Employee development encompasses many things. New jobs. More responsibility. Continuing education. Courses. Peer training. The opportunity to pursue an interest … At Nopa Nordic, we gather the most skilled employees and provide them with the best conditions to develop the solutions of the future.

When you produce detergents and cleaning agents with a responsible focus – and when you aim to challenge the status quo and be the best at what you do – skilled employees are essential.

That’s why, at Nopa Nordic, we’re constantly seeking talented new colleagues. And that’s why we prioritize the development of the great colleagues we already have.

Meet some of them here and learn about their development at Nopa Nordic.

Daniel Hürdum, Project Manager, R&D
– Master’s in Sustainability

Alongside a fellow student from Aalborg University, Daniel Hürdum wrote his thesis at Nopa Nordic. Upon completing his studies – a Master of Science in Production and Product Development – we offered him a position in the packaging development team.

Sustainability quickly became his primary focus.

– I saw an opportunity to do even more within sustainable packaging, and I was allowed to take on that challenge. It has been my primary focus for the past four years, attending conferences, engaging in networks, and so forth, shares Daniel, who began a Mini MBA in Sustainability Management at Aros Business Academy in December 2022.

The goal of the program was to establish a theoretical foundation for all the topics he had learned and worked on in practice. That goal was fully met.

– The program was actually an eye-opener, both at the company level and personally. It was an inspiring journey that provided me with everything I needed, concludes Daniel Hürdum, who appreciates this opportunity as well as the other opportunities he has been given at Nopa Nordic:

– If you have an interest and it makes sense, you’re allowed to pursue it. That’s something I really appreciate about Nopa Nordic.

Søren Abildgaard, R&D Manager
– From product development to employee development

Søren Abildgaard holds a master’s degree in chemistry from DTU and has been part of Nopa Nordic since 2010. Initially as a product developer, later as a senior product developer, and for nearly 2 years now, as an R&D Manager.

Particularly, the transition to the latter role brought about a shift in Søren’s focus. From a daily routine primarily centered on products, it now also involves managing a team of 14 employees.

– I’m still a player-coach, but I’m not as deeply involved as before. It’s like, ‘Oh yes, now it’s actually you who needs to set the direction,’ but I love working with people, and it’s a good add-on to my professional role, explains Søren.

Before taking on the leadership responsibilities in the R&D department, Søren attended leadership courses and has continued developing his managerial toolkit since.

– The course gave me some good tools and increased awareness about the new role, and I’ve participated in various seminars, webinars, networks, etc. I like to build take a bit of this and a bit of that and then build something that suits me. That’s probably also due to my background in chemistry, laughs Søren, emphasizing his joy in going to work every single day.

Because the work is meaningful. And because you have the opportunity to make a difference.

– I’m driven by the entire sustainability issue, and I truly feel that we’re making a difference at Nopa Nordic. At the same time, the great thing about Nopa Nordic is that if you take responsibility and want it, there are quite broad opportunities, stresses Søren.

Mette Ransborg Pedersen, Laboratory Technician
– Internal development program with 14 colleagues

It’s been 3 years since we hired Mette Ransborg Pedersen as a laboratory technician in our test laboratory, where we conduct functional tests on all our different products: detergents, cleaning agents, dishwasher tablets, etc.

However, shortly after joining Nopa Nordic, it became clear that Mette isn’t just professionally skilled. She also has a good overview and a secure hand in coordination and planning, and consequently she took on the overall responsibility for these tasks in the laboratory. Very much with her own will.

– I’ve been a laboratory technician for 20 years and have walked many kilometers on a laboratory floor by now. So, it’s fun to do something else as well, and apparently, I’m good at it, says Mette, continuing:

– Of course, it also means a lot that we have a good workplace at Nopa Nordic. We have a high level of trust within the team.

Mette has also become part of our internal Personal Development program.

It’s a development program we ran once for a group of leaders and are now running again for a group of employees. Over a series of courses, they learn about behavior, personality types, and communication, for example.

– It was really good to have theory applied to things, and it’s also a great strength that my boss has been through the same program. We know the same theories, and we know each other’s

personality profiles, which makes things a lot easier, says Mette, who is also pleased to be on Personal Development together with colleagues from other departments:

– There are about 14-15 colleagues attending, and it’s also fantastic just to get to know each other, make contacts, and simply talk.

Petronela Rambu, Line Operator and Line Coordinator
– Trained as an industrial operator

Petronela Rambu has been with Nopa Nordic for almost 6 years, but it was almost a significantly shorter collaboration.

