His identification with the range of products and corporate philosophy of the Schweers group as well as his market and branch know-how for many years now were the deciding factors for entrusting Torben Andersen with a new job position in the Schweers International group of companies. His new job position can be described as “Mr. Parking Denmark” of Schweers International. He has just been named as Branch Manager of the Schweers Consult GmbH Nordic. In an interview he spoke about his professional career up to now, the reasons why Schweers International is a very fascinating company and why he is looking forward to his new job challenge, as well as about future business goals.
The interview was conducted by Christian Dick.
Question: How long have you been employed with the company Schweers Consult GmbH Nordic now and how did you become an employee of the company?
Torben Andersen: I have been employed with the Schweers Consult GmbH Nordic since 2006. At that time the Schweers group was basically a hardware manufacturer of the handheld computers for parking enforcement, like the X600. The Schweers group bought a competing company in Denmark, with which I was employed at that time.
I originally have a Software Developer background and studied Information Technology at the University of Copenhagen. I was needed for my detailed knowledge about the products of the overtaken company and contacts in the Danish market. I was therefore hired as a project manager and the connecting link to the Danish customers. At the same time, I could assist Schweers in integrating the Ticketman handheld computer and software systems.
Question: What particularly appeals to you about the range of products and services of Schweers International?
Torben Andersen: Currently I have focus on the transition to moving our customers to “software-as-a-service” products. In general, my interest is in integrating and making the most of cutting-edge technologies. This means doing things smarter and more efficient. Software has become the core of our business, whereas not too long ago it was hardware.
Question: What are your most fascinating tasks in your job?
Torben Andersen: Working with people on many levels. Among others, exhibitions are my favorite tasks. I really like to attend exhibitions and to present upcoming products. Thus, discussing experiences and needs of customers and partners. A clear advantage of attending to exhibitions is, that these events offer the possibility of getting together with colleagues, partners and customers from all over the world. I am looking forward to the fair Intertraffic in Amsterdam from 16 to 19 April 2024.
Question: You were named as Branch Manager of Schweers Consult GmbH Nordic. What does this opportunity mean for you? What goals have you set yourself for this task?
Torben Andersen: From now on, I will be more focused on the financial part of our business. During the last years my focus has been more on the technological part. My goal is to add to our solid customer base and expand with new products into new markets.
Question: Which countries are served by Schweers Consult GmbH Nordic?
Torben Andersen: We concentrate on the Danish market. PanStreet International GmbH is currently responsible for our neighboring Scandinavian countries.
Question: What are the special needs of cities and municipalities in Denmark, for example as far as parking space and traffic density are concerned?
Torben Andersen: As far as parking spaces are concerned, Denmark faces the problem of an ever-increasing traffic density. Thus, more and more cars and fewer parking spaces in the cities. As things are going currently, the situation will only get worse.
Denmark is a highly digitalized country. Our product Politess® Go is capable on using this to our advantage, so the cities become highly efficient in parking enforcement via ANPR technology. Our sophisticated ANPR technology can be used in mobile phones, bikes and cars depending on usage cases.
We are also capable of assisting the cities and municipalities in providing them with data, which for instance can be used for guiding cars to free parking space and decrease traffic jams. This could be a new market for our company in the future.
Question: What are the most important conditions for the future development of Schweers Consult GmbH Nordic?
Torben Andersen: Our company has already achieved a lot over the years. We are very good on what we do and service, it is true, but we cannot rest on our laurels and must do our best to stay in front of highly competitive markets.
An improvement will be that the Schweers group could also offer services going beyond or supplementing the issuance of tickets. This said, I just heard, that our company is busy developing a fulsome all-in-one Parking Ticket Management Solution. This is wonderful news!
Author: Christian Dick