“Everyone talked about the positives of working from home, but it is a fact that it is impossible to build pressure tanks that weigh 146 tons in a home office.”
Jan-Fredrik Carslen, CEO at Optime Subsea
When Optime Subsea’s senior management team gathered for Christmas dinner on a December evening in 2020, they looked back on a year that was completely different from what anyone could have imagined.
2020 was the year when the price of oil fell from 40 dollars to 20 dollars a barrel in just 14 days, the year when kindergartens and schools closed, and also the year when Optime Subsea reached a record turnover of 150 million. It was a different year, nevertheless, it was still full of ups and downs.
An optimistic approach to 2020
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO of Optime Subsea, started 2020 with high expectations of continued growth for the company that he helped to create. He was absolutely certain that they would achieve the optimistic budget target of 200 million in turnover.
Thinking back, Frode Ljøterud, the COO at Optime and one of several new employees hired in the past year, recalls:
"I had the early impression that Optime was a freight train of an entrepreneurial company; a company which ran on rails. Although there were, and obviously still are, many sharp turns, there was not much to suggest that it would go wrong."
Frode Ljøterud, COO at Optime, and one of several new employees hired in the past year
THE TURNING POINT
March 12th 2020: The lockdown is a fact
When the Prime Minister hit the emergency brake on the 12th March, Jan-Fredrik Carlsen was in Tjuvholmen, Oslo for a meeting at Holta Invest alongside board chairman, Reidar M. K. Tveiten.
Together, they were working on setting up a new board for Optime Subsea.
After being interrupted by the general manager of Holta Invest, they were told that Prime Minister Erna Solberg would soon be giving a speech and so everyone gathered in front of a TV.
“NOW WE’RE LOSING HALF OUR STAFF”
“Now we will lose so many of our people, maybe even half our staff. We have many families with small children in the company. Now they must all stay at home.
These were my first thoughts when I heard Erna Solberg announce that kindergartens and schools would be closed. At that moment I understood that this would have major consequences for Optime,” says Jan-Fredrik.
“Was this how it was going to end? Had we spent so much time and effort building a company, only to be stopped by the corona situation?
In the management team we were worried and shocked about what was happening, but we quickly started looking for solutions,” says Trond Løkka, VP of Sales and Business Development in Optime Subsea.
You can't build a 146-ton
pressure tank at home
Corona time has arguably revolutionised working from home, and for some, having a home office works well, but for others, it’s a little harder to make it succeed.
“Everyone talked about the positives of working from home, but it is a fact that it is impossible to build pressure tanks that weigh 146 tons in a home office.”
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO
Optime Subsea had entered into an agreement to build and deliver two pressure tanks to NUI in the spring of 2020. Optime was therefore completely dependent on the employees showing up at work despite the highly unusual situation. Fortunately for Optime, delivery did not stop; it was even the case that several employees who were at home with children during the day, showed up at their workplace in the evening.
"Where there is a will,
there's a way"
The firm belief that there are solutions, even if it looks dark, characterises both the management team and the employees at Optime Subsea. Indeed, it is part of the Optime culture.
“It is not always easy to think that there is a solution, but we must always try,” Trond says.
“We must balance thinking positively with being realistic. The corona situation became a kind of acid-test on our company’s ability to deliver.
Our employees always make an extra effort when they face adversity – we actually see that all the time in Optime. If things do not work in the workshop, if there are problems on the rig or when corona came, we will find a solution.
Our entire organisation is filled with people who are solution-orientated, who take ownership and who want to make an effort. It never fails to impress me,” observes Tor-Øystein Carlsen.
Optime goes against the flow
- lands a massive contract
Torfinn Kristensen, the Vice President of aftermarket at Optime, had just resigned from his former role with TechnipFMC on the 12th March, the day that the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg made her announcement.
“I was a little worried that the job change would be bad timing. There were many concerned comments from those around me about it,” he remembers.
Torfinn started at Optime on the 1st of April. After working for Optime for about a month, he was finally able to counter people’s worries regarding the job change. This was because Optime had just landed a very big contract.
“At Optime, we swim against the current. We gear up and staff up when most people in the industry do the opposite”
Torfinn Kristensen
“We have worked hard and achieved a lot this year. We didn’t achieve this because of the extraordinary corona situation, we did it due to skilled colleagues, good business practice and a fluid management structure. Because of this, we were able to handle such unexpected events,” Frode says.
2020 has been all about
delivering to our customers
Optime was, in many ways, relatively well equipped when the corona pandemic hit. Their customers were waiting for their shipments, so it was largely a matter of being able to deliver the products in accordance with agreements.
“The first few days after March the 12th were marked by shock and uncertainty. But then we quickly turned our thoughts to the belief that we must finish the projects that we had planned,” recalls chairman Reidar Tveiten.
A peaceful holiday before we kickstart 2021
Optime’s senior management team would like to thank their customers and employees for cooperation and efforts in this exciting and demanding 2020. For Optime Subsea, 2021 will be a raw technological year, in which Optime will succeed in reaching new heights.
