Odenberg, BEST no more, now it's all TOMRA

TOMRA Sorting Food has announced that its sorting, peeling and processing systems will be branded TOMRA as of today.

The names of all the machines will no longer contain the names ODENBERG and BEST, the two organizations which the group acquired in recent years to establish and expand its food business.

TOMRA bought Ireland-based ODENBERG in 2011, acquiring unique patented technology and leading positions in several fast-growing food sorting and processing industry segments. In 2012, it purchased BEST Sorting, whose headquarters were in Belgium, becoming the world’s leading food sorter supplier and gaining an expanded technology portfolio.

Explaining the forthcoming change, Björn Weyts, marketing manager, TOMRA Sorting Food, said: “This is a real milestone, in terms of integrating three identities into one and promoting the umbrella TOMRA brand. We formerly had two prominent and respected names in ODENBERG and BEST, and now we have one strong identity in TOMRA.

TOMRA Sorting Food’s systems, such as the Genius optical machine, Field Potato Sorter (FPS) and Nimbus free-fall solution will retain their individual names under the new arrangements. The previous ODENBERG Halo will therefore now be known as the Halo from TOMRA Sorting, for example.

Ashley Hunter, senior vice president and head of TOMRA Sorting Food, said the new branding reflected a wider culture change within the organization.

He said: “Nobody is suggesting that the success stories ODENBERG and BEST should be forgotten - we recognise and appreciate that there would be no TOMRA Sorting Food without these outstanding companies - but we’ve now reached the point where the external presentation must reflect the internal reality that we have united into one very strong organization.

“Two years ago, we had employees with ODENBERG and BEST blood in their veins but now everyone thinks and acts as TOMRA people. This alignment was very important and took time, but there’s no doubt we’ve made outstanding progress and I have to pay tribute to my colleagues who’ve managed the whole integration process impressively.”

For more information, visit www.tomra.com/food.