The company was established at the port of Aarhus, Denmark, in 1980. The objective was to offer inspection services in the agricultural sector especially shipments of grains and feedstuff to the former Soviet Union and the DDR where large quantities were shipped from Scandinavian ports on feeder vessels over the Baltic Sea - hence the name Baltic Control®. The company quickly expanded to other regions and activities to what is it to day; a truly global and recognized company ,.
End of January 2023 A/S Baltic Control Group Ltd. was acquired by Apave Group.
We strive to offer to our customers a truly independent service wherever it may be required, with emphasis on quick response, attention to detail and competent execution adding value to customer needs and maintaining a good and long lasting business relationship.
Baltic Control® is DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 certified and is a member of TIC Council. Baltic Control® shall, as a subsidiary of Apave Group, abide by the Apave Code of Ethics, Anti-corruption code, and Disclosure procedure.
In December 2020, Baltic Control® reached a milestone: its 40-year business anniversary. We are humble and very proud to have reached this milestone; 40 years of adventures in testing, inspection and certification (TIC) is clearly a pretty unique achievement.
Since its inception in the early 20th century, the TIC business has undergone massive change. It is a widely polarised business with many small local operators that are servicing local markets or niches to big international mastodons that employ over 100,000 people
In this environment Baltic Control® has experienced steady growth throughout the 40 years. From the outset, the company has been operating from a remote corner of the port of Aarhus in Denmark. Like in a Danish fairy tale, the founder Mr Hugo K. R. Pedersen and his loyal co-workers have had to overcome impossible challenges, travel thousands of miles to far-flung areas of the world and face strong competitors, who had business muscles as big as the Swiss Alps. But despite the challenges, we have conquered the world country by country, client by client. We would be delighted if you could join us on a little trip down memory lane:
Aarhus, Denmark – where it all started
It all started on 1st December 1980 when Baltic Control® was founded by Mr Hugo Pedersen and his business partners/investors in the port of Aarhus, Denmark.
In those days, the TIC market was very different from what it is today. The business was much less transparent and compliance was not well developed, and the market was dominated by the Big 4 who had their own take on how things should be done … One could say that the industry did not have a great reputation, mired in various big scandals. Hugo Pedersen was therefore able to offer an alternative service with a clean Scandinavian image.
It was in that environment that the company was started as the ‘Scandinavian alternative’ to the big mastodons. Mr Pedersen was already a well-known and seasoned TIC professional with extensive industry-related experience. Having spent many years abroad in Africa and Asia, he had a network of international contacts. He knew the international business inside out and understood that there was a need for change. Right from the start the company was focusing on offering its services to the agricultural sector. It enjoyed particular success in the trade of grains and other foodstuffs between Scandinavia and Eastern Bloc countries, such as the Soviet Union and East Germany, where large quantities of these commodities were shipped from Scandinavian ports on feeder vessels over the Baltic Sea - hence the name Baltic Control.
A lot of the big institutional and government organisations in the market were disillusioned with the Big 4 and were open to look for alternatives. Mr Pedersen saw his window of opportunity in North Africa and the Middle East. He ensured that the company quickly expanded into other regions and activities. The company quickly gained a foothold in North Africa and the Middle East, securing new contracts and approvals for inspection of imports of grains and feed from all over the world. The global expansion of Baltic Control® now took off.
The very first Baltic Control® office abroad was established in 1983 in Greece: Baltic Control® Hellas. The purpose of this new office was to enable the company to handle its growing business interests in the Mediterranean. This Greek office marked the beginning of the company’s expansion outside Scandinavia.
Despite the growing success, business was tough. Every single penny was spent on developing existing contacts and contracts, and exploring new opportunities within the inspection and testing business wherever possible. The expansion of the Baltic Control® network of offices was done in collaboration with local partners/investors who wanted to get on board and be part of the Baltic Control® brand. Over the years, Mr Pedersen and his growing number of sales staff travelled thousands of miles all over the world. Thanks to their persistence and hard work, Baltic Control® steadily grew into what is it today; a truly global company and a key operator with a strong reputation within the TIC industry.
As a result of significant consumer demand, the TIC market in the 90s was becoming more regulated. The market had until then been highly unregulated. To meet growing consumer demand, the Big 4 created a trade association called the International Federation of Inspection Agencies (IFIA), with the aim of improving the situation by implementing rules and guidelines for the TIC industry. This move appeared to be well-intentioned, but the newly established association quickly evolved into an exclusive club where other companies did not have a look-in. Mr Pedersen sought membership of the association for Baltic Control® on several occasions, but each time the membership refused the application and a legal battle ensued and rumbled on for several years.
In the meantime, Mr Pedersen and his team continued to work hard to grow the business. But behind a great man, there is always a great woman. Being the wife of an entrepreneur and global businessman is a fulltime occupation. Mr Pedersen’s wife Mrs Gun Pedersen rose to the challenge, serving as Chairman of the Board for three decades and playing a key role in the direction the company took. It was Mrs Gun Pedersen, for example, who coined Baltic Control®’s slogan ‘Caring about Quality’ which we feel still embodies the essence of what Baltic Control® stands for .
Mrs Gun Pedersen also handled many key projects including the humanitarian aid and relief projects which were close to her heart. These projects served the needs of United Nations and other global donor organisations that were able to benefit from Baltic Control®’s unique global network and quick and agile operations in the most remote areas of the world. This is still a business area where Baltic Control® enjoys a strong reputation. The company feels humble and honoured to have served this sector for more than 3 decades.
In 1990, Hugo & Gun Pedersen’s son Martin E. Pedersen joined the company. After a number of years of solid back office and front office work, Martin E. Pedersen was promoted to the management team, as commercial manager. He joined the traveling sales force, spending up to 200 days travelling every year for many years. He also held positions as managing director in various branch offices from the Baltic States to Africa.
The 90s also marked an acceleration of global expansion with the establishment of many new offices all over the world. At the end of the decade, Baltic Control® won its largest long-term contract to date when the EU body, Agro Action, appointed Baltic Control® to protect their interests in the delivery of EU grain donations to Third World countries all over the world.
