Icelandic company Marorka, a producer of energy management systems, was elected the winner of the 2008 Nordic Council’s Nature and Environmental Prize earlier this month. The prize of DKK 350,000 (USD 58,000, EUR 47,000) will be granted to Marorka’s representatives during the current Session of the Nordic Council in Helsinki.
“I am extremely proud and did not at all expect to receive this award,” said Jón Ágúst Thorsteinsson, managing director of Marorka. The award is granted for the development of computer systems aimed at minimizing oil usage and so reducing pollution and fuel costs, as stated in the October 2008 newsletter of the Federation of Icelandic Industries (SI).
Marorka was founded in 2002, but Thorsteinsson has worked on the development of the energy management systems since 1995. “With good employees, support of the [Ministry of Industry’s] Technological Development Fund, the New Business Venture Fund, the Ministry of Fisheries and Nordic sponsorships, we have made great achievements,” Thorsteinsson said.
With its energy management systems, Marorka has enabled fishing companies to save a considerable amount of money in the form of reduced fuel costs, but according to Thorsteinsson, the company’s primary objective is to reduce pollution.
Marorka is a growing company with 17 employees in Iceland and operations in Norway and Denmark. The company also has a representative in Greece and a solid network of partner companies.
“We have had our downswings and are going to have to see how we will manage this winter, but our future is extremely bright,” Thorsteinsson stated, adding, “Marorka has proven its worth, it has become well-known in the Nordic countries.”
