We power the infrastructure of global trade, built on family values and future-ready leadership
Who we are
A Global Group, Rooted in Family Ownership
Founded in 1876 on the Danish coast, USTC has grown from a local shipbroker to a global group spanning six industries and more than 4,300 employees worldwide. With activities across bunkering, shipping, logistics, IT services, sustainable energy, and risk management, we are united by a shared commitment to move global trade forward.
At the heart of it all is family ownership, empowering long-term decision-making, stability, and a values-driven culture. USTC is privately held by the Østergaard family through the parent company Selfinvest, ensuring continuity across generations.
The Group is owned and led by Torben Østergaard-Nielsen, Nina Østergaard, and Mia Østergaard Rechnitzer, who are actively involved in shaping the long-term direction of USTC and its companies.
Our operations
Individually strong, collectively USTC
The USTC Group is made up of seven strong, independently managed companies, each excelling in its industry, each grounded in the stability and values of our family ownership.
This business model gives our companies the freedom to lead and grow while standing on a shared foundation of long-term thinking, business acumen, and responsible leadership. From marine fuel and tanker shipping to logistics, IT, and sustainable energy, the diversity of our activities is matched by the consistency of our ownership approach.
Each company is different. What connects them is how they are backed and the principles we carry forward together.
- Bunker Holding – World leader in marine fuel and lubricant solutions.
- Global Risk Management – Risk hedging and fuel price management.
- SDK FREJA – Integrated logistics across road, sea, and air.
- Uni-Tankers – Specialist in chemical and product tanker shipping.
- Unit IT – Providing secure and future-proof digital solutions.
- CM Biomass – Accelerating the green transition through biomass trading.
- Selected Car Group – Premium car leasing, sales and services.
Our Heritage
From a Danish Shipbroker to a Global Conglomerate
Our story began in 1876 on the Danish coast, in the town of Middelfart, with a modest shipbroking company. Nearly a century later, in the early 1980s, Torben Østergaard-Nielsen became Managing Director and saw potential far beyond the horizon.
Torben pioneered a new, independent model for bunker trading, laying the foundation for what is today Bunker Holding, the world’s largest bunker trading company.
Over the next four decades, Torben expanded the business through strategic ownership and organic growth. What began as one company is now a global group of eight independently managed businesses.
USTC Ownership today
Stewardship Across Generations
USTC is, and will remain, a family-owned group, actively led by the Østergaard-Nielsen family.
In 2020, ownership transitioned to the next generation, with Torben’s daughters Nina Østergaard Borris and Mia Østergaard Rechnitzer becoming co-owners.
In 2022, Nina was appointed CEO of USTC, taking over operational leadership of the Group while Mia became Chief Governance Officer, plays a leading role in the Group’s ESG and governance agenda. Torben remains active as Working Chairman of the Board, guiding strategy and growth.
The transition reflects a carefully planned succession and a commitment to long-term stewardship. All three family members are actively involved across governance boards, ownership strategy, and day-to-day development, ensuring continuity of values, vision, and leadership.
Words from our CEO
As the industries we operate in continue to become more complex and demanding, USTC too, must continue to evolve to provide the right leadership and support in serving our stakeholders to the best of our abilities across every industry we are involved in.
Nina Østergaard Borris, CEO of USTC and co-owner
Our Values
The foundation of how we lead, grow, and support our industries
Our values are not a set of rules or ambitions, they are part of how we think and operate across the entire USTC Group. Carried through decades of family ownership, they shape how we make decisions, how we lead our people, and how we engage with the world around us.
- Business Acumen
We are commercially minded, long-term in our thinking, and pragmatic in execution. - Leadership
We believe leadership is something you show, not something you state. - Decency
We treat people right. It’s how trust is built, and how it lasts.
