Optinova celebrates 50 years in extrusion

In 2021, we are thrilled to celebrate our 50-year milestone. Our history dates back to 1971, when Obi Jacobson founded Optinova, then named Godby Plast, in Finström (Godby), Åland, Finland.

With one factory in February 1971, Optinova became one of the first large-scale extrusion houses in the world. Over 50 years, we have added cleanroom, expanded globally, built new production halls, acquired companies, established new plants and launched a number of new capabilities. Since the end of the 80s, we have been known under the Optinova brand and fully owned by Eriksson Capital.

“Already from the start, the various applications of our extruded components have captured the interest of our employees, customers and the society. Optinova tubing can be found everywhere, from people’s hearts to spaceships venturing to the moon, assisting life from beginning to end”, said Anders Wiklund, CEO, Optinova Group

Optinova in 2021

Today, with over 430 employees and more than 100 extrusion lines, Optinova is one of the world’s largest extrusion companies. We are currently manufacturing from four production bases: two here in Åland, Finland, one in Thailand and one in the US. With sales offices spread globally, we are serving over 1 000 long-term partners who are global manufacturers of medical devices and specialty products.

“From a modest start, Optinova has expanded substantially to become a leading innovator and supplier of advanced tubing solutions, thriving to increase the quality of everyday life with our customers. Over 50 years, Optinova has grown a global supply network of quality extruded components bridging Europe, Asia and the Americas.”, said Annette Höglund, CCO, Optinova Group.

Over the past decade, Optinova has gradually expanded and modernized its manufacturing facilities. Recent milestones include the additional 2 000 m2 of cleanroom to the Godby factory, 800 m2 to the plant in Thailand and a brand-new manufacturing base in the US. The new addition to the Godby plant, called Hall 7, is Optinova’s most ambitious investment to date. Hall 7 represents our quest for building the world’s most modern extrusion hall with an automated quality control process and a facility management system that embraces the circular economy. While Hall 7 significantly expands our medical tubing portfolio, the new factory in the US allows Optinova to continue serving US customers with industrial tubing sourced and produced on American soil.

#optinova50years

As part of our 50-year celebration campaign, we will be publishing applications and technological stories of our products under #optinova50years across media channels throughout the year. With the campaign, we hope to enforce and inform our stakeholders about our pledge to increase the quality of everyday life with our customers, staying true to our #feelgoodfactory values.

Being the world’s #feelgoodfactory also means that we invest heavily in a better future for the next generations. Thus, sustainability is a key focus area in our way forward. In 2020, we built the infrastructure for how we implement, measure and analyze our sustainability efforts. In 2021, we look forward to setting up our targets and reaffirming our commitment to sustainability. Optinova is committed to leading the extrusion industry in sustainability by the power of our examples.

For more details about our sustainability policies and practices, please review our 2020 Sustainability Report.