Casper spent his child savings on 10 work platforms – today, he is Denmark’s largest renter of work platforms.
It began with a dream for the two brothers, Casper and Ulrik Knudsen, who withdrew their child savings and spent it on purchasing 10 work platforms and organized their rental on a magnetic board. Today, they are Denmark’s biggest renters of work platforms.
There’s reason to celebrate at the Danish rental company Platform.as, which marks 15 years and can now call themselves Denmark’s biggest renters of work platforms. However, it had a modest beginning in 2008, when the two brothers, Ulrik and Casper Gorm Knudsen, bought 10 work platforms, believing there was a gap in the market.
“It’s been a wild journey. My brother and I withdrew our child savings and bought our first 10 work platforms. Back then, I could organize rentals on a simple magnetic board. And I had to knock on many doors to get people to listen. But I myself am a trained bricklayer, so we started with the bricklayers, who were really happy with the solutions. And since then, it just grew bigger and bigger,” says Casper Gorm Knudsen, the CEO of Platform.as.
Back then, scaffolds still dominated facade work, but today many contractors have seen the effectiveness and ergonomic advantages of work platforms for employees. Platform.as currently has over 350 work platforms and hoists and collaborates with some of the very largest contractors – recently with a cooperation agreement with Nordstern.
“There has really been a change in the past 5-10 years. Today, there are suddenly bricklayers demanding work platforms at their workplaces. So, no more magnetic boards – today we have developed our very own digital system that manages the entire process. And we have much larger machines that can handle many more tasks,” says Casper Gorm Knudsen.
Sees great potential moving forward
Work platforms are still the company’s main focus, but Platform.as has also seen great potential in hoists, loaders and complete covering, where, with a combination of work platforms and scaffolding, they can provide flexible roofing solutions.
“We are constantly trying to develop the business and our processes. The market is always evolving, and the usability of our products keeps improving and finding its place in the market. And then it’s motivating for us to see the joy in the good working conditions that our products contribute to,” says Casper Gorm Knudsen.
The assortment at Platform.as has indeed evolved, and today the company offers rentals of hoists, loaders, and complete covering.
“A lot has happened both with the world and the company since we started 15 years ago. More and more contractors are seeing the usefulness of our work platforms, but we still have a task ahead in convincing even more to try our solutions,” says Casper Gorm Knudsen.
Platform.as is nationwide and currently employs around 60 employees and has control over more than 350 machines.