Tomra
TOMRA is a Norwegian multinational collection and sorting machine manufacturer. The company is the largest[3] Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) provider globally and a leading provider of sensor-based sorting for the food, recycling and mining industries.[4] With over 82,000 reverse vending machines (RVMs) installed, 10,000 food sorters and 6,000 recycling systems worldwide, TOMRA is the market leader in its industries.[5]
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Public | |
Traded as | OSE: TOM |
ISIN | NO0005668905 ![]() |
Industry | Conglomerate |
Founded | 1972 [1] |
Headquarters | Asker, Norway |
Key people | Hans Stefan Ranstrand (President and CEO), Jan Svensson (Chairman) |
Products | Reverse vending machines and sensor-based sorting equipment for food, recycling and mining. |
Revenue | ![]() |
Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Number of employees | ![]() |
Subsidiaries | 90+[2] |
Website | tomra |
TOMRA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSEBX) under the ticker symbol TOM.[6] The parent company, Tomra Systems ASA, is headquartered in Asker, Norway, with central departments located in Mülheim-Kärlich, Germany and Shelton, Connecticut.[1]
History
1970s
TOMRA was founded by the two brothers Tore and Petter Planke in 1972. It started out with the design, manufacturing and sale of reverse vending machines (RVMs) for automated collection of used beverage containers.[1] During this time, a major breakthrough for Tomra was when in 1974, the Swedish entity Systembolaget ordered 100 RVMs.[7]
1980s–2000s
TOMRA was listed in Oslo Børs on 18 January 1985[8] and tried to secure a position in the American market to no avail.[7] It was then successfully attempted to enter the market in 1990s. By 1999, sales in the US accounted for more than half of total revenues. In 2006, TOMRA delivered more than 8000 new reverse vending systems to Germany.[7]
TOMRA's sensor-based sorting technology business was first established in 2004 with the acquisition of TiTech Visionsort AS, a provider of optical recognition and sorting technology[9] (which was renamed to Tomra Sorting Solutions in 2012[10]), from Ferd AS for 219 million NOK.[11]
With the acquisition of Orwak in 2005,[12] TOMRA established itself as a producer of compaction and baling solutions with an installed base of more than 67,000 balers.[13] In December 2014, TOMRA sold the Orwak operations in Norway, Sweden, Poland and Japan under the name TOMRA Compaction to San Sac Nordic AB of Sweden.[14]
As of August 31, 2005, TOMRA Latasa Reciclagem S.A., offering aluminium can collection and recycling assets services in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, was acquired by Aleris International, Inc.[15]
On 1 July 2006, TOMRA's subsidiary Titech Visionsort AS acquired 100 percent of the shares of Germany-based CommoDaS GmbH, a provider of recognition and sorting technology for metals, plastics, glass, minerals and gems, for approximately 100 million NOK.[16]
On 1 Juli 2008 TOMRA announced it bought Australian peer Ultrasort Group, a provider of advanced recognition and sorting technology to the mining industry, for 160 million NOK ($31.48 million).[17]
2010–2019
Via several acquisitions, TOMRA had grown into a global company since the 2000s and secured 75% global market share in RVMs and 60% Material Recovery from Collection Solutions and 40–65% in Sorting Solutions.[5]
On 12 December 2010, TOMRA's subsidiary TiTech acquired Dublin-based food technology company Odenberg, a designer of equipment used for producing 65 per cent of all French fries worldwide, for up to 57.5 million Euro from ACT Venture Capital in Dublin and members of the Van den Bergh family in Belgium;[18] Odenberg's chilling/freezing unit was later considered a non-core business and sold in 2013 as to a newly formed company, Power Food Technology Ltd., of Ireland.[19]
On 31 December 2011, TOMRA sold the assets of Tomra Pacific, Inc., a recycler of used beverage containers in California, to rePlanet, LLC for approximately $25 million.[20]
In June 2012, TOMRA purchased 100% of Belgium-based food sorting specialist Best Kwadraat for 138 million Euro.[21]
In October 2016 TOMRA signed an agreement to acquire Compac Holding Ltd., a New Zealand-based provider of packing house automation systems that sort fresh produce based on weight, size, shape, color, surface blemishes, and internal quality,[22] for $70 million plus up to $230 million in earn-outs available to Compac founders;[23] the transaction was completed in March 2017.[24]
On 26 February 2018, TOMRA signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in BBC Technologies. The deal resulted in BBC Technologies’ precision grading systems and innovative punnet and clamshell filling solutions for blueberries and other small fruits join TOMRA Food's own fruit inspection and grading technology portfolio.[25]
Competition law compliance
In 2001, the EU Commission performed an investigation of Tomra's competition law compliance. Based on this investigation, the Commission concluded in March 2006 that TOMRA in their opinion had foreclosed competition in the period 1998 to 2002 in the market for reverse vending machines in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden by implementing an exclusionary strategy. TOMRA appealed the decision to the European General Court in 2006.
