To mark K2’s fifth anniversary, we invited Leif Arne Strømmen, CEO at K2, and Klaus Strahmann, Co-CEO at deugro, to reflect on K2’s journey since 2021.
Their conversation highlights the role of collaboration, client focus and teamwork in K2’s development, as well as the close cooperation between K2 and deugro that has supported the company’s growth over the past five years. Looking ahead, they also share their perspectives on future opportunities and continued collaboration.
1. K2 celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. From your perspective, what has been the key to its successful growth in such a dynamic industry?
LA: The business idea was simple: to establish the leading project freight forwarding company in Norway, combining strong technical and commercial expertise with a flat, hands-on organization. This structure has enabled us to offer the flexibility and personalized service that larger organizations may find more difficult to provide.
Our slogan, “Large enough to handle – small enough to care,” has been with us from day one. Since our founding in 2021, we have gradually added more experienced colleagues while also working systematically with universities. Through internships, recruitment, and talent development, we have built a healthy, diverse team in terms of age, experience, and forward-thinking perspectives.
Being part of the global deugro network has also been instrumental to our success. It has helped us build trust with our clients and enabled us to handle projects and project shipments end to end, worldwide.
KS: At deugro, we have always firmly believed that combining the best people in Norway with our global presence would create a strong foundation for success.
From day one, the K2 team was an integral part of the deugro ecosystem, and the chemistry between the organizations was right from the start. We were also honored by the tremendous trust placed in us by Norwegian clients, which has been an important driver of K2’s development.
That trust creates a responsibility to continuously deliver, improve, and find intelligent solutions. Combined with K2’s local expertise and deugro’s global reach, it has created a strong platform for sustainable growth.
2. While K2 and deugro each have their own identity, the collaboration between both organizations has become a real strength. What makes this relationship so valuable for clients?
LA: As mentioned, the collaboration with deugro was instrumental from the very beginning. Access to a global network offering end-to-end logistics solutions was key to building the trust and capacity needed to support large clients and complex projects within the oil and gas and renewable energy sectors.
deugro is a leading specialized niche player in the global project logistics market, with a strong hands-on mentality that aligns very well with our own approach and slogan. Compared to larger organizations in our industry, where project logistics can sometimes be a marginal business competing internally with other verticals and solutions, it is extremely valuable to work with a global network that truly understands our business and operates with a flat, practical organizational structure. Through deugro, we can support our clients worldwide in a highly efficient manner, while maintaining the close, responsive service that defines K2.
KS: From the very beginning, it felt as though K2 had always been part of the deugro family. The K2 team has an in-depth understanding of the requirements and expectations of Norwegian clients, while the broader deugro ecosystem brings a global network, expertise, and resources. Combining these strengths allows us to develop solutions that are both locally informed and globally coordinated.
For clients, this means they can work with a team that understands their local requirements while also having access to international capabilities and end-to-end logistics solutions.
3. The project logistics industry continues to evolve rapidly. What role has K2 played in strengthening the capabilities of deugro?
LA: From my perspective, K2 has given deugro a strong on-the-ground presence in the Norwegian market. This has opened up new opportunities for various deugro offices to handle shipments and projects to and from Norway in a way that was not possible before K2.
In addition, I believe K2 brings valuable experience and skill sets that can be further shared and developed within the wider deugro organization, strengthening capabilities across the network.
KS: We are proud to have established a strong and highly professional presence in the Norwegian market through K2. Norwegian project clients are global players themselves, making them an excellent fit within our worldwide network. K2 provides deugro with a strong local platform from which to support these important relationships.
There is also a highly valuable exchange of skills and expertise between K2 and numerous deugro offices around the globe. For us, Norway is a strategic market, and our goal is always to be number one. I believe we can already say today that K2 has set new benchmarks in Norway and will continue to do so in the future.
4. In today’s market, successful partnerships are built on more than expertise. What do you believe has made the collaboration between K2 and deugro so successful?
LA: Again, it all comes down to people. Project logistics is a people business, and this is equally true for the relationship between deugro and K2. From the moment the idea of establishing K2 first emerged, Thomas, Klaus, Simon, and Matias were very supportive.
Over time, we have built a strong relationship at management level between deugro and K2. We have also developed excellent collaboration with several deugro offices worldwide, which has helped us serve our clients effectively and create new business opportunities.
KS: We share the same hands-on mentality, which is a key reason why the collaboration works so well. We are always prepared to work together on solutions for our clients, bringing together different skill sets, cultures, and perspectives rather than operating in silos.
The K2 management team has consistently provided us with its full support, enabling us to respond to growth opportunities and future challenges in a professional and forward-looking manner. This combination of trust, accessibility, and shared responsibility creates an environment in which decisions can be made quickly, and solutions can be developed efficiently.
5. Looking ahead, what opportunities do you see for K2 and deugro to continue shaping the future of project logistics together?
LA:A key priority for K2 is to further develop our business and diversify our client base, while also expanding into industry segments such as power and renewables, carbon capture and storage, the maritime industry, and aquaculture.
At the same time, we aim to strengthen and further diversify our position within oil and gas. With our combined efforts and skill sets, supported by strong transport engineering capabilities in Norway and abroad, there are many opportunities for both companies to support each other’s continued development, innovation, and growth.
KS:The world is changing at an incredible pace, geopolitically and therefore also within the project logistics industry. As a result, there are several strategic initiatives that we are pursuing together with K2. These include diversification into different industry verticals and further specialization within those industries, particularly in technically and logistically complex solutions.
