Mads Clausen - the founder of Danfoss

A farmer’s son with the soul of an engineer Born into a farming family in 1905 on the island of Als in Denmark, Mads Clausen ran the company for its first 30 years from his childhood bedroom. Danfoss' headquarters are still located right next door to the family farm which now houses the Danfoss Museum. His family made many attempts to lure Mads into carrying on the farming tradition, but his fascination with engineering won over. Inspired by his great-grandfather who built pumps and spinning wheels in his workshop, Mads' passion for mechanics and the value of good craftsmanship grew stronger. In 1927, he earned his engineering degree and in a fateful move, started working with Brødrene Gram (Gram Brothers), designing components for refrigeration Grasping the opportunity to go it alone Mads began experimenting with expansion valves for refrigeration systems. With a ban on importing valves from the USA, he saw an important opportunity to strike out on his own. Mads Clausen’s first valve was made on November 25th, 1932. By the summer of 1933, he had established his own company, Danfoss. It's no exaggeration to say that Mads Clausen and Danfoss changed the island of Als forever. When the company’s growth gained speed in the 1950s, it made its mark on the local landscape. Multistory apartment blocks sprung up – non-existent outside major cities – and an entire town with apartments, houses, a school, kindergarten and shopping center appeared practically overnight on what used to be barren fields. The rush of eager workers to the area made Nordborg the Klondike for engineers. Necessity is the mother of invention Shortages in the 1930s and ‘40s demanded clever solutions. At first, Mads' mother let him build a wooden hut in her vegetable garden for his new enterprise, but when he needed to expand, she put her foot down. So, the innovative Mads raised the building on stilts and added a ground floor – all without production missing a step. After WWII, Mads had an urgent need for space but was faced with a severe shortage of building materials. In 1949, he dismantled a former refugee camp and used the materials to build the first of the Elsmark factory buildings – many of which are still in use at our Nordborg campus. Knowing the competition The Marshall Plan – designed to rebuild Europe after WWII – included study tours in the USA and Canada, and so Mads used this as a shrewd opportunity to check out the competition. He was meticulous about capturing his new-found knowledge – producing 36 reports about his company visits, detailing everything from technical specifications, organizational design, salary systems and productivity. Happily, for Mads, he concluded that he was on the right track. Taking care of our most valued assets Mads felt an intrinsic need to support employees and business partners. In 1956, a Welfare and Interest Office was set up to administer the many support schemes and foundations which had been established. This is a tradition that continues at Danfoss, whether it be assembly jobs for house-bound employees or a department focusing on helping people get back on their feet after illness. This loyalty goes both ways, and it is not unusual for multiple generations of families to work for Danfoss. And this is not just a Nordborg phenomenon; employees throughout the world remain loyal to the company throughout the generations. Bitten Clausen Bitten and Mads married in 1939, and throughout her life she played a very active role in the company. Long before CSR became a buzzword, Bitten Clausen laid the foundation for Danfoss’ long-standing tradition for social responsibility. Following the death of Mads Clausen in 1966, Bitten Clausen became Chairman of the Danfoss A/S Board, taking an active part in the development of the company. Bitten Clausen passed away in 2016 at the age of 103.

Recent related posts

01/02/2021

Mads Clausen - the founder of Danfoss

From just a single valve and an unquenchable desire to succeed, Danfoss founder, Mads Clausen, created a global business that still sets the standard for innovation today.

01/02/2021

Danfoss

Danfoss Compressor: Danfoss focuses on providing energy efficient, sustainable and smart refrigeration compressors for a varied range of commercial applications such as cold rooms, display windows, ice making machines, glass door merchandisers, process c器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ㉄ᰙ㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧㉎ᰙЀ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜珵ᴴᏩ呄ᠾ퍘ᒥ鹨់ᩄꋔྦ瑉浥

10/02/2025

Variable-speed technology has become an essential component in the effort to improve HVAC equipment efficiency.

Variable-speed technology has become an essential component in the effort to improve HVAC equipment efficiency. The term “variable-speed” applies to two different components in an air conditioning or heat pump system: the blower motor and the compressor. 器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ煔क़㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧煞क़Ѐ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜珵ᴴᏩ呄ᠾ퍘ᒥ鹨់ᩄꋔྦ瑉浥巠皱㙲皦抐皱

06/14/2020

Air Conditioning Compressor Replacement What To Expect

One of the most complex systems manufactured today is an Air Conditioning unit. Just like any other mechanical device, the complete system functions best when all moving parts work in conjunction. However, one of the hardest parts to replace is an AC Comp器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ嫜ི㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧嫦ིЀ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜珵ᴴᏩ呄ᠾ퍘ᒥ鹨់ᩄꋔྦ瑉浥巠皱㙲皦抐皱巠皱੨皦柘皱ￜ皥ب巠皱㙲皦忈皱੨皦柘皱즠Ʋǜ勁皦즠ƲبǜV /펔B䌁皦 ᮔǅ

