When Villum Kann Rasmussen graduated as an engineer from the Polytechnic Institute in Copenhagen in February 1932, it was in the middle of a time of crisis. Finding jobs was difficult, even for engineers. He therefore had to settle for a modest job with his old student advisor at the Laboratory for Construction Engineering. The work mainly consisted of making working drawings from other engineers' sketches. It was not satisfactory, but already in April 1932 a new opportunity arose. Villum Kann Rasmussen was offered a position as technical manager of a new department for skylights and glass roofs at the company Edvard Storr. However, bringing home orders was not easy. When visiting customers, Villum Kann Rasmussen had to cycle up to 70 km a day, but he settled well in the job and was successful. His salary increased and a bonus of 10% of the department's profits meant that by 1937, he could afford to buy a car.
Employees at Edvard Storr (1932)
New job and an uncertain future
However, the outbreak of the Second World War led to internal disagreements with Edvard Storr. Villum Kann Rasmussen wanted the company to prepare for a situation with a lack of supplies by buying large inventories. The rest of the management was strongly opposed to this because in the years after the First World War, the company had suffered significant losses writing off their stock.
Younger forces were also about to take over the family business, and the generational change did not seem to leave Villum Kann Rasmussen much leeway. He decided to look for another job and in January 1940 was employed as head of the department for production and sales at the machine factory Vølund, which employed around 500 employees.
Due to the war and the rationing of petrol, the car had to be parked in the garage, and the bicycle was pulled out again. The harsh icy winter of 1940-41, with long bicycle rides of 20 km daily, did not help his mood, and Villum Kann Rasmussen never settled into his new job either, which he himself later expressed: "...Vølund seemed completely different, I never really learned how to manage myself in the company, and eventually I came to the conclusion that I wanted to quit, but quitting under the circumstances, when you have a wife and children, was not particularly appealing…”.
As it turned out, the management at Vølund were also not satisfied with the collaboration, so when Villum Kann Rasmussen decided to hand in his resignation, there was a dismissal notice waiting for him: "...now I had become unemployed, and I was free to get started, and so I did…”, he noted.
KR in the rented premises in Copenhagen where he set up his business (1941).
A self-employed engineer
Forced by the circumstances, Villum Kann Rasmussen took courage. On 1 April 1941, he established the company V. Kann Rasmussen & Co in some rented premises in Copenhagen. It was actually a consulting one-man company specializing in glass roofs and skylight constructions. The first contract was signed with FDB on 4 April for the delivery of a 900 m² glass roof to the flax mill in Viby near Aarhus.
When starting the company, Villum Kann Rasmussen was assisted by his former fellow student Cornelius Hansen. The two had already entered into a collaboration in August 1940 on the development and marketing of so-called "Swing motors" for wind turbines. However, the company “Dansk Vindmotor Fabrik” was registered in the Trade Register with Cornelius Hansen as the sole owner and responsible, because Villum Kann Rasmussen could not officially be the owner due to the job at Vølund. The windmills were never a success, however, and the company was dissolved again in 1945.
Diligence can replace many brilliant things
In the meantime, the two fellow students had embarked on other projects. This included a sports hall in Høng with a glass roof, and some new wooden and metal skylights to be delivered on request for two school renovations in Zealand. The new roof windows, or skylights as they were called, were delivered in the spring of 1942 and were named VELUX.
However, the two partners broke off their collaboration, so Villum Kann Rasmussen had to carry on the work himself during an uncertain time. It took several years for the results to come to fruition, but the VELUX area was what eventually turned the small company into a large international company group. When Villum Kann Rasmussen was asked about his success, he placed particular emphasis on tenacity, innovation and good business partners as the key elements: "Diligence can replace many brilliant things. If you are diligent enough, chances will come. If you add to this original ideas, ambition for quality and committed employees, then you are well on your way".
