Pressalit
Intro
With an astoning view over the Danish Lakelands, and close to the Bronze Age burial mound Maglehøj, lies the headquarter for the company Pressalit, the largest work-place in Ry.
The story goes that the two founders – two carpenters from the Danish fishing port of Esbjerg – discovered a whole new material by mistake. A cat brushed against a pot of glue, knocking it over. The glue dripped down the side of a hot radiator and onto sawdust lying on the floor. When the mass was dry, it proved to be perfect for a quite specific purpose.
The two carpenters, Christian Larsen and Holger Christensen moved to Ry in 1954, and then they started to make – toilet seats.
The name ”Pressalit” is perhaps an idea from Holger Christensen’s’ daughter, who might have said: ”Dad, it is just some Bakelite, you have to press a little”. But we do not really know whether this story is true!
In 1962, 250 toilet seats were made each day, and they were taken to the station on a carrier cycle and sent off by train.
It was also in 1962 that managing director Mogens Boyter joined the business and played an important part in the development of the company until his death in 1998. Today Pressalit is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of toilet seats and also specializes in bathroom equipment for people with disabilities.
The around 400 employees of Pressalit create a turnover of more than 400 mio Danish kroner a year, primarily in European markets. The export share of total production is 80%.