EN 
NO 
Norske Backer AS has had a record turnover in the otherwise turbulent year of 2023. Sales and marketing manager Stian Gundersen talks about increasing demand for the advanced, green heating solutions, and expects that growth will continue for the foreseeable future.
– We feel the turbulent times, too. It is not easy to carry out exact and short-term planning these days. After the invasion of Ukraine, for example, everything stopped for a month before picking up again. But we deliver products and solutions that are important for the green transition both here at home and abroad, so we are in a good position in relation to future growth, says Stian Gundersen.
Important for the green transition
Norske Backer AS has for a number of years been known for delivering market-leading and tailor-made solutions for electric heating. The company is ISO-certified for quality and environment, and works according to an ambitious sustainability strategy, and has, among other things, developed the service Backer Switch to help other businesses with the transition from fossil to electric heating solutions.
– Our products are an important part of the green transition, which is subject to increasingly strict requirements both here at home and in large parts of the world.
Some have experienced a decline; others have experienced an increase
Most things have gone according to plan for Stian Gundersen and his colleagues at Norske Backer AS in the turbulent year 2023, but no everything. As the sales and marketing manager puts it: “Some customers and industries have seen a decline during the year, while others have seen an increase”.
– The traditional energy sector in particular has had a solid recovery in recent years as a result of the war in Ukraine and the sometimes-large deficit of gas in several European countries. The situation has led to a reinvestment in oil and gas. We now deliver environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions to oil and gas companies that are upgrading their production facilities, and there is also a great demand for our products among subcontractors to Norwegian energy producers. As energy is a scarcity in large parts of the world, we believe that this development will continue for many years to come, says Gundersen, and explains that Norske Backer AS almost constantly has requests from producers who have put the green transition on hold in pending of better and safer power supply.
Power is a scarcity factor
In a short time, electricity has become a scarcity factor, particularly within the process industry, which requires large amounts of energy.
– There is simply not enough electricity for all production companies that want to replace fossil heating solutions with an electric and environmentally friendly alternative. There has been a large degree of uncertainty for several years when it comes to the power supply. This means that many have come a little behind in the green transition. We have several large projects that have been put on hold until the situation is resolved. We believe this will happen gradually, so we are sizing ourselves for greater demand and further growth in the coming years, says Stian Gundersen.