SH Group
A pro-active approach
The SH Group was founded in 1974 and began life producing small winches for the marine industry.
Today, the business 
has extended its product range to include all kinds of hydraulic systems and services to the offshore market. In addition to winches, the company develops turnkey solutions for various hydraulic, construction and mechanical engineering systems – these are tailored to meet the exact needs of the end customer. Furthermore, the organisation is also able to take care of a client’scomplete project – from the development stage and the design of 3-D drawings to the installation of the final product.
To ensure that all SH Group’s products are developed and manufactured to the highest standards, the business monitors quality control on a daily basis. In addition, the company follows each product very closely during fabrication, manufacture and completion to ensure that the customer always receives the best possible solution. Furthermore, the SH Group continually invests in new software and training in order to design and develop products and services, which meet and exceed customers’ needs. Lastly, the company offers a number of highly experienced service engineers, who are always ready to deal with any customer problem – no matter where it occurs in the world.
The SH Group has recently gone through a major change when, in 2005, it underwent a management buyout due to the retirement of the existing owner. Since this time, the organisation has developed a more pro-active business strategy, which has seen the company invest significantly in new employees, equipment and product development. As a result, the Group has increased its presence in all of the markets it operates in, which has in turn doubled the business’ turnover.
Lars Prast, managing director for the company comments: “This new strategy looks at our longterm goals and targets, whilst also concentrating on how the business is operating today. The SH Group now takes a lot more risk with regards to investments – this has helped the company to grow its operations and customer base. The latest investment of three million euros has been into new machinery, which will improve our testing facilities. As a result, we will be able to develop better products for our customers, whilst also improving our efficiency and saving costs.”
This forward-thinking attitude is one of the key factors that differentiates the Group from other competitors in the market. The company is continually looking at new ways to improve its products and meet its clients’ changing demands. Lars continues: “Over the years we have gained a lot of experience in the offshore market, particularly in the production of winches. In fact, the SH Group was one of the first companies to manufacture electric AHC winches and this is one area that is currently booming. Recently, we have taken some very large steps forward and we are now at the forefront of the market, with regards to product development. We can respond quickly to our customers’ requests and to compliment this we also have excellent after-sales services.”
Looking closely at the company’s product range, the SH Group manufactures a wide range of high quality umbilical winches for the offshore market. These are then sold through the MacArtney Group – a worldwide organisation, which delivers sub-connectors to the offshore market. In addition to this, the business has extensive experience in the development and manufacture of hydraulic systems and has produced a number of solutions for use on bridges around the world. In particular, the SH Group has developed and designed the complete hydraulic system for a bridge in Copenhagen. The company has delivered and installed the hydraulic cylinders, which turn the bridge in order to let boats pass through. The organisation also supplied the power packs, valve arrangements and undertook the installation.
Looking to the future, the SH Group plans to continue delivering high quality solutions, which meet and exceed the needs of the offshore industry. This will be achieved through its longterm business strategy, which encourages the company to act proactively. Consequently, this will enable the Group to remain at the forefront of the industry. Lars concludes: “Our goal for the next three to five years is to continue growing the business at the same rate as today. As a result, we hope to double our turnover and number of employees again. We also want to increase both our engineering and production capabilities in Svendborg and look to expand our product range to include A-frames. I believe that the offshore market will remain strong over the next few years and we intend to optimise any new opportunities available.”
SH Group AS
Products: Winches and hydraulic systems