After one year on the night shift in production, it was decided to discontinue the night shift Petronela was a part of. And with children and a language school during daytime, she had a clear answer when asked to switch to the evening shift and then the day shift: No. And no.

A pink slip loomed. Unfortunately. But luckily for us, Petronela didn’t leave it at no.

– So, I asked if I could work in the Service, where they used substitutes, instead. My boss was a bit surprised because I had never worked with those tasks before, but 2-3 weeks later, he came and said yes, remembers Petronela with a grin.

After a period in Service, Petronela then returned to production, to the night shift on another line with liquid detergents. And after a while as a line operator there, we asked a question where fortunately we didn’t get a no: Would you like to train as an industrial operator?

– I was happy to be asked, but also a bit scared because my Danish language wasn’t that good. But you can’t be afraid every time new opportunities arise, so I said yes.

– The first couple of months were tough, but I received support from my colleagues and my manager: “You can do it” and “You’re smart,” she says with a smile, adding that during the education, she, among other things, got to put words and theory on what she had learned in practice:

– I’ve gained an understanding of why we do what we do. It has opened my eyes and thoughts.

While she was undergoing education, Petronela was also appointed as a line coordinator, where she is responsible for tasks like time control and documentation.

Torben Vernersen, Production Manager
– 33 years at Nopa Nordic and hungry for new things

It’s been 33 years since Nopa Nordic established a department in Hobro; the department that has now become the headquarters. Consequently, it’s also been 33 years since Torben Vernersen joined Nopa Nordic because he was there from day one – and thankfully, he’s still here.

After many years as a production employee in the blending department, where various cleaning and detergent products are mixed, Torben became a production manager in the same department a couple of years ago.

– We were seven employees, and I was the one who had been there the longest, he says with a twinkle in his eye.

While Torben had extensive experience with everything in the blending department, he didn’t have experience as a manager. Therefore, he agreed to first attend a course, “From Colleague to Leader,” and then a full academy education in management, spanning the last 3 years.

– I dropped out of 9th grade because I didn’t want to go to school anymore, so it was tough to get back to school. But I’ve also learned a lot. About how to talk to your colleagues. About situational leadership. About motivation, explains Torben, stating that he’s glad to have finished the education – but also glad to have gone through it and for the opportunities as a manager.

– Nopa Nordic has developed a lot in the years I’ve been here, and that has been a motivating factor for me. But personal development is also a major motivator. I’m proud to have been allowed to take such an education.

Bettina Sønder, Market Manager International
– From sales coordinator to Key Account Manager to Market Manager

When Bettina Sønder started as a sales coordinator at Nopa Nordic 15 years ago, both her and the company’s focus was on the Nordic market, and the most important – and sometimes almost the only negotiation parameter – was the price.

Today, both Nopa Nordic and Bettina are in a completely different place.

There are collaborations with customers worldwide. The long-standing focus on responsibility and the impact on our planet has shifted discussions to much more than “as cheap as possible.” And Bettina has become the Market Manager International after several years as a Key Account Manager.

– It’s been an amazing journey with Nopa Nordic, and I have a fantastic job where no two days are the same. One day, you have a visit from one customer. Then, you visit another customer. Then, it’s the Chinese market. Then, it’s South America. Then, it’s something completely different, says Bettina, who, in addition to sales and customer responsibilities, also has management responsibilities for four employees.

Therefore, the Key Account Manager education she previously received at Nopa Nordic has been supplemented with an internal leadership education.

– Over a year, we had a series of different modules where we learned about ourselves and how to lead others. It included topics such as personal profiles, team composition, motivation, and conflict

management, and it has really given me a lot. Also in terms of a stronger internal network, explains Bettina, emphasizing that it’s not just the tasks and opportunities that make her happy with her work at Nopa Nordic:

– I have some really good colleagues. We have a good relationship with each other, and that’s important because you should be happy to go to work.

Camelia Călin, Line Operator and Line Coordinator
– From temp worker to line coordinator

Camelia Călin joined Nopa Nordic as a temp worker in 2020, but the following year, fortunately, we were able to offer her a permanent job as a line operator – and half a year later, she became a line coordinator for the production line she works on.

– Everything I learned from my boss, I now must pass on to my colleagues, and it makes you happy when someone says, “It’s so easy to understand when you explain it,” says Camelia, continuing with a smile:

– But I also have some good colleagues. When people are eager to learn, it’s much easier to teach them something.

The tasks as a line coordinator are not just about instructing others. They also involve planning and oversight, and to get even more tools in the toolbox, Camelia has attended both internal courses at Nopa Nordic and started the education to become an industrial operator.

