Thor Global Enterprises

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We provide technology and solutions to the bulk material handling industry.” That’s how Thor Johannsen began the interview. It’s a simple statement, considering the complexity that goes into the products his company creates. But for Thor—who has decades of innovation, engineering and entrepreneurship under his belt—simple is just how he likes it.

Thor Johannsen was born and raised in Lading, a town in Jylland, Denmark; he spent his youth working and learning in his father’s machine shop. When he immigrated to Ontario in 1966, Thor brought his steel-fabricating experience and knowledge, as well as a dream of entrepreneurship. In 1969, Thor established what is now Thor Global Enterprises Ltd. where he is still the President and CEO.

Today, Toronto-based Thor Global designs equipment to transport loose materials in mass quantities, such as conveyor belts and stackers. At the beginning, however, the company used to manufacture and distribute tower cranes across North America. When Thor recognized a need for material handling solutions, he made the switch and started designing conveyors for the aggregate and mining industries.

The years spent making cranes wasn’t in vain. In fact, it is his background in the crane sector to which Thor attributes the company’s engineering success in bulk material handling. “The reason we’re stronger than our competition is because we have a background they don’t have,” he says. “Cranes have to be designed in a very specific way that challenges one’s talents far beyond your text-book engineering. It’s an art form of structural design. All those years in the field really helped, because we have an advantage—we invented the technology behind our product line.”

Thor Global’s move to material handling equipment was a smart one. The endeavour spurred the development of the patented side-fold conveyor system in 1975. At the time, the side-fold system was a more cost-efficient method of making conveyors transport-ready, as opposed to the traditional topfold designs everyone else was using Thor’s early success prompted the development of other rugged products, such as the Viking series of screeners, bridge conveyors and turnkey load-out operations.

In 1992, Thor Global experienced one of its biggest achievements when Thor invented the first telescopic conveyor ever to be used in bulk material stockpile creation—a significant advancement in overcoming material segregation. The telescopic conveyor has since revolutionized the way producers worldwide create stockpiles, because material can now be built in small concentric layers. The demand for this product has become so intense that Thor Global decided to shift its primary focus towards developing telescopic conveyors.

The importance of R&D
Thor Global continues to foster an internal culture of innovation through an ongoing program of research and development. Thor believes all things can be improved, and his products reflect that. Thor Global telescopic stackers undergo upgrades frequently. Since their inception, engineers have integrated state-of-the-art customized automation software, touch screen interfaces, ultrasonic sensing devices, remote operation capabilities, as well as countless incremental design updates.

“Our technological challenge is to employ all existing technologies to provide products that can be painlessly integrated into any existing or future aggregate processing application,” says Thor. The company has little interest in borrowing ideas from industry counterparts, because it doesn’t encourage innovation or challenge convention.

“R&D is very important to us,” Thor says. “Even in the recession, we upscaled our R&D department and expanded our product lines, which we are in the process of patenting. The company’s vision is to grow, but to do that we need to be investing in the newest equipment. We spend almost half of our profit on R&D, which is a huge chunk. But we believe it will keep the company competitive.”

Company culture(s)
For many years, Thor Global only did business in Canada and the United States. In the last five years, they have expanded globally to include South America,
Europe, Australia, Mexico, Russia and South Africa. “It’s been a huge expansion in sales and shipping,” says Thor. “It was always the goal to expand globally
and now it’s a reality.”

Global business often means communicating within numerous cultures. Thor wouldn’t have it any other way. “We are very multicultural here and, combined, our staff speak a lot of languages,” he adds. “We think it’s a great opportunity to be able to reach people in their comfort zone. It says a lot about your company and its respect for the client.”

Not only does Thor Global encourage diversity, it also maintains their level of positivity. “We have some basic philosophies that we feel are important,” says Thor. “If you feel that you’re coming in to work, don’t bother coming in. If you’re coming in to play for the day, then you’re welcome here. We play seriously and we play hard, but we don’t believe in work. It’s something we have stressed in the company for a long time. We want to make a good life for the people within the company.” Finally, the company believes in employee retention, even in a pinch. “We don’t lay anyone off, because we hire the best,” says Thor. “We can’t afford to lose our people.

In fact, we have hired people in the downturn. Not that it hasn’t been interesting, but we work hard to maintain a full staff.”

Up ahead
Thor Global Enterprises will keep working to improve offerings and build relationships with customers. “The first deal is easy,” says Thor, “but getting the second deal is how you know you succeeded.”

As far as products go, there is a lot in store—although Thor can’t get specific about the particulars. In a more general sense, he does mention his desire to galvanize all their products. For those who are unfamiliar, galvanizing is dipping metal into a hot bath of zinc to inhibit rust. “It’s one of the best ways of protecting
metal from rusting,” says Thor. “My father galvanized all his products at his factory in Europe, back in the 1950s. Where I came from, it was standard. The process is environmentally sustainable because otherwise people have to repaint their products every 10 years due to corrosion. Galvanizing everything is going to be a real strength for our company.”

Thor Global Enterprises Ltd. continues their quest to develop innovative solutions, and will soon be announcing the launch of a completely new concept, that promises to revolutionize material handling yet again. “Remember it is very difficult to design a simple product,” says Thor.