DAMPA_75_years_of_quiet_design_ENG - Flipbook - Page 175
Hadsten Gymnasium with furniture by ES Interior, 1987
It was through this project that Drejet’s vision of DAMPA
supplying complete interiors began to be enacted. To make
all of the furniture, in November 1985 DAMPA purchased ES
Interior, hitherto a subsidiary of the timber supplier Ejby
Saværk A/S, located in the village of Ejby, 30 kilometers to
the west of Odense.
Unfortunately for DAMPA, upon a closer inspection of ES
Interior’s premises, the production areas were found to be in
a poor condition and in need of urgent, substantial and
costly renovation to achieve a decent standard of health and
safety. It was therefore decided to move production to
DAMPA’s own factory.
ES Interior’s 365 employees specialised in producing furniture for schools, canteens and other robust environments
and DAMPA’s plan was that it would continue to produce
these items, as well as furniture for ships. Soon a second
substantial contract requiring ES Interior’s input was gained,
this requiring the provision of a fully-equipped interior for a
new theatre at Amman in Jordan. To show how the outcome
would appear, a scale model was made of the auditorium
and interiors, which was filmed with explanatory commentary by the actor William Rosenberg.
Meanwhile, Jesper Drejet had resigned after a brief but profoundly consequential three-year tenure to take up a new
senior position in the pharmaceuticals company Novo
(which later became Novo Nordisk). His legacy was a mixed
one – he had spent a lot of money, managing what was a
small and specialised company more as though it were a
large conglomerate – but he also raised its profile internationally, giving a high level of brand recognition which would
pay greater commercial dividends in the long term.
175