– I haven’t worked in a factory before, and the education taught me how a factory operates. It has given me a better understanding of the connections, making it easier to prioritize tasks based on what’s most important for the company, explains Camelia, returning to her colleagues when asked what she likes most about her job:

– Sometimes, we just look at each other, and we know what the other person is going to say. We work well together, and we get along well. We laugh a lot together.

Are you curious about what you can gain from a Life Cycle Assessment of your product? See what a switch from Ready-To-Use to Refill, for example, can mean – and the questions it raises. 

What can you do with our new Life Cycle Assessment tool (LCA)? 

In short, you can understand how a product affects our planet and identify ways to minimize its impact. 

In more detail, it depends on your product and focus. That’s the strength of this tool: it provides answers to your specific questions, not just general observations. 

Let’s consider an example. 

Example: Ready-To-Use vs. Refill 

Imagine you deliver your product in a Ready-To-Use spray bottle, and you are considering switching to/supplementing with a concentrated Refill solution, where the product needs to be mixed with water. 

With LCA, you receive a report showing the effects of this switch on 17 different parameters related to Human, Air, Water, Nature, Energy, Economy, and CO2—with the option to delve into individual parameters. 

You also get an overview, which may look like this (Note that the parameters in practice will focus on different elements within the seven categories—for example, “Human” covers toxicity related to cancer, toxicity related to other diseases, and injuries from work and traffic). 

 

Here, the Ready-To-Use spray bottle is set at Index 100 (The blue column) for all parameters – from global warming to its impact on human health. The Refill solution is represented by the orange column. 

In this example, there is a clearly positive effect from the switch, which is natural because the significant change is reducing the size of the container. 

In other cases—such as when you alter the product’s ingredients—it might have a positive effect on some parameters and a negative effect on others. For instance, reducing the impact on the ozone layer but increasing water consumption. 

An LCA doesn’t provide the definitive answer. However, it furnishes a valuable and informed basis for considerations and decisions. 

This applies even in the above example… 

You get answers. And new questions 

Even though the example with Ready-To-Use and Refill seems straightforward and has a logical conclusion, it’s not that simple. 

You also need to be mindful of what LCA doesn’t show. 

For example, the habits and consumption patterns of your target audience. If they are not accustomed to buying refill products, making a switch might require additional efforts in other areas—ensuring people don’t buy a competitor’s product instead. 

If the product isn’t purchased, even significant changes have no effect. 

*Our LCA is based on consequential cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment in accordance with ISO14040/14044 using the Stepwise2006 (v 1.5) method. Data is comprised of primary data from e.g. suppliers and average data from the Ecoinvent 3.9.1 database. The LCA has been 3rd party validated. Further information can be provided upon request.

 

The core of our new Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool for all our products is data—vast amounts of data. It has undergone extensive quality checks, external validation, and conversion into concrete parameters to ensure that the tool is accessible and useful. Join us in the engine room.

How do you ensure the accuracy of your data?
How do you translate your data into actionable knowledge?
How do you use your knowledge to act and create an impact?

These are three questions that anyone working with data must constantly address. And they are also three of the crucial questions in the development of our new Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool—the tool that allows our customers and partners to assess the impact of products on our planet based on 17 different parameters.

In this article, we would like to invite you into the engine room of the LCA tool and answer these three questions – plus one more.

How do you ensure that your data is accurate?

We have more than 1,200 products on our shelves – consisting of over 1,000 different raw materials, when we consider both the content and the packaging.

The basis of our data comes from international databases with comprehensive information and documentation about these raw materials, which we have subsequently quality assured and adapted to our production.

In other words, we have reviewed the data to ensure consistency with our reality. For example, there may be clarifications regarding the source of a particular raw material if a database indicates that the material can come from different countries or regions of the world.

At the same time, it has been essential to be precise in terms of what we examine. In the current version of LCA, we have limited it to cradle-to-gate, meaning from raw material to the finished product when it leaves the factory. How the products are transported to our customers and further to their customers is not included.

Throughout the LCA process, we have also followed recognized ISO standards and collaborated with external consultants to have it validated by a third party.

How do you translate your data into actionable knowledge?

The wealth of information has been converted into 17 different parameters within 7 different categories: Human, Air, Water, Nature, Energy, Economy, and CO2.

Instead of saying “This product contains five grams of a particular substance,” we convert it to say, “This product affects our water by 70 units and global warming by…”. You also have the opportunity to compare a product with previous versions, so you can continually see how environmental impact can be reduced.

