The group
A family business that became a group.
Five brands, three generations and 44 years of travel. Ownership has never left the family.
Balslev is a Norwegian travel group based at Rosenholmveien 25 in Trollåsen, roughly twenty minutes south of central Oslo. It has organised group travel since 1982 and today operates five specialist brands covering corporate travel, international trade fairs, tailor-made holidays, active travel and cultural journeys.
What began as sending Norwegian companies abroad has grown, but the ownership has not moved. The Balslev family has held the business throughout, and the third generation is now actively involved in running it.
In autumn 2023 Expert Reiser adopted the Balslev name, and the nine brands the group had accumulated were reduced to five clearly defined ones.
History
From one departure to five brands.
The travel industry has been rebuilt since the 1980s: paper tickets became apps, high street branches became platforms, and agents became self-service. Through all of it, one thing has stayed put here – whoever books a trip gets a person to deal with.
What has changed is the tooling. We build systems that give consultants a better overview, not systems that replace them. People travel to celebrate, to learn, to work and occasionally to say goodbye. That is not a job to automate away.
- 1982The first group departure. The year the business dates itself from.
- 1983Nordmanns-Reiser begins building tailor-made holidays for private clients.
- 1984Expert Reiser AS is incorporated on 9 April.
- Mid-1980sMessereiser starts up in Drammen, taking Norwegian firms to trade fairs.
- 1996Maxpulse is founded, taking Norwegians to Marcialonga and Vasaloppet.
- 2018Temareiser Fredrikstad AS is registered as the group's cultural travel arm.
- 2023Expert Reiser adopts the Balslev name, and nine brands are consolidated into five.
Management
The family behind the group.
All four sit on the board of Expert Reiser AS and hold operational roles in the group.
Kim Balslev is group CEO and chair. Maiken Balslev heads the B2B business, which covers Expert Reiser and Messereiser. June Arlen Lundeby heads the B2C business – Nordmanns-Reiser, Temareiser Fredrikstad and Maxpulse – while Siv Anne Balslev runs day-to-day operations at Maxpulse.
Kim Balslev
Owner and chair of the board
Group CEO
Maiken Balslev
Owner
Head of B2B – Expert Reiser and Messereiser
Siv Anne Balslev
Owner
Head of operations, Maxpulse
June Arlen Lundeby
Owner
Head of B2C – Nordmanns-Reiser, Temareiser Fredrikstad and Maxpulse
The handover between the second and third generation happens one share at a time, and the previous owners are still around. Jørn Balslev was one of the owners until his daughter Siv Anne took over his share. Each holding has passed down its own line. Jørn has retired, but still guides the occasional group for Temareiser Fredrikstad.
That is how a family firm changes hands. Not with a press release, but with someone who keeps turning up.
What we stand for
What has not changed since 1982.
We have changed a great deal since 1982, but some things have stayed the same throughout: how we meet our clients, how we take responsibility, and how much professional knowledge matters to us.
Personal
Reaching a real person should be easy. We believe in personal relationships, in being available, and in consultants who get to know their clients.
Knowledgeable
Travel is a profession. We build expertise through experience, strong partners and people who know the products and destinations they work with.
Reliable
When someone trusts us with a journey, they should be able to count on us to see it through. We take responsibility – when everything goes to plan, and when it does not.
Forward-looking
We value our experience, but we do not stand still. We invest in technology, new solutions and smarter ways of working – without losing the personal service along the way.
Company facts
The registry entry.
Everything below can be verified in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises.
- Trading name
- Balslev, adopted autumn 2023
- Legal name
- Expert Reiser AS
- Company registration number
- 935 566 843
- Incorporated
- 9 April 1984
- Trading since
- 1982
- Ownership
- Family-owned, third generation
- Managing director
- Kim Balslev
- Business address
- Rosenholmveien 25, 1414 Trollåsen, Norway
- Brands
- Nordmannsreiser, Expert Reiser, Temareiser Fredrikstad, Maxpulse, Messereiser
- Subsidiaries
- Maxpulse AS (991 393 056), Messereiser AS (913 841 557), Nordmanns-Reiser AS (934 662 318), Temareiser Fredrikstad AS (920 383 580)
- Industry code
- NACE 79.11 travel agency activities, 79.90 other reservation services
- Financial security
- Rejsegarantifonden (Danish travel guarantee fund), Norwegian Package Travel Act, IATA accreditation
- International partners
- Reed & Mackay (corporate travel), Arrive Agencies (agency network)
Read on
See the five brands, what the group delivers, or how we approach sustainability.