the majority of machine workers returned to their workplace after the war.

After the war, Villiam Petersen received war damage compensation for damages to the factory amounting to 64,756kr.

1949

30 years as a manufacturer - time for renewal

30 years after the transfer of the factory, Villiam Petersen decides to step into the spotlight. In 1949, the factory changes its name from Philip Jensen Eftf. to Villiam Petersen Tandhjulsfabrikken, with Philip Jensen Eftf. in a modest parenthesis.

Engine rebuilding remains a primary part of the daily work at the factory. The process involves inserting the engine block, cleaning it, disassembling it, installing new liners, pistons, piston rings, and oil rings. The bearings may need to be cast again, after which the engine is as good as new.

The space in the workshop is limited, and the machines take up a significant portion of the room. Most of the hand tools are made by the employees themselves, and they become skilled at producing special parts, not only for engines but also for gears, which also come in for repair.

As a result, production gradually shifts more and more towards gears in the post-war period.

1950

Junior steps in

Villiam Petersen has a total of three children: two sons and one daughter. The oldest son, Henning, starts an apprenticeship as a machinist, but quickly loses interest. He ends up becoming a dentist.

The youngest son, Carl Anker, also apprentices as a machinist and receives his journeyman's certificate in 1941. In the early 1950s, space is made for him at his father's factory and he is given the title of Prokurist. The factory owner, Villiam Petersen, still wears a tie and suit, while the Prokurist works in a yellow smock. The foreman's uniform is blue.

Carl Anker is slowly being prepared to take over the factory from his father, but Villiam is not quite ready to hand over the title of factory owner, as he is still the leader of a truly great workplace.

1955

The 3rd generation is born

Carl Anker and his wife Ebba receive Henrik in 1955 - the 3rd generation of Villiam Petersen's gear factory in Horsens.

1960

The factory expands

The small factory on Houmannsgade behind Allégade is small, and in 1960 it expands. Despite this effort, the factory expands again in 1962.

The manufacturer is floating around

In 1960, Villiam Petersen turns 70 years old. The same year, he gives a large newspaper interview where he explains what the gears really are.

"Gears are many things. You are convinced of that when you walk around the large workshop and see the many gears on the machines, each one more special than the next. Here on the floor or in boxes by the machines, there are gears of all sizes. The smallest are about 10mm thick and the largest are 2.30 meters. They end up in different places at different times, the small ones maybe in the mechanics of a window blind, the large ones maybe in the engine room of a crane or somewhere in a ship's engine."

And what are they used for, one might ask. The experienced manufacturer naturally answers that as well:

"Well, there is actually no machine that doesn't have gears, and the countless machines that have emerged in the last 15 years (since World War II, ed.) have created a colossal need for gears of all kinds."

1967

New apprentice

In 1967, Erling Petersen begins his journey at Villiam Petersen gear factory in Horsens. Like Erling Jensen, he will contribute to the factory's history.

He starts as an apprentice and jumps at the opportunity for a permanent job.

He remembers that Carl Anker was a difficult boss to negotiate salary with, but he did receive new work clothes, safety shoes, and free coffee and bouillon.

In 1968, he gets a job at the Employment Agency in Horsens, but later returns to the factory.

1980

The manufacturer dies

When Villiam Petersen dies in 1980, Carl Anker buys out the factory with co-heirs, older brother Henning and younger sister Gerda.

1983

3rd Generation

While Henrik is a boy, he sometimes goes to work at the factory with his father. The factory is certainly exciting, but Henrik's interest in gears is not overwhelming, and when he, after his linguistic high school exam in the 1970s, has to decide what he wants to do, the choice is not immediately to follow in his father's footsteps.

For a couple of years, Henrik travels around. In the first year after high school, he attends the Aarhus School of Business, but then quits and gets a job as a Christmas assistant at a printing press in Risskov. After that comes his time in the military. He pulls a free number, but volunteers and becomes a soldier at Skive barracks in 1980. Afterwards, he returns to the printing press in Risskov before starting to study for a Higher Commercial Exam at the Aarhus Business School.

