12 April 2016, 16:22
Local invention shakes the construction industry world:
Thirty years ago a product was born that would change an entire industry. The tiltrotator, which was given the name Rototilt® by Rune Norgren at Noreco in Umeå, Sweden, was invented in the middle of the 1980s.
His son Roger has worked with the product ever since and today helps provide technical sales support:
"It's been an incredibly inspiring journey, and we're still only at the beginning of the market potential!”
"I see great opportunities for developing ideas for the tilt and rotation functions and peripheral systems. I'm convinced that my father would be immeasurably pleased and proud of where we are today and where we're headed," says Roger Norgren.
Anders Jonsson, Rototilt Group owner and CEO agrees:
"It's incredibly exciting to be part of the journey and where we are now taking our Rototilt® tiltrotator. With the Nordic countries as our home market, where a tiltrotator is an essential part of any excavator, we’re ready to take further strides out into the global markets.”
International potential
An important step in this investment in the future was taken during the late 2014 when the company – originally part of the Indexator Group – became independent under the leadership of Anders Jonsson. During 2015, the company changed its name and the Rototilt® brand was promoted to become the name of the company. Behind this apparently undramatic event was a bigger, longer-term decision about continued product development and a determined international marketing initiative.
“We see an exciting, challenging potential in places like Europe where tiltrotators are still not used to the same extent as here at home, but where the market is developing step by step," CEO Anders Jonsson tells us.
But back to Rune.
Rune Norgren founded Noreco in 1984. The business idea was to provide contract personnel to Umeå's industrial companies. Alongside this, he took in subcontract work manufacturing cranes and accessories for Valmet (today's, Komatsu Forest). He then made acquaintance with an inventor in southern Sweden who was busy developing a unit that could both tilt and rotate. Rune saw the potential for developing this product concept into something big, and in the spring of 1985 he purchased Noreco's product drawings, patent and development rights.
“It was my father Rune who decided that the product would be called Rototilt®,” informs Roger Norgren, who has seen the invention grow from a clever idea to a world-leading product. The name Rototilt® – despite being a protected trademark – is often used as a generic term for the entire tiltrotator product category such is its´recognition.
Tough times
The first tiltrotators were delivered to customers in the Umeå region in the beginning of 1986. The product had a great impact on the market and they were soon up to a volume of around 200 units per year, just in time for the financial crash in the beginning of the 1990s.
At the same time, Indexator in Vindeln was looking for a possible complimentary product to its rotator business. The rotator business at that time was primarily for the forest machine industry, and Indexator had one eye on the construction industry for new business opportunities.
Back home in Vindeln, Indexator began manufacturing its own tiltrotator version. The company had several prototypes in the field with test customers, on e.g. Huddig machines, and the response was incredibly positive.
At this time, the financial system was in a very tough situation, and just like many companies during this period, Noreco got into financial difficulties. In 1992, Indexator had the opportunity to acquire the Noreco assets and purchased the product rights, the Rototilt® brand and several technical applications.
"We also benefited from a whole lot of industry know-how; many of the people that worked at Noreco are still with us today, which I'm very happy about," says Anders Jonsson.
Passion for Innovation
The combination of Indexator’s extensive experience in rotators, hydraulics, tribology and materials knowledge together with the technical solutions and patents acquired through Noreco was a great match. They refined and developed the tiltrotator further, and there was now a huge demand for the product on the market.
"Naturally, it wasn't all plain sailing," admits Anders Jonsson. "The tiltrotator was an entirely new concept and there was nothing upon which to base die mentioning, materials selection, functions etc. We had to learn everything from scratch and set the parameters ourselves. It was a tough, challenging period.”
“Having said that, we still benefit from the passion for innovation that characterized the development. Our test lab played – and still plays – an important part in our product development and the way we build up expertise around the product and its fields of application.
Thirty years of innovation
The past 30 years with Rototilt® have been characterized by innovation. Not just when it comes to the tiltrotator and its peripheral systems itself, but also the ideas surrounding how the tilt rotator can develop new opportunities for the construction industry..
The 30th anniversary will be honoured in a number of ways throughout the year. There will naturally be reminiscences and celebrations, and also product news and activities. The Rototilt Group is convinced that their greatest successes still lie ahead of them:
"It would be incredibly exciting if there were a major breakthrough for tiltrotators on the international market,” Anders Jonsson points out. Nordic machine operators can already testify to how tiltrotators have made their working days safer, more efficient and more profitable, and tomorrow we aim to provide new markets with the same advantages. In recent years, we have worked systematically to develop our offer not just in terms of new products but also through a stronger organisation and structure in order to provide our customers with the greatest possible confidence to invest in tiltrotators from Rototilt. Today, we have subsidiaries in a number of countries and we are ready for increased sales beyond the Nordic market," concludes Anders Jonsson.
Source: Rototilt