AVK Holding wins Entrepreneur Of The Year award

The entire jury was impressed, and AVK Holding and Niels Aage Kjær have been appointed the Danish winner of the global growth competition EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023. 24-11-2023

"The entire jury fell in love with the story of the family business that is not just an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year winner, but a winner on multiple parameters. They create nice and continuous growth, are profitable and highly innovative, too. AVK Holding is not a particularly known company to the general public, but they are renowned in the industry and are recognised as one of the world leaders in their field," says Lars Fløe Nielsen, chairman of the Danish jury in EY Entrepreneur Of the Year.

He is backed by Søren Smedegaard Hvid, partner in EY and director for the competition:

"AVK Holding are doing well in the ESG area, and is in general saturated with strong values, good spirit and propriety. Also worth mentioning is their impressive international journey. The company is truly global and has been through many phases of internationalisation."

The jury’s reasoning as to why AVK Holding is appointed winner: This year's winner is the winner on all parameters. It is a company that is very innovative, they are truly global, and their work with ESG should also be highlighted as they make a difference here. In short, their story is a true entrepreneurial adventure.

Anne-Mette Kjær, Pernille Kjær, Jacob Kjær and Bo Johansen, who are all part of the AVK Group’s Executive Board, were present in Copenhagen to receive the award.

The EY honorary award was won by Topsoe, and category awards within Export and Globalization, ESH, TECH, Startup, Life Sciences and Social Entrepreneurship were won by other growth companies.

Travelling to Monaco for Denmark

As winners of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year in Denmark, Niels Aage Kjær and AVK Holding will represent Denmark at the international final in Monaco in the summer of 2024.

AVK was established as a local machine shop in 1941 by Niels Aage Kjær’s father, Aage Valdemar Kjær. The main business area at the time was the production of compressors for refrigeration and cooling systems.

Today, AVK is a global company employing almost 5,000 people and is a market leader within valves.