PRESS RELEASE:

After a successful change of ownership with the transfer to the Dovista Group, Kaj Bundgaard will leave Krone Vinduer at the end of the year and hand over the CEO position to CFO Lars Irskov. A 50th anniversary on 3 October 2025 marks the end of a great career in the window industry, where Krone Vinduer under Kaj Bundgaard's leadership has made a significant mark on construction in Denmark.

A generational change is now reaching its final conclusion at Krone Vinduer, where CEO and former owner Kaj Bundgaard has announced that he is stepping down at the end of the year to retire. This comes after no less than 50 years with the company, where he started as a labourer in 1975. The new CEO will be the company's CFO for the past 10 years, Lars Irskov.

- "We've been working on this plan in the management team for a long time, and Lars Irskov is the natural successor to the CEO position. He knows the company inside out and deserves a lot of the credit for the results we have achieved in recent years. It is important that we retain the special culture and team spirit that is Krone Windows' strength, says Kaj Bundgaard.

The new CEO, Lars Irskov, is looking forward to stepping up into a new role after more than ten years as CFO: - "My most important task will be to ensure continuity.

My most important task will be to ensure continuity in the company so that we retain Krone Windows' distinctive character and identity. It is a great honour for me to have the opportunity to take over from Kaj, who, if anyone, has been the face of Krone Windows for decades and created the niche production we are so proud of up here. There are many exciting challenges ahead, which I look forward to tackling together with our many talented employees," says Lars Irskov.

The perfect ending

The generational change in Krone Vinduer was initiated in 2016 and formally completed in 2023, when the Dovista Group took over the last part of the ownership. At that time, Kaj Bundgaard was not ready to say goodbye to his life's work. Now, however, he is, and he is happy that it was possible to bring in a new owner well before his retirement so that he could still be an asset to the company. "You often see owner-managers waiting too long to sell," he points out.

And there could hardly be a better ending than the anniversary that will be celebrated with colleagues, friends and business associates on 3 October 2025 at the window factory in Harken. Where it all started 50 years ago.

- Everything has to end at some point, and for me, my 50th anniversary is the perfect ending. At the same time, it is of great importance that Krone Vinduer is in good shape. It has been important for me to stop at a time that feels right for me and my family, but also for the company. On both parameters, the timing is perfect. I feel that I can walk out the door with pride and a straight back," says Kaj Bundgaard

From carpentry workshop to high-tech factory

When Kaj Bundgaard was hired as a labourer in 1975 and subsequently apprenticed as a carpenter, window production was just a small corner of HP Gruppen's joinery workshop in Harken. In 1982, Kaj Bundgaard was promoted to foreman and department manager, and on his initiative, the company gradually began to produce more windows.

By 2005, production had grown so large that it no longer made sense to be owned by a construction group. The window factory was therefore spun off into an independent company - HP Vinduet - which became Krone Vinduer the following year when six senior employees headed by Kaj Bundgaard took over ownership. In the preceding years, the company had taken a quantum leap in production from small traditional machines to large high-tech machines.

- "We wanted to ride the wave of standardised window production, which really took off in those years. But we had to recognise that others are much better at standardised production than us. Our roots are in carpentry, so we chose instead to focus on what still characterises Krone Windows today: custom-made doors and windows with an industrial approach," says Kaj Bundgaard.

The Dovista Group joined the ownership group and began a gradual takeover in 2016, which was finalised in 2023. The two companies already cooperated on the production of windows, and for Kaj Bundgaard the change of ownership was a natural next step.

- "It was crucial that we got an owner who could help develop Krone Vinduer and future-proof production in Vendsyssel. And it's fair to say that we've got that. We have significantly increased our turnover, earnings and employees in recent years," says Kaj Bundgaard.