Best Managed Company 2021
Deloitte Norway is proud to give SFF Group the Best Managed Company award. Their clear philosophy, strategic direction and active inclusion policy are among the reasons cited by the jury.
The objective of Norway’s Best Managed Companies is to promote well-managed private Norwegian companies that are an important part of the Norwegian business sector. The programme, which was founded by Deloitte in Canada in 1993, is available in most countries around the world and was established in Norway in 2019. Boye Christiansen, managing director in SFF Group, says they are proud to receive the award.
“We’re incredibly proud to receive this seal of approval. We’ve worked systematically over the years to include people who, for whatever reason, have been excluded. This work has fostered a unique corporate culture, based on respect, a sense of belonging and solidarity,” Christiansen says, and continues:
“So it’s extra cool that it’s precisely our culture – along with the company’s pioneering spirit and long-term mindset – that’s being lauded as our foremost competitive advantage. We’re a textbook example that a good and clear CSR strategy is more than just philanthropy; it can actually be good business too.”
Systematic IT and inclusion
SFF Group was founded in 1991 by Tore Christiansen and is currently the largest privately owned pipe wholesaler in Scandinavia. The company has experienced expansive growth from five employees in 1991 to more than 130 today. The company is receiving this year’s award because they have a clear philosophy, strategic direction and good internal processes to both develop, follow up and communicate this strategy. Based on this, they have also developed their own fully integrated IT system and have entered into a number of strategic partnerships in their own value chain in order to succeed in reaching their long-term objectives.
The company has implemented a commendable inclusion policy that has provided a strong contribution toward the development of a corporate culture characterised by humility, loyalty and the ability to deliver. Around 20% of their current employees were recruited from alternative recruitment sources. The company’s headquarters is in Sandnes, and they are established in 13 locations, in 11 countries across 4 continents.
“An example to follow”
Tord Teige, partner and responsible for Best Managed Companies in Deloitte Norway, is impressed with the long-term work SFF Group has done on both strategy and inclusion. “We were very impressed with their management and how they work over the long term both in the market and internally in their own organisation. SFF Group’s efforts to be an inclusive organisation, and the success they’ve achieved due to this, is commendable and an example others should follow,” Teige says.
