HISTORY
It all began more than 100 years ago in an elegant building on Flakhaven in the center of Odense. The founder was the energetic and temperamental P. A. Kruuse, who for more than 40 years helped shape business and social life in Odense.
The roots of the veterinary company Jørgen Kruuse A/S can be traced back to the happy 90s. In 1896, cand.pharm. Peder Abraham Kruuse took over Odense Materialforretning, which was located on Flakhaven in the center of Odense. The business remained at this address until P.A. Kruuse's death in 1940 - and beyond.
P.A. Kruuse could offer customers everything from self-made powders, bandages and nursing supplies to wines, perfumes and chocolate confectionery, also of his own manufacture. The chocolate was so well known that it was not uncommon for people to order chocolate if they were traveling via Odense by train - when the train arrived, the chocolate was delivered by courier.
Before the First World War, P.A. Kruuse experienced strong growth, which continued after the war, albeit at a lower level. By 1930, the business included a materials department, a chocolate department, a nursing department, a perfume department and a wine department.
Already early on, P.A. Kruuse sold veterinary products from the shop on Flakhaven, such as stopping powder for cows and horses, C+C (chalk and oak bark), C+C+C (chalk, oak bark and coal), salt powder, paraffin oil, needles and syringes. In 1926, P.A. Kruuse decided to focus on the veterinary field by expanding the wholesale trade and cooperation with veterinarians. This developed in 1939, when P.A. Kruuse established a new company that would become the foundation of the current veterinary company. The new company was called Jørgen Kruuse A/S and was founded on March 24, 1939. However, it was not until 1951 that the board of directors decided to focus exclusively on veterinarians - until then, sales to merchants had been maintained.
The time in Hjallese
Peer Kruuse took over his father's company in the early 1950s. It was a long and tough fight for survival. But in the end, the company had to move to larger facilities.
In 1952, the company's salesman of 25 years decided to leave KRUUSE and start a competitor, which meant fierce competition. Customers split in two and KRUUSE almost closed down in 1952-1953. However, the company emerged from the crisis already in 1954 - not completely solved, but the company was thriving. Things went so well that in 1967 the company expanded and moved to Marslev.
The early days in Marslev
The "relocation" to Marslev meant the start of a time when things moved fast: new buildings, new business connections, new products and new ideas. And last but not least, a sharp increase in turnover.
A creative collaboration begins
In 1973, the collaboration with designer Peter Marschall began. This brought more creativity to the company and has led to many products, including the dog collar, which today is one of the company's main items.
Until the early 1970s, the most commonly used products were ordinary plastic buckets with holes cut in them or large cardboard disks. But Peter Marschall had invented a dog collar because his own dog had bad ears and needed to avoid bothering them. Marschall first tried to sell his dog collar himself, but later partnered with KRUUSE.
It took a year to get the final version ready and it was now ready to be shown at the SIMA agricultural exhibition in Paris by Peer Kruuse and Peter Marschall. On the German highway on the way to France, Marschall had the idea to buy a toy dog, which was named Buster. Marschall strapped the dog collar around Buster's neck and walked him around the show.
In the 1990s, Peter Marschall further developed the dog collar with a new fastening system, so today there are two models: "Classic" and "Clic Collar", of which "Classic" is also available in a transparent version. The dog collar became one of the first products in a whole series of products aimed at small animals, named after the toy dog: the Buster series.
Expansions, acquisitions and international travel
After 2 energy crises in Denmark, optimism did not prevail. Despite this, the 1980s were a period of expansion and acquisitions for KRUUSE. Already in 1983, KRUUSE acquired competitor H. Hansen-Salby. The acquisition gave KRUUSE a broader product range.
After a desire to sell pet food, KRUUSE began negotiating with Hill's and in 1985 everything fell into place. The agreement made Denmark one of the first countries to sell Hill's. In addition to the deal with Hill's, 1985 was also the year of the acquisition of the Swedish company AB GL Jacoby, founded in 1860. The journey continued and in the late 1980s, KRUUSE took over the Columbus pen, which was a pen for the treatment of mastitis.
After 1990, Jørgen Kruuse A/S really took off. Especially the establishment outside the country's borders and physical expansions in Denmark took center stage. In 1991, Jørgen Kruuse A/S established itself in the United Kingdom when KRUUSE UK was founded. The UK branch was located just outside the city of York in Yorkshire. After several expansions in Denmark, KRUUSE Norge AS was established in 2000. Efforts to bring KRUUSE to the rest of the world continued and still do today.
The KRUUSE book
If you are interested in knowing more about our history, you can read our book here.
