How about a story of engineering ingenuity and global impact. That’s the story of Ramboll. Ramboll Group A/S is a Danish multinational architecture, engineering, and consulting company.
Ramboll’s story began in Copenhagen in 1945. Two engineers Børge Johannes Rambøll and Johan Georg Hannemann founded Ramboll. They were motivated to rebuild after World War II.
One of Ramboll’s first projects was a ferris wheel for Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens. In 1950, Ramboll built Denmark’s first giant radio transmission mast. It weighed only 28 tonnes despite its 142m length. That was 12 tonnes lighter than competing designs. It used 30 percent less steel.
The company secured contracts to erect broadcast towers across Denmark and Norway. This led to work on high-tension-line towers for power plants. By 1960, Ramboll had 30 employees. By the end of the decade, that number grew to 170. Ramboll expanded into incineration plants and waste management projects. The company started engineering future-proof buildings. One example is the 16-storey National Hospital in Copenhagen. It opened in 1970.
In 1972, ownership transferred to an employee-controlled foundation. All profits were used for Ramboll’s development. This safeguarded its future and benefited employees, clients, and communities. By this time, Ramboll had offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus. A branch office opened in Oslo in 1976. During the 1980s, Børge Rambøll formulated the Ramboll Philosophy. It has since served as the basis for the organisation’s values.
In 1991, Ramboll merged with B. Højlund Rasmussen A/S. The combined entity traded as Rambøll, Hannemann & Højlund. In the mid 1990s, the name was shortened to Ramboll. Ramboll used digital tools for a railway electrification scheme. It covered 350 km of tracks and 20,000 steel masts. This was one of Ramboll’s landmark projects.
In 2003, Ramboll merged with Scandiaconsult. The resulting company was the largest consulting engineering firm in the Nordic region. Around this time, Danish ceased to be the corporate language. International operations took hold.
Since then, Ramboll has grown internationally. In 2006, it acquired Storvik & Co. In 2007, Ramboll bought Whitbybird. In 2008, Ramboll strengthened its presence in India by acquiring ImIsoft. In 2011, Ramboll bought Gifford. Also in 2011, Ramboll acquired the power engineering section of DONG Energy. In 2014, Ramboll acquired ENVIRON. In 2018, Ramboll acquired OBG. In 2019, Ramboll acquired Henning Larsen Architects. In 2023, Ramboll acquired civity Management Consultants. In 2024, Ramboll acquired K2 Management.
Today, Ramboll has offices in more than 35 countries. It has more than 18,000 employees. Ramboll’s main work is in buildings, transport, energy, environment and health, water, management consulting, and architecture and landscape.
Almost all shares in Ramboll Group A/S are owned by the Ramboll Foundation. The remainder are owned by Ramboll employees and Ramboll Group A/S.
Ramboll has been involved in many large-scale projects. These include the Oresund Bridge connecting Copenhagen and Malmö. Ramboll was also the leading engineer on the new Royal Danish Opera. It also was the structural engineer for the new Tate Modern extension in London. Ramboll is working on projects linking the infrastructure of the Nordic countries. These include the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link.
From its humble beginnings to its current global presence, Ramboll exemplifies Danish ingenuity. It shows a commitment to sustainable solutions. Ramboll continues to shape the world.