Viking Magazine - May 2022 - 26

" Throughout the years, there
have been a lot of companies and
delegations from Norway that
asked for help, " says Britt de Lange
Ardakani, director of business
outreach for BARN. " We thought,
'OK, let's sit down and create a
business plan and program that
will actually help companies get
established in the U.S.' "
That's how BARN came to
fruition in the spring of 2020,
attracting Norwegian businesses
with the core purpose of
providing support, mentorship
and introductions to springboard
success in the U.S. When a
company joins BARN-through an
application process that includes
interviews and a small fee-it also
becomes a business member of
Norway House, and it receives
access to a national network
of mentors with contacts in all
major industries, plus a homebase
complete with business and meeting
space in Minnesota, which boasts
one of the largest populations of
Norwegians in the U.S.
" Minnesota has a nurturing
environment that is quite supportive
Sylvsmidja
of these kinds of programs. We
also have a highly-educated
workforce and a natural affinity fo
the Scandinavian countries that
make it appropriate for a program
like BARN to be set up here, " says
Dale Wahlstrom, a BARN mentor
with decades of experience in the
medical technology field, including
time spent at Medtronic. " Our
mission at BARN is to help the
company be successful, and we can
support them beyond Minnesota
because we have a group of people
who have been in these industries
for 20, 30, 40 years, and they have a
large Rolodex. "
Wahlstrom leveraged that
network when EpiGuard joined
BARN as the program's pilot
business in 2020. A group of
doctors from Oslo University
Hospital-along with industrial
partners Hansen Protection and
Eker Group-was inspired to start
EpiGuard in 2015 after a Norwegian
physician on a Doctors Without
Borders mission to Sierra Leone
contracted Ebola. At the time, there
wasn't a safe way to transport her
while efficientl protecting the
health care professionals from the
infectious disease. That's when the
idea for the EpiShuttle was born.
An isolation pod for infectious
and vulnerable patients, the
EpiShuttle features negative and
positive pressure modes, multiple
access ports and an airtight seal,
giving doctors the ability to treat
ailments like burns, poisoning,
Ebola and, most recently, COVID-
even without personal protective
equipment.
EpiShuttle has been sold in 30
countries around the globe, but
with only one distributor in the U.S.,
LifePort in Oregon, EpiGuard was
ready for expansion in the American
market.
" [Wahlstrom] guided us in our
planning of FDA approval so that
we can take control over the U.S.
26
May
2022
market in the future, " says Ellen
Andersen, the CEO of EpiGuard.
" We're still in the planning phase,
but it was really good to get this
attention and this feedback, to have
the opportunity to test our thoughts
and theories. "
Trond Syversen, the CEO of
Sylvsmidja-which was the second
company to join BARN-agrees,
noting that the program has helped
them connect with NorweigianAttåtnæring
American
organizations, navigate
the American business culture
and copyrights, in addition to
connecting them with retailers
and customers though exhibitions,
markets and even producing a
special Syttende Mai pin for Sons of
Norway.
" When we were finally able
to enter the U.S. [when COVID
travel restrictions were lifted], we
experienced the most important
part of BARN, " he says. " We came
over to Norway House for the first
time, and it was like coming into a
safe haven. "
" We have a home in America, "
adds Salbu. " We feel that we belong
both at Norway House and BARN. "
PRIMED FOR EXPANSION
Aside from EpiGuard and
Sylvsmidja, the BARN program
supports seven other Norwegian
businesses looking to make the
leap across the pond, ranging
from organic food producer
sonsofnorway.com
COURTESY SYLVSMIDJA, ATTÅTNÆRING
PHOTOS
http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - May 2022

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