Combined with our experience and expertise, this means we can provide answers on where it is most valuable to take action.

How do you use your knowledge to take action and create an impact?

When you know what has the most significant effect, it naturally becomes easier to act on it. And for us at Nopa Nordic, it’s easier to engage in dialogue and advise, based on both data and our knowledge and research.

Here, we essentially work backward. If we decide, for example, to reduce water consumption, we look at which raw materials have the highest water usage, and then we either seek alternatives or investigate whether the raw material can be sourced or developed differently.

Working to minimize our impact on our planet is filled with dilemmas, and it’s challenging to achieve perfection in all parameters.

For instance, if you create a product that has an almost negligible impact on our planet but is so expensive that everyone chooses alternative products, it makes no difference. And if, for example, you disrupt the circularity in plastic recycling—where the ideal is that e.g. bottles become new bottles—to use recycled plastic for your product, it can actually have a negative effect in the larger equation.

Therefore, it’s crucial to assess the consequences of different decisions.

One last question: What’s the next step regarding the LCA tool?

We have launched the LCA tool in version 1.0, but we will continue to develop it, and, in fact, we never expect to say, “That’s the final version,” just as we never expect that as humans, we can say, “We have ensured that everything is well on our planet.”

As we use the tool and gain more knowledge, we also discover what’s next.

Nopa Nordic is now introducing a new tool for Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). The tool enables you to evaluate your product’s footprint on the Earth – across many more parameters than just CO2 – thereby enabling you to make more conscious and informed choices. As a producer, distributor, or consumer

How do you choose the right products on the shelf if you want to benefit the planet, fellow humans, and yourself?

It’s an almost impossible question. For consumers, distributors, and producers alike.

Unfortunately, the result often ends up being simplified to a small fraction of the equation. It becomes all about CO2, and CO2, and CO2 again. Or the packaging’s marketing text mentions “New packaging with 20% less plastic” – without addressing whether the contents, for instance, contain allergenic chemicals or harm aquatic environments.

– Naturally, reducing CO2 is important, as is reducing plastic. But the problems is that, on one hand, we might end up making decisions that harm other areas, and on the other hand, we fail to

prioritize other equally important areas. We’re plugging the hole at one end of the boat while ignoring the leaks at the other end, says Mette Kolling Rothmann, CCO at Nopa Nordic.

New tool: Life-Cycle Assessment

At Nopa Nordic, we’ve been at the forefront of developing environmentally labeled detergents, cleaning agents, and care products for many years. Now, we’re taking it a step further by launching a new tool for Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA); a tool that, in short, makes it easier to assess a product’s impact on our planet.

– With LCA, you can assess how products affects the environment and people based on 17 different parameters. CO2 is naturally one of those parameters, but we also consider factors like air pollution, water consumption, biodiversity, natural resource use, harmful chemicals, and economics, explains Mette Kolling Rothmann.

This means that you gain a comprehensive picture – cradle-to-gate – of how your product influences the world around it. Thus, you’re empowered to prioritize and make the efforts that matter most to you and the world.

– We put numbers to it. This means you gain an overview, and you can see the implications when you make changes to your product. Suddenly, the reduction in plastic packaging is put into context, and it becomes clear whether it has any effect at all, notes Mette Kolling Rothmann, adding: 

– This doesn’t necessarily make the discussions easier. But it makes them more relevant. 

Hoping to inspire both customers and competitors 

With this new LCA tool, we hope to inspire and guide our customers – the companies for whom we produce textile washing and cleaning products, for instance – to make more informed choices.

Of course, we also hope that this will eventually provide consumers with entirely different possibilities to understand the consequences of their choices. You can actually see which choice is best for the planet.

– We’re not there yet, and we can’t get there alone. That’s why we’re excited to take the next steps together with good partners, and why we’re also looking forward to the continued development of the tool. Right now, we’re at version 1.0, but just as the work to create increasingly sustainable solutions likely never ends, neither does the work with LCA, emphasizes Mette Kolling Rothmann.

Theresa Tetzlaff started as a summer temp at Nopa Nordic in 2016. Today, she is both a production manager and occupational health and safety manager, and what started as a job to earn money has turned into much more.

– I had not thought that I would be employed at Nopa Nordic. And I certainly didn’t have ambitions to end up as a production manager, says Theresa Tetzlaff.

At Nopa Nordic, we have many good colleagues.

Theresa is one of them. But she is not just a good colleague, she is also a good story: A story about going from summer temp to line operator to line coordinator to production manager – even though she had never really imagined that she would be employed or work at Nopa Nordic. And even though her employment as a line operator in 2017 actually happened because Theresa had turned up by mistake.

