DAMPA_75_years_of_quiet_design_ENG - Flipbook - Page 214
DAMPA saved at
the finish line
Despite these successes, DAMPA was again making losses, having been hard-hit in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. To achieve better efficiency, in 2009 its in-house
painting facility was closed down and instead this aspect of
the production was outsourced to Metalcolour A/S, located
in Nykøbing Falster. A consequence was that instead of perforating raw aluminium and steel, then applying paint, it was
henceforth necessary to perforate pre-painted materials
without compromising their surface quality. Following a
period of adjustment, the use of Metalcolour’s superior
painting technology in combination with high-precision perforating achieved results of unprecedentedly exact finish.
But notwithstanding these changes, from 2009 until 2012,
DAMPA’s accumulated deficit was approximately 40 million
kroner. At the same time, as it turned out, the families behind
Chicago Metallic were considering selling the group, having
controlled it over three generations. In March 2012 it gave
two months’ notice that the Tommerup factory would be
divested or closed along with the much smaller facility at
Berinsfield in the UK. This would allow a sale of a more
focused and profitable Chicago Metallic, concentrating its
business on ceiling suspension systems.
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The DAMPA division producing ceilings for buildings would
be wound down first as it was the bigger loss-maker and the
maritime division would be next if no buyer could be found.
Alas, there was little interest from potential purchasers and
DAMPA thus reluctantly advised clients either to place
orders quickly so that they could be enacted before the closure deadline, or to seek solutions from its competitors
instead. A contract to provide ceilings for the Copenhagen
aquarium ‘Den Blå Planet’ was redirected for this reason.
Managers – including the managing director – and staff
meanwhile began seeking employment elsewhere while the
sales team mostly found new jobs with DAMPA’s rivals. Chicago Metallic was eventually sold to Rockwool, in whose
Rockfon business unit it fitted well.
