When Danfoss acquired Eaton Hydraulics, they wanted to quickly build a sense of community so that the 20,000+ employees spanning several country borders would feel more united.
Danfoss is a large international group with a strong organisation, but when the number of employees doubled following the acquisition of Eaton Hydraulics, Danfoss suddenly faced new challenges.
Danfoss wanted to give all employees a sense of unity to strengthen collaboration across the organisation.
But how to unite more than 20,000 employees across national borders?
A red ID® polo shirt turned out to be the answer.
The red polo shirt was designed to make the 20,000+ employees feel more united, and to create a sense of community. Visually, the polo shirt was meant to indicate that as a Danfoss employee, you were part of a larger community.
Camilla Hyldgaard, Project Manager at Danfoss, says: "When a company is faced with the task of training more than 20,000 employees in the same way for the first time - across national borders - you are bound to come across a few challenges along the way."
Asian and American size charts
Due to the widespread global locations of their new employees, Danfoss quickly faced challenges with clothing sizes and size charts across borders, hence the need to develop American and Asian size charts.
Fortunately, thanks to a close collaboration and the right in-house skills, Danfoss and ID® Identity were able to solve the challenges and a new sizing chart was developed within a short space of time.
Camilla says: "It was new to us to place a global order of this size, so we really appreciated the competent and professional collaboration with ID®. A Private Label solution was the right fit for us and we felt in very safe hands with ID®."
Camilla explains that this was one of the reasons why ID® was chosen when Danfoss had to choose a supplier for the job.
Delivery time, order size and quality were important parameters
On the decision-making process and the choice of supplier, Camilla adds that "It wasn't really a difficult choice. We were already familiar with ID®'s products and knew they were of a high quality." For Danfoss, quality needs to be top notch. It was also crucial to have a supplier that could accommodate the size of the order and the requirement for fast delivery time.
Camilla continues: "ID® met our expectations in terms of delivery time, order size and quality, but the biggest and most significant impact we have had from ID®'s Private Label solution has been the ability to customise as needed."
A Private Label solution gave Danfoss great flexibility and influence. The option to add Danfoss' own logo to the neck label was both a value-add and a way to build community spirit.
Usually, a Private Label order of this size takes 4-5 months to fulfil and deliver, but when Danfoss was under time pressure, ID® exceptionally managed to deliver the order in less than half that time.
Camilla comments: "It was really impressive that we received the order within a couple of months."
Replenishment from stock provides peace of mind
As the number of employees, and thus the need for more red polo shirts, is continuously growing, Danfoss has subsequently chosen to supplement the order from ID®'s regular stock range.
Camilla comments: "Due to a lengthy process where the number of employees has continuously grown, we are delighted to have the opportunity to supplement with products from the warehouse in Holstebro - the fact that we can order extra polo shirts from the warehouse in Holstebro means we get a fast delivery and a certain peace of mind."
Danfoss wanted to use the red polo shirt as a gift for all employees, one that also cemented the company's values and brand identity for each individual employee.
Dressed in red at 100 locations around the world
To celebrate the acquisition of Eaton Hydraulics, a 'Welcome Day' was organised at around 100 locations around the world on the day of the launch. The event featured presentations, speeches and celebrations, and everyone received a red polo shirt.
Danfoss wanted to use the 'Welcome Day' as a way to emphasise that Danfoss and Eaton Hydraulics were now a unified entity and that together they were stronger than ever.
That's why the message of the merger of the two employee groups was 'Stronger Together'.
Danfoss used an internal hashtag for the occasion, where employees could share photos of themselves and their colleagues dressed in the red polo shirts. It was a huge success and hundreds of photos of employees in red polo shirts were uploaded to a shared social wall.
Danfoss uses several ID® resellers for the supply of promotional, workwear and merchandise products. In this project, Danfoss chose to collaborate with ID® reseller Lemvigh-Müller A/S. All three parties worked closely together on the project.
Danfoss red polo shirts create community spirit and cohesion across European, Asian and American borders.
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Report on CSR, cf. Section 99 a" of the Danish Financial Statements Act. 
ID® Responsibility report 2023/2024. View here