Cocreating sustainability
From trading company in a farm to manufacturer in a plant
The foundations for the firm were laid in the seventies, in Jubbega in the province of Friesland. At that time it was a trading company called Cordu International, trading in various product groups with no exclusive focus on the plastics industry. But this sector kept growing and in order to service this market timely and with good quality, a small production company is started towards the end of 1982.
The growing market and order book led to expansion of the machine pool, and the location became too small. Money is invested in a new plant of around 3.000 m2 in Oosterwolde, on the Venekoterweg. The grand opening was performed in 1988, by the Commissioner of the Queen, Hans Wiegel. At this new location, the polyethylene products are manufactured and delivered to butchers, the food industry, the horticultural sector, and for use a packaging materials for numerous other applications.
In 1990, Cordu becomes a part of the Autobar Group and continues its work under the name Autobar Flexibel Packaging B.V. One of the affiliated companies was based in France, and it was quite interesting to find the French had put the machines in the basement, in order to get the right distance for cooling. The group is not only active in the plastics industry, but its other divisions are also known for their coffee, for example. In the end, the entire group of companies was owned by a single investment company. They found some subsidiaries less interesting, and that is why they were sold or terminated. To prevent this from happening, the then board of directors and a relative of the original founder decided to buy back the company in 2006, and the company continues under the name SL Packaging B.V.
On May 17th, 2010, the OPACKGROUP takes over the Frisian company, ending a period of uncertainty. Once the company is a part of the OPACKGROUP, important knowledge is acquired and big investments are made. In one year’s time a growth in the tonnage of around 100% is realized, and the number of employees increases to 38 fte. This growth is further pursued in 2012, by taking over the machines and the customer base of Conpax Folieproductie and Conpax Folieconversie, among other things. Again, this entailed a doubling of the turnover.
On February 17th, 2013, people at OPI are startled by a fire alarm. They find that the whole factory is engulfed in thick smoke. After two firemen have investigated the fire, the point of origin appeared to be the E12. This could not be saved. There is a lot of damage due to smoke and water, but through the great commitment of all the employees, the company could soon continue its work. In the end, we got a beautiful new machine with a larger output in return.
Throughout the years we kept growing and investing. For example, we took over the adjacent premises of Appelscha Meubel in 2017. We have renovated this building considerately, to realize the current main entrance and offices. Besides, we have created more storage space, and the technical department got a larger work shop.
By now, OPI has grown to an ambitious 10.000 tonnes and employs approximately 65 workers. In 2022 we celebrated our 12.5 year anniversary with an enthusiastic team. We are proud of everything we have achieved so far! OPI keeps focusing on quality, innovation and adaptation to regulations.