– I was connected with Nopa Nordic through a temp agency, and every Friday I received a confirmation that I was supposed to show up for the night shift on Sunday. One Friday, I did not receive any notice, but I thought it was probably just a mistake.

– When I showed up on Sunday night, I was pulled aside by the production manager who told me that I wasn’t really supposed to be at work. But that I was allowed to stay – on the condition that I accepted a permanent job, Theresa laughs.

More than just a Job

It’s been 7 years since Theresa first walked through the doors at Nopa Nordic. She started as a summer temp, and in principle, it could have been almost anything and anywhere.

– It was just a job. It was about earning some money, says Theresa.

“Just a job” quickly became more than that, especially due to the good relationships she quickly established. So, she had no doubts when she was offered a permanent position.

– It means a lot that you get along well with the people you work with,” she says.

Good Development Opportunities

Fast forward 7 years. Now her email signature reads production manager.

She has gone from being a line operator and literally having her hands in the production of, for example, eco-friendly and hypoallergenic soaps, to being the leader of 16 people and taking responsibility for meeting the goals for both time and quality in the production lines. And “just a job” has become much more than that.

– I have good colleagues across the organization and absolutely fantastic colleagues in the production management team, where there are good opportunities for sparring and support.

– And Nopa Nordic is a place where you are seen, heard, and respected. Here you have the opportunity to develop and educate yourself, and it means a lot that they are not only interested in the future of the company but also in my future, says Theresa, who last year started a leadership academy program alongside her work.

The education is a good supplement for handling the daily managerial tasks, and it has been supplemented by various internal courses and workshops. Since January, she has also taken on the task of occupational health and safety manager.

– A lot has happened at Nopa Nordic over the years. I have witnessed a positive development, and as an occupational health and safety manager, I want to make an extra effort to create an even better work environment.

The Nopa Nordic Group is launching a new range of sun care products without Dibutyl Adipate and C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate – two synthetic oils found in most sunscreens on the market. This is due to both a desire to use as many natural raw materials as possible and the fact that the two oils have negative side effects.

At the Nopa Nordic Group – Nopa Nordic and Allison – we always strive to create products that meet environmental and allergy certification requirements. But often we go even further.

Our new range of sun care products is an example of this.

Here we have replaced two synthetic oils that are found in many sunscreens on the market – Dibutyl Adipate and C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate – with natural oils.

Thus, we have created sun care where up to 90 per cent of the ingredients are natural – and sun care with fewer potential negative side effects, as C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate contains impurities that can cause allergies, while Dibutyl Adipate can remove nail polish.

– Even if a sun care product is allergy-certified, it can still contain C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, because the oil is normally used in such small quantities that there should be no risk. At the Nopa Nordic Group, however, we are always looking for natural solutions, and in this case, we believe, it makes extra good sense, explains Henrik Karup Jørgensen, CEO of the Nopa Nordic Group.

It’s About More Than Just SPF

At first glance, it may seem simple to remove two synthetic oils and replace them with natural oils.

But in practice, it’s not that simple. You can’t just find a one-to-one replacement on a supplier’s shelf. You need to develop, experiment, and test things yourself.

– Sun care is basically a mix of the right UV filters and the right oils to dissolve these filters. When you choose to work with and develop new oils, you’ll of course face some challenges. That’s the nature of development. The path to finding the blend that works involves many blends that don’t work, explains Maria Bønnelykke, R&D Manager at Allison, noting that the sun protection factor is far from the only piece in the puzzle.

It’s also about creating sun care that doesn’t separate, sun care that is easy to spread, and sun care that is waterproof. Because sun care should retain its protective effect, even when some of it gets washed off in the ocean or the swimming pool.

– When it says, for example, SPF 50 on the tube or spray, it should also be an SPF 50 after you’ve been in the water. We have achieved this with the new sunscreen, while also reaching our goal of increased naturalness, says Maria Bønnelykke.

Available as Lotion, Oil, Spray, and Roll-On

A further complexity when you increase the number of natural oils is that natural oils, unlike synthetic oils, are not 100 per cent identical from delivery to delivery.

There can and will be small variations, and that is why we at the Nopa Nordic Group have established the necessary testing setup to ensure the desired high quality in all our deliveries.

The new range of sun care can be provided with a sun protection factor of 15, 20, 30, or 50 – and as a lotion, oil, spray, and roll-on. It’s possible to create a special variant for children as well.

The sun care solutions meet a range of the most well-known eco-labels: