Evaporators with high energy efficiency

Leasing paves the way for exports

As a small business, it is difficult to enter the foreign market. Offering leasing may be a solution.
By Ebbe Sønderriis – edited by Jeppe Jönson

The company Envotherm is trying to promote exports to the German market by renting out equipment instead of selling it. Envotherm’s evaporation plant, with its high energy efficiency, is able to treat heavily contaminated wastewater so optimally that the treated (distilled) water can be easily reused in companies.

The plant has a high energy efficiency and a lifetime of at least 12-15 years. Under Danish conditions, the payback period is only 2-3 years. Yet it has been difficult to enter the German market.

We often find that the operations engineers can see the benefits of our plant, but this is held back by the finance department, who question whether the small Danish company can deliver an attractive speed of service, number of references etc. – says Vibeke Svendsen

She hopes that the new leasing model, developed with support from the Green Transition Fund, can solve the problem. Companies are offered a three-year lease with a right of first refusal. For customers, the advantage is that they can immediately see results on the bottom line.

We cut their costs in half, and most people can see the benefit in that. Envotherm’s systems are connected online, so if the system is misoperated or something breaks, a text message is sent to the person responsible at the customer and an alarm is sent to our expert in Haderslev. This means that we can offer service 24/7 and can solve about 70 percent of the service tasks via the Internet and telephone – says Vibeke Svendsen


Vibeke Svendsen CEO / Partner at Envotherm – Chair of the SME Committee.

With the low interest rates we have today, leasing is not expensive compared to buying. Customers are comparing what they can get out of investing the same money in a different way – says Vibeke Svendsen

Complicated law It works like leasing a car. Customers get a system set up and can start reaping the benefits immediately. It avoids transporting contaminated water for treatment and can be reused as process water.

But developing the concept has been a time-consuming process – first we drew up a contract with a Danish lawyer, then we had to go to a German lawyer so we could make the right reservations and ensure that the division of responsibilities was right in terms of the difference in the laws of the two countries. We feel great interest in the concept and will deliver the first plants in Q4 this year – concludes Managing Director and CEO Vibeke Svendsen