The beginning

Mads’ parents, Helle and Per Hansen, laid the foundation for WoodUpp by establishing PVH Production in 1991 in Ribe, Denmark. Mads, quite literally, was born into the world of veneer production, growing up in a small apartment within the factory premises. While balancing the creation of a family and a business, Helle and Per embarked on a journey to produce wooden surfaces for the furniture industry.

Today, PVH Production is a vital part of WoodUpp – it’s the factory that produces our Akupanels.

WoodUpp is founded

WoodUpp was founded as a school project. Mads was studying marketing management, and at the end it was mandatory to do an internship. If you had a company, you were allowed to do the internship in your own company – so Mads was quick to found a brand new company; WoodUpp.

Mads’ idea was straightforward: He wanted to create a product that he could produce at his father’s company (PVH) and sell directly to the end consumer via his e-commerce store. And so he did. His first product was a simple wall panel that you would fix on the wall.

The wall panels was not an immediate success, and the business didn’t generate enough revenue for Mads to pay himself a salary. Luckily, Mads got a job in the administration at his father’s company, which meant that he could work part time at PVH while building WoodUpp on the side.

The beginning of Woodupp was slow. Not much happened until one day, Mads got a new idea that would change everything.

Mads invented the Akupanel

Mads and his father invented the Akupanel in 2018. They spotted the slatwall trend in public buildings, but they saw a need for an out-of-the-box product, that ordinary people could install in their home without help from a carpenter. And thus, the Akupanel was born.

The first batch of Akupanels was produced and on a Friday. The same day, Mads added the product to the webshop and posted an image on Instagram. By Monday morning they we’re all sold out. Finally, WoodUpp had a breakthrough and the company started to grow.

Building a company

By 2019 Mads was so busy, that he couldn’t keep up. So he decided to bring on new partners, Mikkel (right) and Troels (left), and they also hire the first employees. At the end of the year 5 people are working full time in WoodUpp.

Furthermore, our first two international departments were started in the UK and Holland. The international expansion had begun.

Generational switch – Mads aquires his fathers factory

By 2021, Mads (and WoodUpp) is now his father’s (Per Vesterby, on the left) biggest customer and WoodUpp accounts for 95% of PVH’s production capacity. Per and Mads agreed that it was time for a generational switch.

With help from investors, Mads and his partners aquires PVH Production and Steffen Silberbauer (to the right) becomes partner and CFO of WoodUpp. And luckily, Mads convinces his father to stay in the company as Head of Production.

Best New Company, 2022

WoodUpp is now present in more than 14 countries across Europe and North America. At the end of 2022 more than 100 people are working in WoodUpp if you include the employees in the WoodUpp departments that are owned by our partners.

It’s a great year for WoodUpp as we win the award “Best New Company” in our region in Denmark.

A new vision for WoodUpp

In 2023 Mads presents a new vision for WoodUpp. He sees a future in which WoodUpp is more than just a manufacturer of Akupanels – he envisions WoodUpp as a global lifestyle brand, that enables people to create great spaces for themselves and the people they care about:

We help people create great spaces through our Nordic Designs. Our products enhance the way rooms sound and look, making a positive difference in people’s lives.