You are the only sales rep for Greenland: What do you like about it in particular? What are the challenges of working in Greenland?

Yes, I cover Greenland from south to north—an island measuring around 3,000 km in length, but with a total population of just 58,000 people or so. One of the advantages is that I never have any fights with my colleagues here. There are none! And my dear Boss, Jon Ovi, is 3,500 km away, so we only see each other four times a year. I absolutely love the fact that we do not have any problems here—just challenges to solve!

Somehow it is nice to know that there is a huge international organization behind our “lone wolf” operation. And maybe, one day, some colleagues from other countries will drop by and taste our Greenlandic polar sea shrimp, or even better, join my family and me on a fishing trip. I can guarantee that there will be fresh fish for dinner that day…

Maybe you have experienced something special in Greenland. Is there any story that has remained in your memory?

Before we moved up here from Denmark, I called a potential customer and asked the fine gentleman, Jacob from Biludlejning.gl, a car rental company in Nuuk: “How are things over there, would it be ok if I pass by in around 3 weeks from now after moving to Greenland for a chat about our Würth products?” Jakob answered: “Claus, if are going to live here, you have to learn that we do not make any appointments 3 weeks in advance. There might be whales in the fjord or reindeers in the mountains, and that would be more important.”

3 weeks later, I called the same gentleman again and asked him: “Jacob, you told me it was not possible to make an appointment 3 weeks out, now I am just around the corner with my boss Jon, how is it for you in 3 minutes?” Jacob said: “I just turned on the coffee machine, feel free to swing by now.” Another issue I can’t forget: the average price for a cucumber here is around EUR 4.50!!!

You moved from Denmark to Greenland…

I am living here with my dear wife Elena, our daughter Irina (12 years old), our good dog Max, and our good old cat Hairy, who first moved with us from Kuwait to Denmark. Now in her old age, she made another jump up here to this island paradise, Greenland.

How many customers do you serve in Greenland?

We have around 200 companies in our portfolio here in Greenland, but not all of them are active (yet).

Which products do you sell most frequently?

I mostly selling tools, screws, bolts, and other types of “hardware,” along with chemical products like brake cleaner, and, believe or not, a snow scraper for car and truck windows from time to time. The “Würth” brand stands for quality here on the biggest island in the world!

How often do you visit your customers in Greenland?

I see some of my customers almost every day (e.g., on the construction site of the new international airport here in Nuuk) — or, if customer is located somewhere on the coast, maybe once or twice per year.

How do you reach your customers?

Here in the “capital” Nuuk, we have a total of approx. 100 km of real roads, but it is not possible to drive to the next “city” (Maniitsoq) or to any other villages or towns. The normal means of transport around here is boat or air plane. If, however, I have to visit our customer Permagreen (a construction company) at their facility in Qaqortoq (which is pronounced more or less like “crack-a-duck”), I normally fly south for around 1 hour to Narsarsuaq in a “normal” air plane. From there, I change to either a motor boat or a helicopter for either a 1.5-hour boat ride or a 30-minute helicopter ride.

What are the temperatures there in winter and summer?

Here in Nuuk, where I am stationed and living with my wife Elena (from Russia) and our youngest daughter Irina (proof of Danish/Russian co-operation), we can have more than 5 summer days above 12° Celsius (but not necessarily every year). In the winter, it does not normally drop below –20° Celsius. But in some places we cover up north, the temperature can easily reach –40° Celsius.

Are the corona restrictions also felt in Greenland?

So far, we have actually only had 19 cases of corona. And to keep it that way, we have very strict travel restrictions from outside Greenland. Recently, our chief medical officer asked everybody to avoid travelling outside of Greenland for Christmas and New Year’s. Is it a bit tough? Yes. But at least I am pretty sure that we will get a white X-mas. And since my name is Claus, I definitely need to be ready for Christmas Eve on 24 December: ho, ho, hoooooooooo!!! Please remember, Santa Claus IS from Greenland, and not Canada, Alaska, Norway, or Russia! (Note: The interview was held in December 2020)