06/14/2020

What is That Noise? Here's Why Your AC Compressor is Making Noise

While the frequency for repairing or servicing your AC unit will depend on how big it is, how old it is, and how much you make it work, regular maintenance is good. When you hear an AC compressor noise, you should have someone who you can call to come an器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ煔क़㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧煞क़Ѐ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜珵

06/14/2020

Air Conditioning Preventive Maintenance [Checklist]

Perhaps the most important piece of equipment in your Phoenix home is your air conditioner. Your air conditioning system helps to keep your home at the perfect temperature so your family has the level of comfort that they deserve. Because you rely on your器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ嫜ི㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧嫦ིЀ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜

06/14/2020

Air Compressors Use in Agriculture and Farming

When you think of farming or agriculture, the tools of the trade that spring to mind are tractors, plows, shovels and scythes. But did you know that air compressors have been staples of this industry for decades – and in fact are helping to pioneer new an器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ煔क़㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧煞क़Ѐ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜珵ᴴᏩ呄ᠾ퍘ᒥ鹨់ᩄꋔྦ瑉浥巠皱㙲皦抐皱巠皱੨皦柘皱

06/14/2020

Refrigeration Compressor Market 2019 Break Down by Top Companies, Countries, Applications, Challenges, Opportunities and Forecast 2026

A new market report by Market Research Intellect on the Refrigeration Compressor Market has been released with reliable information and accurate forecasts for a better understanding of the current and future market scenarios. The report offers an in-depth器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ嫜ི㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧嫦ིЀ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜珵ᴴᏩ呄ᠾ퍘ᒥ鹨់ᩄꋔྦ瑉浥巠皱㙲皦抐皱巠皱੨皦柘皱ￜ皥ب巠皱㙲皦忈皱੨皦柘皱즠Ʋǜ勁皦즠ƲبǜV /펔B䌁皦 ᮔǅ'鱤ǆၜ먢䇨珵呈ᠾ뤂ᐱ⿇⬿먲僧ᐱ㥲ᐲ�僬㣢ᐲᠾ랖僧ך識�僬㣢ᐲ臆S㥲ᐲᬄğ識理艏S杴識杴㥲ᐲ

06/14/2020

An article to understand the centrifugal compressor

With the rapid development of technology in my country's air compression industry, air compressors have greatly improved in structural layout and functional form. Centrifugal air compressors have become a new generation of air compression equipment. Since器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ煔क़㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬皧煞क़Ѐ呄ᠾ鹨់༹皧ࠄ00령ꐱ댁珵뛐珵Љ䕄ྦ뤂ᐱ뚜珵ᴴᏩ呄ᠾ퍘ᒥ鹨់ᩄꋔྦ瑉浥巠皱㙲皦抐皱巠皱੨皦柘皱ￜ皥ب巠皱㙲皦忈皱੨皦柘皱즠Ʋǜ勁皦즠ƲبǜV /펔B䌁皦 ᮔǅ'鱤ǆၜ먢䇨珵呈ᠾ뤂ᐱ⿇⬿먲僧ᐱ㥲ᐲ�僬㣢ᐲᠾ랖僧҈識�僬㣢ᐲ臆S㥲ᐲᬄğ識理

06/14/2020

Cold storage equipment installation and commissioning

Installation of refrigeration compressor unit in cold storage: The condensing unit should avoid installing in high temperature environment, and the outdoor awning should be installed to avoid rain or direct sunlight. The air inlet side of the air-cooled c器2䀀ￜ皥䖒皦즠Ʋ嫜ི㲈Ʋ䌁皦ᮔǅ༬

Customers frequently viewed

IWAYA DENKI Water Pump 25CJT0752

US$2307.69

Panasonic Servo Motor MHMF022L1V2M

US$653.85

Honeywell Solenoid Valve VE4025B1045

US$334.62

ROTEN Mechanical Seal 8E5K-22-X

US$384.62

CHELIC Air Cylinder JGD25*10-B

US$66.54

SKF Bearing NUP 318 ECP/C3

US$678.72

SMC Proportional Valve ITV3030-343CL3

World Chemical Magnet Pump YD-402GS-RD51-M53

DIODES IC Integrated Circuit Chip PI4IOE5V6416LEX

US$7.45

Danfoss Expansion Valve TE 12 067B3377

TYCO Relay FW5A1201G03

US$1368.46

Siemens Transmitter 7MF1564-3BA00-1AA1

US$1584.70

JAMICON Fan JF0825B1HY

US$1153.85

JABSCO Water Pump 31620-0092

US$673.08

Related Info

Mads Clausen - the founder of Danfoss

Recent related posts