Henrik knows that his father Carl Anker would like him to take over the place at the factory. But it's not something Henrik feels pressured to do, as he decides to say yes to starting an internship at the factory in 1983. He just wants to see if it's something for him.

Henrik starts with a year and a half in the workshop and then becomes an assistant in the office. And it turns out to be quite exciting.

1985 - I

An eventful year for the factory

It is a time of decent salary increases. Jens William is a union representative at the factory and with his mandate in the local wage negotiations, he must not accept less than 2 DKK per hour. But Carl Anker will only agree to 1.5 DKK.

As a result, the employees go on strike, but the conflict is declared illegal and they must go to the Labor Court in Copenhagen.

Carl Anker was a good boss who knew how to keep things separate. He asked if Jens William wanted a ride to Copenhagen, but Jens declined as he wanted to take the train with his wife and children. The day was to be spent at Tivoli for his family, where he would join them after the court decision.

In court, Jens William received a scolding from the union's labor secretary. It was customary for the employer to start by not offering anything, but in this case, Carl Anker had always maintained the offer of 1.5 DKK. And thus the case was settled.

The employees had to pay a fine of 10,000 DKK for illegal strike and received a 1.5 DKK wage increase.

After the decision was made, Carl Anker invited Jens for a beer at Tivoli, where he was to meet his family. However, Jens did not want to be seen with him, so he went with the local union representative to Nyhavn and had a soda water. When he later met up with his family, they told him that they had met Carl Anker and that he had given the children 20 DKK each to have fun with.

The situation changes

The situation in the labor court takes place in June, and a couple of months later, the situation has changed again at the factory.

Carl Anker has been in tough negotiations with the municipality of Horsens to buy a piece of land in the new and rapidly growing industrial area on Islandsvej, where he plans to build a completely new and larger factory.

Carl Anker feels pressured to buy more land than he needs, but he ends the negotiations with the sentence: "well, we can always grow potatoes".

There is so little space in the rooms on Houmannsgade behind Allégade that the machine workers at one point have to knock a hole in the wall to get a three-meter-long rack-and-pinion into the workshop.

There is a larger urban renewal plan underway in the municipality of Horsens in these years, especially in the neighborhood where the factory is located. Carl Anker has initially avoided moving, but in 1985 there is no way around it. The urban renewal company buys the properties Allégade 27 and Beringsgade 7-9 for 1,050,000 DKK. In addition, they pay 245,000 DKK in moving expenses and 100,000 DKK for loss of income.

A fateful August in 1985

A couple of months after the decision in the Labor Court and the deal with the municipality, Carl Anker falls ill. He feels a pressure in his chest and is admitted to the hospital. Apparently, he gets better after a week's hospitalization and the nursing staff plans his discharge. However, Carl Anker never makes it home. An aneurysm in his aorta bursts and Carl Anker dies in August 1985, only 64 years old.

What now, Henrik?

This day, Henrik stands at a crossroads. Should he hurry to stop the construction on Islandsvej, or perhaps hurry to sell the factory and let someone else continue the construction? Or should he instead continue the training he has started and take over everything himself? He chooses the latter, well aware that it will be tough.

1985 - II

A new era

Carl Anker passes away during a time when Henrik is in the middle of his training as his successor. Henrik finds himself in a situation where he knows he has not yet acquired all the necessary skills to run the factory on his own. He needs help, and he knows exactly who he needs to talk to.

Max Steffensen was a trusted employee of his father, the late Carl Anker. Max ended up working at the factory for 42 years. First as a regular employee, then as a group leader and from 1980 as a production manager. Max Steffensen is just as knowledgeable about offers, orders, production, prices, etc. as Carl Anker, and is a key person in the relocation to Islandsvej a few years later.

Therefore, it is not Henrik Petersen, but Max Steffensen, who has the big picture when Carl Anker passes away. Henrik needs Max Steffensen, and makes him an offer he can't refuse. Namely, he can choose his own title in exchange for staying at the gear factory.

