Interview with Rasmus Ellefsen

As well as the engineering side he also did evening classes in HD to gain more knowledge on the sales and marketing side. He was not entirely finished with his business studies when he left for Thailand, but he took his three final courses at a university in Bangkok during his first year he worked for Dantherm Filtration in Bangkok. Today Rasmus manages the regional sales SEA-Pacific which involves resellers, larger projects and so far one subsidiary in Vietnam.
Rasmus had been in Asia many times and he was very fascinated by the countries and the developing opportunities. He was as he puts it “caught up with the Chinese fever” so initially he saw only China as the opportunity in Asia. However, when Dantherm Filtration offered him the job in Bangkok he was not in doubt. Of cause he said yes and after a short training period in Denmark he moved permanently to Bangkok. And this is a decision he has not regretted. Even though Rasmus had seen himself working in China he suddenly realized that the possibilities and the challenges were also big for him in Thailand.
Rasmus Ellefsen also wrote his final thesis in Bangkok where he described Dantherm Filtration’s market possibilities in Vietnam. Dantherm Filtration actually entered the Vietnamese market three years ago but in July 2006 they opened their own office which Rasmus will be in charge of. However, he has not physically moved to Vietnam since he is convinced that he can do a better job for Dantherm Filtration in Bangkok looking after the region. He is instead traveling to Vietnam approx. one week a month.
Rasmus did not move to Thailand because of the country but because of the job. He likes Thailand and the Thais but because of his many working hours as well as 100 traveling days a year he does not get to see much of it. According to Rasmus there is a lot of growth potential for Dantherm Filtration in Asia and he is very enthusiastic about being a part of that. Rasmus’s main motivation is ambition and opportunities and he sees both in his job at Dantherm Filtration. This is why he does not mind a 60 hour working week and why he likes going to work every day. He can see on the bottom line that his work is making a difference and that is a drive that keeps him going. Rasmus is challenged by a work where two days are never alike and he feels that Dantherm and Asia are giving him that. 
The office in Bangkok is the regional head office and covers the entire Asia-Pacific area. It was opened in 1991 and there is therefore a large amount of know-how among the 70 employees. This is one of the significant reasons why Dantherm Filtration is marked leader in Asia within air pollution control. They are competing with a lot of local suppliers but since Dantherm Filtration is also having many components manufactured in Thailand they are not only able to compete on quality but also on price.
Product development is mostly done in Europe but with experts from all over the world working together.
According to Rasmus Ellefsen the opportunities for Dantherm Filtration on the Asian market are almost unlimited. With a lot of new law proposals regarding air pollution the market is definitely growing. One of the main obstacles is actually finding qualified personnel to keep up with the demand. A lot of Dantherm Filtration’s work is based on know-how and involves some complicated processes and even though Rasmus feels that the Thais are in general very well educated it takes time to train them in this specific area. Despite this, the workforce at the Bangkok office has been doubled during the past three years.
This is also due to the fact that Dantherm Filtration is a very attractive workplace. There is a lot of focus on staff development and the employees are often participating in courses in Europe. Rasmus Ellefsen has been selected to participate in a management development seminar and this is something he finds really interesting and beneficial in connection with his work.
Because of this strong focus on the employees Dantherm Filtration has a very solid and well educated workforce which will help them to keep their position as market leaders on the Asian market, expand on existing markets as well as develop new markets.

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