30-Year Anniversary at Serman & Tipsmark
Looking Back on 30 Years of Company History
(This article is inspired by Jens Otto Madsen’s article from July 2023)
Serman & Tipsmark A/S, located on Maltvej 12 in Brønderslev, is a long-standing local company originally founded by two friends, Per Lentz and Per Kristoffersen, in a garage in the small town of Serritslev.
Per Kristoffersen from Manna and Per Lentz from Serritslev got off to a strong start and decided to name the company using a combination of the two town names—Serritslev and Manna—resulting in the name “Serman,” which became the company’s original name.
At the time, the term “entrepreneur” wasn’t widely used, but that’s exactly what they were. They met while working at Pedershaab Maskinfabrik, a large local machine factory on Saltumvej, where both trained as machinists.
As the garage in Serritslev became too small, the company moved to Brønderslev and rented space in part of the former auction building on Nørregade.
The business continued to grow and began to specialize. A friend of the two founders, Claus Tipsmark, had also started his own company in Brønderslev within the same field.
In 1994, the three joined forces, and the two companies merged. They moved into new facilities on Maltvej, where the company is still located today. Claus’s surname was added to the company name, resulting in the current name: Serman & Tipsmark A/S.
Once again, the company quickly outgrew its facilities, leading to multiple expansions of both the production plant and office space on Maltvej.
Additionally, a service department was established in Tommerup on the island of Funen.
In 1999, the company was acquired by the Sanistål Group and remained a subsidiary until 2022.
Sanistål Sells Serman & Tipsmark
As of May 1, 2022, a major change took place in the company’s leadership. The five-member management team took over ownership of Serman & Tipsmark and established a new holding company, SOT Holding. The team includes CEO and Managing Director Bo Fisker, Technical Director Henning Bach Dybro, Sales Manager Claus Tipsmark, Service Manager Rasmus Dziadzio-Jensen, and Production Manager Jacob Saksager.
No longer employees of Sanistål, which had owned the company for 23 years, the team now became business owners of the very company they helped build.
“While we were owned by Sanistål for 23 years, we’ve always operated with a high degree of autonomy and have defined our own strategy—of course with input from Sanistål. It’s a strategy the leadership team has been united around,” says Managing Director Bo Fisker.
And so, daily operations at Serman & Tipsmark continue as usual.
“We will keep delivering hydraulic solutions, service, and components to the industry—just as we always have,” says Bo Fisker.
All five owners have been with the company for many years and share the same vision, making it a natural decision to acquire the business when Sanistål put it up for sale.
The sale happened simply because Serman & Tipsmark no longer aligned with Sanistål’s future strategic direction. Since the management team in Brønderslev quickly expressed interest in buying, the company was never officially on the market before the sale was finalized.
“What began as a small local machine workshop with a focus on the nearby community has now evolved into a global player in the hydraulics industry, serving major customers like Siemens, Vestas, and Danfoss.”
Today, the company employs approximately 50 people across production/workshop, service, logistics, sales, engineering/development, and administration.