In September 2010, the Court issued their judgment where they dismissed Tomra's appeal both on the substance and on the amount of the fine.[26] TOMRA consequently accrued 28.2 million Euro (NOK 226.1 million) for the fine and accumulated interest in the third quarter financial statement for 2010.[27] TOMRA appealed this decision again but finally lost the case in April 2012.[28]
![](../I/m/Tomra_T-820_BC_Blue.jpg)
See also
- List of Norwegian companies
- Container deposit legislation
- Infinitum AS
- Reverse vending machine
References
- "History : TOMRA". www.tomra.com. TOMRA SYSTEMS ASA. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- {{cite web|url=https://www.tomra.com/-/media/documents/group-downloads/tomra-annual-report-2018_spreads.ashx?la=en |title=TOMRA Annual Report 2018}
- "Sumitomo Corporation Establishes Joint Company with World's Largest Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Maker, Tomra| Sumitomo Corporation". Sumitomo Corporation. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- Fallan, Kjetil (2012). Scandinavian design : alternative histories (English ed.). London: Berg. pp. Chp. 5. ISBN 9781847889119.
- "TOMRA: Presentation materials DNB Markets SME Conference". www.newsweb.no. Oslo Stock Exchange. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- "TOM:Oslo Stock Quote - Tomra Systems ASA". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- Jørgensen, Finn Arne (2011). Making a green machine : the infrastructure of beverage container recycling. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0813550541.
- "Tomra Systems: Details". Oslo Børs. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "TOMRA acquires leading recycling company". Tomra. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Titech Rebrands as Tomra Sorting Solutions". Waste Management World. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Formal closing of TiTech acquisition completed". Tomra. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Tomra Systems ASA Acquires Orwak Group AB; reverse vending manufacturers secures shares in baling operation". Recycling Today. 4 March 2005. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- Archived 21 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- "TOMRA Compaction acquired by San Sac". Tomra. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Company Overview of Tomra Latasa Reciclagem S.A." Bloomberg. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Acquisition of CommoDas GmbH". Tomra. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Tomra buys Australian Ultrasort for $31 mln". Reuters. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- Hancock, Ciaran (15 December 2010). "Irish food tech firm Odenberg sold for up to €57.5m". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- Knights, Mikell (13 May 2013). "Mergers and Acquisitions in Inspection Systems". Food Engineering. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "TOMRA divests its California operation". GlobeNewswire. 2 January 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- Harrington, Rory (4 June 2012). "Best acquired by TOMRA Group for €138m". Bakery and Snacks. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "TOMRA acquires NZ Sorting Machine Manufacturer Compac". Scoop Business. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- Smellie, Pattrick (1 March 2017). "Up to $230 million in earn-outs available to Compac founders". National Business Review. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "TOMRA completes COMPAC acquisition". Tomra. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "TOMRA acquires BBC Technologies". TOMRA acquires BBC Technologies. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- "JUDGMENT OF THE GENERAL COURT (Fifth Chamber): Case T-155/06 Tomra Systems ASA and Others vs European Commission". eur-lex.europa.eu. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Third quarter 2010 results". Tomra. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "When will discounts and rebates in supply agreements be anti-competitive?". Taylor Wessing. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2017.