Max Steffensen became the production manager and was highly appreciated as the daily leader of the company during the first years of Henrik's directorship. Max continued as the production manager until June 2006, when he retired at the age of 63.

With Max Steffensen as the production manager, a new production manager was needed. The union representative, Jens William Sørensen, received a proposal from management to switch to the other side of the lathe and become the production manager. Jens William accepted and remained with the company until he retired in 2013 at the age of 68.

"We were so excited about the new building, and I was well aware that Henrik needed a lot of support for the company to continue. So I said that I would be the production manager, and that's how it was for the next 20 years," says Production Manager Max Steffensen.

1986

Welcomes Horsens Folkeblad and the 4th generation

One day in 1986, Henrik Horsens Folkeblad welcomes the new factory on Islandsvej. 2500 square meters, 32 employees, new computer-controlled CNC machines to supplement the old machines that have been moved from the inner city, and a single milling machine that has been on the journey since 1922.

It is a new and modern factory with high ceilings, modern lifting equipment and ventilation, which ensures that the air is changed twice an hour in the hall. At the same time, there is room for 50 tons of steel in various qualities.

The customers are primarily Danish machine factories, but approximately 20% of production is sent to foreign factories.

When Folkebladet visits, there is an extra good atmosphere in the factory hall. The boss has just been around to all employees with beer and cigars. His wife, Britt, has given birth to a son during the night, and thus the 4th generation of the gear factory has arrived.

1994

Henrik gets the factory up and running

In the years following the closure of Islandsvej, the factory is doing really well, with 40 employees at the 75th anniversary.

Henrik also chooses to establish a board for the joint stock company. "It is incredibly inspiring and fruitful to have fresh, new impulses from the outside", the director says in an interview for the anniversary. In the interview, the director also mentions that their strength lies in their ability to adapt, which they have proven several times over the years.

Their order book is not filled with identical tasks for thousands of pieces, but rather special tasks for older machines, where the parts are so worn out that there are hardly any teeth left.

2003

Out with the potatoes and in with more square meters

The square meters that Carl Anker bought from the municipality, which at the time had been in surplus, had not been unused until the late 1990s. An employee at the factory had had the pleasure of running his allotment garden on the area, but in the late 1990s it was time to expand again. Therefore, the extra purchased square meters came into their own again, and the factory was expanded to a total of 5500 square meters.

In 2003, Horsens Folkeblad visited once again when the large 70-ton CNC-controlled machine was presented. At this time, the factory was both a production and service company with 42 employees working on transmission parts for machines and gears.

2008

The crisis

In 2008, the crisis comes rushing in from the USA. The factory has previously been on the brink of overstaffing, and at first, everyone hopes that the crisis will pass. But it doesn't just go away, and in 2009, the director is forced to lay off 11 out of the 42 employees. This includes employees who have been at the factory for many years. It is sad, but unfortunately, there is no way around it if the factory is to survive.

Slowly, the wheels start turning again - including the gears.

2013

A new strategy

New winds are blowing over Islandsvej, and Sales Manager Henning Laursen is hired in 2013. He has been around, both in the business world and in the world.

Henning devises a new sales strategy, where a recycling concept is key, and the factory begins to market itself as performing emergency and planned repairs of industrial gears, and that, as they produce the parts themselves, they can deliver the repair quickly and efficiently.

And the gear factory can show examples of this renovation itself. In the workshop, there are several machines for turning, grinding, or gearing, which have many years under their belts.

"We believe in recycling, not only because of the price, but also because it is an advantage for the environment, which we all have a duty to take care of", says Sales Manager Henning Laursen.

2024

New identity and generational shift

A new era begins

In 2024, Tandhjulsfabriken Villiam Petersen will be passed down to the fourth generation, as Henrik Petersen hands over the reins to his son, Villiam Bang Petersen. With a new leader at the helm, the company is entering a time of renewal and innovation.

This year also marks the launch of our new visual identity and a more user-friendly website, reflecting our dedication to both tradition and the future.