Bent Kromann is not quite like other 88-year-olds. Every week he is still active in the workshop of signage and painting company Nielsen & Kromann, where he has been part of the daily operations since 1961.
- As long as I can and my health holds out, I will continue, says Bent Kromann firmly.
Because Kromann is not only one of Denmark's most experienced and accomplished master painters; he is a living archive of painting and signage traditions.
At the age of 88, he still has the drive and creativity that has been his trademark through six decades as a driving force for the development of the painting and signage profession. What is the secret?
- It's curiosity and the willingness to constantly pay attention, not only to the execution but also to the details, he reflects.
Bent Kromann completed his apprenticeship as a painter in 1956. His journeyman's test secured him the Craftsmen's Association's bronze medal and the Massmann Medal in silver.
After working in Switzerland, Sweden and Germany, he returned home to Denmark, where he joined his father-in-law's business. The sign and painting company Nielsen & Kromann, founded in 1892, has over the decades developed into a modern business with around 50 employees - master painters, journeymen, apprentices and office staff.
Trine Kromann, Bent's daughter and manager of the sign department, explains how the family got into the business:
- The reason my father started working for his father-in-law was that my mother was a trained sign painter. They had both attended high school in Brandbjerg, where they met. You could say it was lucky for my father that he met a woman with a father who had an exciting business. And my grandfather was also happy, because he had no sons.
Bent Kromann
- Bent Kromann was born in 1936 and trained as a painter in 1956.
- Kromann joined the signage and painting company Nielsen & Kromann A/S as a son-in-law in 1961.
- Nielsen & Kromann A/S was founded in 1892 and is one of Denmark's oldest painting companies. The company is a sister company to C. Møllmann & Co. which is part of Håndverksgruppen.
A dedication and expertise that stands out
For decades, Bent Kromann has made his mark on both the company and the industry. All along the way, he has combined new technology with traditional techniques.
Can you tell us about a project that has meant a lot to you?
- Yes, it's the Danish Parliament at Christiansborg, where we carried out a restoration that won a Swedish professional award in 2003, says Kromann proudly. It was the National Association of Master Painters in Sweden that gave us the award for our restoration work.
Nielsen & Kromann has years of experience in restoration and has carried out several major restoration projects such as the Auditorium at Landbohøjskolen, the Hermitage Palace and Dehns Palæ. The company carries out all types of painting techniques and uses materials dating back to the 18th century, including gilding, decorative painting, veining and marbling.
The gilding of the roof of the new opera house on Dokøen in Copenhagen harbor is also one of the restoration projects Kromann remembers particularly well.
- We used 105,000 sheets of 23 3/4 carat gold, which together make up a weight of one and a half kilograms of pure gold. We did this together with our sister company, the painting company C. Møllmann & Co.
Trine Kromann adds that there is one thing in particular that her father has been known for in the city of beautiful towers:
- It's that he has the vast knowledge of painting techniques. And so, when restoration projects arise, people have often leaned on him when it comes to knowledge.
Trine points to the restoration of the iconic Pantomime Theatre in Tivoli as an example of her father's thoroughness and precision in his craft:
- There they had no colors registered on how it was painted from the old days. All they knew was that it had been painted with oil paint. And oil paint gets darker and darker over the years. So you couldn't just take color samples from the building, because it had become completely dark.
The solution was to do research to find out which colors were used originally. And Kromann and his team succeeded.
Trine Kromann
Old traditions meet new technologies
In a rapidly evolving industry, Nielsen & Kromann has never been afraid to invest in and adopt new methods. In fact, it was they who introduced the technique of screen printing in Denmark.
Bent Kromann's father-in-law once traveled to England to learn screen printing. He brought the technique back to the business, which gave the company considerable expertise - not only in building painting, but also in signage development.
Trine Kromann sees it as one of her father's strengths that he has always been open and curious about new ways of doing things:
- He's always kept up with developments and invested in new solutions. For example, we used technology to scan old drawings, enlarge them and use them as templates.
The big picture is most important
Many years have passed since Nielsen & Kromann only painted with glue paint, oil paint and painted lettering with a writing brush. Today, the company still masters these techniques, but also uses computers, paints with plastic paint and prints on large rolls of foil and paper. As a result, the work and requirements for both sign technicians and painters have changed a lot.
However, there is one thing that will never change for Nielsen & Kromann: The importance of always doing good groundwork. It's something the old master painter has instilled in both the company culture and his own daughter.
Trine Kromann notes that using sandpaper is one of the most important things she learned from her father:
- When I started out, it was very important that you sanded properly to get a beautiful result. Now, we may not sand as much, but the preparatory work still needs to be thorough, she says.
Over the years, Nielsen & Kromann has managed to maintain its position as a total supplier in the painting and signage industry. The company prides itself on solving all kinds of tasks, from the old traditional techniques to the latest digital techniques (or a combination of these).
For Bent Kromann and the rest of the company, the use of traditional and modern techniques has never been a question of either/or.
- It's the whole that counts. You must combine traditions with modern technologies to create something unique, he points out.
No plans to scale down
The painting department at Nielsen & Kromann is currently led by master painters Johnny Langhoff Basse and Henrik Lundberg. The signage department is led by Trine Kromann (fourth generation) and Anette Jensen, as well as a team of professionally trained employees. Even though new people have joined the company, the values that Bent Kromann has built up over the years are still strong. The requirement to always deliver high quality is deeply rooted in the company's culture.
- I think it's curiosity and the willingness to constantly pay attention, not only to the execution, but also to the details. Yes, and training your employees, right? And the fact that customers make demands, and those demands must be met. That adds value.
With a career spanning six decades, Kromann is a craftsman who has painted himself into the architectural history of Copenhagen. His professional thoroughness, curiosity and passion for the craft of signage and painting are an inspiration to future generations, both inside and outside the company.
- People have gradually accepted that you can work past the age of 65, he says with a twinkle in his eye. As long as I can and my health holds out, I want to continue. But it can suddenly stop. So, I continue as long as I can.
