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Group 4 Falck shows interest in
partnership with government
by Ivan Brincat
Security firm Group 4 Falck
firmly believes in the concept of public private partnerships
even though it does not have an aggressive marketing strategy
for such initiatives, Lars Norby Johansen, President and CEO
of Group 4 Falck, told The Malta Business Weekly.
Mr Johansen, who was in Malta recently for a regional conference,
said that if the public sector and government wanted to enter
into partnerships with them they would be interested in offering
their services.
A similar system has been working in Denmark for a long time
even in sensitive sectors such as the ambulance service and
fire-fighting. In England the company plays an important role
in ensuring the best possible security service in prisons.
Mr Johansen said public/private partnerships allow the public
sector to focus on other areas while ensuring that a good service
is provided by a private company. “But we are not aggressive
in this area and we respond depending on the requests we get
from governments,” he said. Group 4 Falck’s CEO told
The Malta Business Weekly they would be interested in entering
into such an agreement with the Maltese government.
The merger between Group 4 Securitas and Falck last year has
created the second largest security company in the world. Mr
Johansen said the company was very strong across Europe and
gaining ground in new markets. The company has a presence in
53 countries including Malta.
“Our merger was not built on savings but on growth. We
are pursuing new opportunities and while a year has elapsed,
the merger has been very smooth considering the fact that 60
per cent of all mergers collapse within the first three years,”
Mr Johansen said.
“Even internally people believe in the merger and so far
it has been successful. We had to have a common logo and a common
identity,” he said. Mr Johansen was in Malta for a regional
conference on strategic security issues. Present were members
from the companies in Malta, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Group
4 Falck has divided their operations into regions and Malta
falls in the South/East Europe region. “This is an important
region for us,” Mr Johansen said.
“It is impossible to hold a conference for the 53 countries.
Moreover, problems tend to be regional and we can get closer
to specific issues. It is part of our strategy to be close to
the markets we operate from. We know there are cultural differences
and we are sensitive to their needs,” he said.
Both companies involved in the merger have a long history and
both hail from Copenhagen, Denmark. The merger has not affected
Malta in any way. “We service various markets. We have
good operations in Malta and Cyprus and for us no country is
small for new opportunities,” he said.
“We are satisfied with our
operations here and have just appointed a new managing director,”
he said.
“The two companies were old but contemporary and have successfully
sustained operations despite times of crisis, recessions and
even wars. The market needed competition and we provide an alternative
for the market-leader, Securitas,” he said.
Mr Johansen said the company is also growing strong in central
Europe, giving Poland and Slovakia as examples. “We also
have a strong presence in India and the Middle East and we are
preparing to enter China,” he said.
Venturing into the Chinese market will not be easy because of
the size of the country. “We have set up operations in
Hong Kong and we are the first foreign security company to obtain
a licence to offer a service in Shanghai.”
Mr Johansen’s vision is to create the world leading provider
of security services. “Our target is to grow also organically.
We hope to grow in new markets and not just stick to the United
States or Europe.”
The company has also expanded in Australia and is seeing potential
for the development of security products such as alarm systems.
Mr Johansen said security was very important. “Globalisation
has also led to our expansion as we have to go where our clients
go. If they decide to go to Kazakhakistan we have to follow
them and that has helped us to grow.”
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