The company provides hydraulic services of good quality and at competitive prices, and has 30 motivated and highly qualified employees.
However, the start-up was a little more modest.
–In the beginning we were four founders in a small boathouse in Håkonshella. After a year and a half, we recruited our first three employees, and since then we have gradually grown to the size we are today. Our customer base has been stable and good all the way, and we still serve many of our first customers, says general manager Åshild Østerbø.
Strategically located in the middle of the trail
HyCom has long since grown out of the boathouse where it all started, but the address is still the same. In Håkonshella, a stone’s throw from the square where Håkon the Good was born in 920 and died after the battle of Fitjar in 960, the company is centrally located in the middle of the trail between Ågotnes, Mongstad, Hanøytangen, Bergen center, Haakonsvern and Flesland.
– Our location was a strategic choice right from the start. From here it is a short way out to all these important industrial areas and ports, and with a quay with good depth as part of our facility, we can also take in the smallest boats for service.
– When it comes to our growth, we have gradually reached the size that is right for us. Today, we do not focus on further growth, but on delivering solid and competitive services to an exciting and varied customer base. We do not take on larger jobs than we know we can vouch for, and through our hotline we are available 24/7, says Åshild.
She says that there are always telephones outside the fixed working hours.
- It can be anything from a smoked hose on a tractor to a call to the North Sea. When the hydraulics stop, everything stops, so emergency calls at short notice are part of the job, she says.
ISO 45001 certification
The calendar for 2022 includes the ISO 45001 certification for the working environment. This is a standard for a safe working environment, and applies across all industries. The certification requires companies to identify hazards and assess risks within their activities and service spectrum, and the advantage of the certification is better controls and the ability to document improvements within the work environment.
– We are in the start phase of this work right now, and aim to have completed the certification by the end of the year, says quality manager Birthe Østerbø.
– The ISO 45001 certification is a natural continuation of the 9001 and 14001 certificates for which HyCom has previously been certified. Quality, external environment and working environment are in many ways three sides of the same coin. HyCom should be a good place to work. We will be a supplier with quality at all levels and with a minimal environmental footprint. This is important vis-à-vis our employees, and it is important for our customers, she says.
Offshore and land-based industry
Our customers are represented in a wide range of offshore and onshore industries. Oil service companies, the fishing fleet, agriculture, the power industry, the Armed Forces, the food industry and the shipping companies - the list of industries that use HyCom for testing, maintenance, repairs and recertifications is long, she says.
– However, they all have one thing in common: They are concerned about the quality of their suppliers, and not least that we can document this quality. That is why ISO certification is important to us, Birthe states.
She has also registered a positive change among customers in recent years.
Good service is the key to safe operation
– As we experience it, the focus on good maintenance and as much reuse as possible has increased in recent years. This is reflected in many of our customers. We are not only called when something has broken down. We are more and more often in as an adviser in an earlier phase, and help them to avoid things breaking down, she says.
– Good service is the key to safe operation without unforeseen downtime, Åshild and Birthe conclude in chorus.