Vikan celebrates 125 years

This year, our partner Vikan is celebrating 125 years of innovative, high-quality cleaning equipment made by people who care. Since 1898, the Danish company has been developing durable, high-performance tools in direct collaboration with end-users. This co-creative approach, innovative for its time, still enables Vikan today to be recognised as a world leader in the hygiene sector.

The origin behind the name

In 1898, A.P. Pedersen founded his brush factory “Skive Børstefabrik”, named after the small Danish town at the heart of mainland Denmark.

To protect the patent for one of its products, the founder affixed a sticker to the handle of the brush: a cleaning lady holding a brush, accompanied by the slogan “Vi kan”, which means “we can”. Behind this slogan, its founder emphasised the importance of combining manual effort with the right cleaning tool.

From Skive to Vikan

After the Second World War, A.P. Pedersen’s two sons, Gunnar and Carl Wilhelm, began exporting their brushes internationally. However, the name “Skive Børstefabrik” did not resonate well internationally. It was difficult to pronounce, write and remember. The old slogan “Vi kan”, abandoned for many years, resurfaced as a new name for the company.

Vikan is still convinced that optimal cleaning is based on a combination of skilled staff, quality tools and innovative detergents. That’s why Pollet and Vikan have joined forces to offer their customers global cleaning solutions, combining cleaning methods, equipment and products.

An innovative approach

Right from the start, founder A.P. Pedersen took an interest in the dairies around his workshop. At the time, they used a lot of brushes. He was therefore convinced that this could be a profitable market for his company.

But to do so, he had to understand how these brushes were used. So he went there, observed and talked to the milk producers.

Back in his workshop, the Dane developed different models likely to appeal to dairy workers. He then sent them to neighbouring dairies to be tested.

Since then, Vikan has never stopped talking to his customers to develop products that meet their specific needs in terms of hygiene and cleanliness.

Discover all the Vikan products

A pioneer in food hygiene

Far from the synthetic materials used today, the first brushes to leave Vikan’s workshops were made from natural materials. Wood and natural fibres such as horsehair and boar bristles formed the basis of Vikan products.

It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that plastic made its first appearance in the Danish factory’s workshops.

But everything changed in the early 1970s, when a scientific study showed that the cold rooms in a Danish slaughterhouse contained more bacteria after cleaning than before. Whereas the durability of tools had been the major concern of users, the industry’s attention was now focused on the ability of tools to clean hygienically.

Throughout its history, Vikan has always questioned the materials used, in order to provide its customers with tools that are durable, efficient and, above all, safe. By abandoning staples and resin, for example, and using fully moulded fibres, the UST range has removed two potential contaminants from the equation.