About us - Philosophy and values
Since the founding in 2002, we have strived to be a multi-disciplinary company with a strong focus on knowhow. We take pride in problem solving ability, and the core of our company will always be the competent skilled worker. By combining our mechanical, automation and electrical knowhow with engineering and entrepreneurial drive - all under the same roof - we get a tightly integrated workforce that simply get things done fast and reliable.
Another important element is that we have a holistic approach to the value chain, and you will never hear us say “Not our problem”. When the units are shipped from our quay, the job is only halfway done. We follow our products throughout their life and offer high quality operational and lifecycle services. By being this closely integrated in the value chain, we align our incentive with those of our customer. Your problem IS our problem, and we will always do our best to fix it.
As of today, we are growing rapidly and have 50 employees in total across our headquarter in Norway and subdivisions in UK and Romania.
Hellenes AS is certified in accordance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001
The Global Perspective
How do we contribute to the greater good?
Our focus is on recycling and reusing waste streams and resources. We have developed a new thermal process that can dry large amounts of sludge using primarily waste heat. The implication of this is that we can take on a burden, such as human waste, and turn it in to a commodity with minimal amount of input energy. However, we recognize that we are only one part of the supply chain when solving challenges related to waste management. As we have a solution that will enable cities to generate energy from municipal waste, we now need great partnerships to help us integrate that solution in the best possible way. One such partnership is Norwep which focuses on making Norwegian competence, experience and technologies globally available. Another important partnership for us is Hub for Ocean, a regional partnership focused on sharing information, resources and networks.
One of the most common sources of disease and sickness in the world is poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water. To remove hazardous materials from wastewater we first need to collect it. We are working closely with water filtration companies that collect sludge. After collecting and substantially reducing hazardous waste going back into nature, we are now left with a high calorific sludge which contains valuable materials such as phosphate. By using our sludge drying technology in the next step we can produce a product that can be used either for incineration or as a fertilizer.
We believe in a practical project based education system and a holistic approach to entrepreneurship, meaning that you should be able to go from an idea to a commercial product in one single location. Together with «Høgskulen på Vestlandet», «Fagskulen i Sogn og Fjordane» and «Mo og Øyrane VGS», which is all based in the same location as us, we are working to utilize our facilities as well as possible to promote high quality education. That involves sharing of equipment, infrastructure and knowledge across different levels of education and involving private companies in student projects. To facilitate further cooperation between all the entities in our ecosystem, the non-profit company Campus Verftet have been established.
Energy efficiency is not exclusively concerned with reduction. We can only reduce our consumption to a certain point. After that, the best we can do for the environment is to recycle and reuse our waste. Optimization is key here and one way in which we are looking to do this, is through production of bio char with our new Thermal Treatment Unit. Not only is biochar a carbon capture storage technique, but it is also a valuable resource especially for farmers. If we can reduce carbon emissions in the same process as we make a valuable product for the market, that must certainly be a healthy source of economic growth.
The Local Perspective - The Yard
For us, being committed to local development does not get in the way of our bigger goals. On the contrary, we believe that investing in our local community is very important in order to be able to solve global problems. Every venture started in a local community. Locals are our first employees and often our first customers. They are the first ones to cheer us when times are good and the last ones to forget us when times are tough. Earning respect locally is thus essential for us in order to grow and build a sustainable company.
Hellenes is the owner of the former shipyard in Førde and has invested substantially in building a technology cluster - housing a variety of leaseholders, including enterprises, education institutions and youth activities. Hellenes utilizes the shipyard for production and test facilities, as well as for R&D. Watch the video below to get a glimpse of some of the activities at our yard.