History

Blom ASA was established in 1954 by Hydrographer Ole H. Blom. In 1988 it was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Since its establishment Blom has been a leading provider of products and services within the maritime and land based mapping industry. Today, Blom is divided into two divisions; Blom Geographic Information (GI) and Blom Offshore Technologies (OT).

In 2003 Blom went through a major re-organization and restructuring process. The company’s two largest shareholders sold their shares, and the new principal shareholders expressed that they would seek to practice active ownership. A new strategy was implemented to strengthen the company’s financial platform and improve results. As a result of this Gunnar Hirsti was elected as Board Chairman, and Dirk Blaauw was appointed the new Managing Director and CEO. The Board of Directors focused on the commercially feasible parts of the company’s operations, which were to reform the foundation for further growth. At the end of 2003, Blom ASA consisted of BlomInfo A/S in Copenhagen, Denmark and Blom Maritime AS in Stavanger, Norway.

In April 2004 the acquisition of the Finnish company FM Kartta OY was completed. This acquisition was the first transaction in a new strategy designed to establish a European platform for the company aimed at the collection, processing and sales of high technology map data and establishment if map databases. In addition, production units were established in Romania and Indonesia.

The 1st quarter results in 2004 showed the first profit in 19 quarters.

In November 2004 Blom announced the acquisition of Geonet SRL in Romania, a small local operator that owned 49 % of Blom’s low-cost production in Romania. This was a strategically important decision that gave full control over Blom’s production lines. The following December the company acquired the German company Geo-Tec GmbH. This gave Blom access to one of the few fully operational digital production lines in the world.

During 1st quarter 2005 Blom completed the acquisition of the British Simmons Aerofilms Ltd. This was an important step for Blom to establish the company as a leading European provider of services related to the collection and processing of map data.

In its strategy work, the Board of Directors of Blom decided that the company would focus more on products and services with a high technological content. As part of this strategy Blom acquired 100% of the shares in the Swedish company TopEye AB in July 2005. TopEye has unique competence and products for the commercial utilization of laser technology, and is the leading company in the collection of map data through the use of laser technology in helicopters.

In September 2005 Blom entered into an exclusive license agreement with Pictometry® for 23 countries in Europe. Pictometry® is a completely new and unique method for the collection and processing of angular and vertical aerial photographs, a technology that, in our opinion, will have a long-term impact on the geographic information market.

Blom took over 100% of the shares in Compagnia Generale Ripreseaeree (CGR) on 1 November 2005.  CGR is the leading Italian company for collecting and processing of map data. CGR owns and operates 10 aircraft and a large range of different sensors. This acquisition was performed to strengthen Blom’s position in Southern Europe, being by now the leading map data information provider in Northern Europe.

In 2005 Blom’s revenues increased 129 per cent compared to the previous year. Blom’s goal of profitable growth was achieved, and the EBITDA totaled NOK 77.6 million. This corresponds to an increase of 167 per cent since 2004.

To pursue the strategy to strengthen Blom’s position in Southern Europe, Blom purchased the Seficart Group during the 1^st quarter of 2006. The Seficart Group has a strong position in both Spain and Portugal, and gives Blom access to a market with substantial demand.  

In July 2006 the Norwegian cable and mooring systems company ScanRope is aqcuiried by the Blom Group. This strenghtens the Company's Offshore Technology Division.

In June 2007 the Offshore Technology division was demerged from the company and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange as Scan Subsea ASA. In August Scan Subsea ASA was acquired by the American NYSE listed company Parker Hannifin Corporation.

To take a stronger grip on the value chain within geographic information Blom acquired the Spanish software company Opera Wireless in June 2007.

The results and margins in 2007 were record high with operating revenues of NOK 1 077 million and profit before tax of NOK 412 million.

To strenghten management and in particular its knowledge to, and experience with, the telecom and IT industry, Hakon Jacobsen was appointed new CEO and Managing Director in March 2008. Former CEO and MD, Dirk Blaauw, was appointed active Board Chairman.