If everything goes according to plan, next year will be a steep curve upwards for Optime. The plan is for Optime to become even more visible as a company, both in the local community, in Norway and internationally.
“My dream for 2021 is that we will succeed with the projects we have entered into now and that we go international. I believe this will happen next year,” Jan-Fredrik says expectantly.
But first; Christmas
Before they begin again in January 2021, Frode will enjoy himself by spending time with his grandchildren in Kongsberg, Tor-Øystein will serve the Christmas liqueur he prepared this summer and Torfinn will go ice skating with his children before Christmas dinner. For now, everyone in the management team is looking forward to having some quieter days with the family.
The management team in Optime Subsea wishes all of our customers, partners and employees a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
“Everyone talked about the positives of working from home, but it is a fact that it is impossible to build pressure tanks that weigh 146 tons in a home office.”
Jan-Fredrik Carslen, CEO at Optime Subsea
When Optime Subsea’s senior management team gathered for Christmas dinner on a December evening in 2020, they looked back on a year that was completely different from what anyone could have imagined.
2020 was the year when the price of oil fell from 40 dollars to 20 dollars a barrel in just 14 days, the year when kindergartens and schools closed, and also the year when Optime Subsea reached a record turnover of 150 million. It was a different year, nevertheless, it was still full of ups and downs.
An optimistic approach to 2020
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO of Optime Subsea, started 2020 with high expectations of continued growth for the company that he helped to create. He was absolutely certain that they would achieve the optimistic budget target of 200 million in turnover.
Thinking back, Frode Ljøterud, the COO at Optime and one of several new employees hired in the past year, recalls:
“I had the early impression that Optime was a freight train of an entrepreneurial company; a company which ran on rails. Although there were, and obviously still are, many sharp turns, there was not much to suggest that it would go wrong.”
Frode Ljøterud,
COO at Optime, and one of several new employees hired in the past year
THE TURNING POINT
THE TURNING
POINT
March 12th 2020: The lockdown is a fact
When the Prime Minister hit the emergency brake on the 12th March, Jan-Fredrik Carlsen was in Tjuvholmen, Oslo for a meeting at Holta Invest alongside board chairman, Reidar M. K. Tveiten.
Together, they were working on setting up a new board for Optime Subsea.
After being interrupted by the general manager of Holta Invest, they were told that Prime Minister Erna Solberg would soon be giving a speech and so everyone gathered in front of a TV.
“NOW WE’RE LOSING HALF OUR STAFF”
“Now we will lose so many of our people, maybe even half our staff. We have many families with small children in the company. Now they must all stay at home.
These were my first thoughts when I heard Erna Solberg announce that kindergartens and schools would be closed. At that moment I understood that this would have major consequences for Optime,” says Jan-Fredrik.
“Was this how it was going to end? Had we spent so much time and effort building a company, only to be stopped by the corona situation?
In the management team we were worried and shocked about what was happening, but we quickly started looking for solutions,” says Trond Løkka, VP of Sales and Business Development in Optime Subsea.
"You can't build a 146-ton pressure tank at home"
Corona time has arguably revolutionised working from home, and for some, having a home office works well, but for others, it’s a little harder to make it succeed.
“Everyone talked about the positives of working from home, but it is a fact that it is impossible to build pressure tanks that weigh 146 tons in a home office.”
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO
Optime Subsea had entered into an agreement to build and deliver two pressure tanks to NUI in the spring of 2020. Optime was therefore completely dependent on the employees showing up at work despite the highly unusual situation. Fortunately for Optime, delivery did not stop; it was even the case that several employees who were at home with children during the day, showed up at their workplace in the evening.
The firm belief that there are solutions, even if it looks dark, characterises both the management team and the employees at Optime Subsea. Indeed, it is part of the Optime culture.
“It is not always easy to think that there is a solution, but we must always try,” Trond says.
"Where there is a will,
there's a way"
“We must balance thinking positively with being realistic. The corona situation became a kind of acid-test on our company’s ability to deliver.
Our employees always make an extra effort when they face adversity – we actually see that all the time in Optime. If things do not work in the workshop, if there are problems on the rig or when corona came, we will find a solution.
Our entire organisation is filled with people who are solution-orientated, who take ownership and who want to make an effort. It never fails to impress me,” observes Tor-Øystein Carlsen.
Optime goes against the flow - lands a massive contract
Torfinn Kristensen, the Vice President of aftermarket at Optime, had just resigned from his former role with TechnipFMC on the 12th March, the day that the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg made her announcement.
“I was a little worried that the job change would be bad timing. There were many concerned comments from those around me about it,” he remembers.
Torfinn started at Optime on the 1st of April. After working for Optime for about a month, he was finally able to counter people’s worries regarding the job change. This was because Optime had just landed a very big contract.
“At Optime, we swim against the current. We gear up and staff up when most people in the industry do the opposite”
Torfinn Kristensen
“We have worked hard and achieved a lot this year. We didn’t achieve this because of the extraordinary corona situation, we did it due to skilled colleagues, good business practice and a fluid management structure. Because of this, we were able to handle such unexpected events,” Frode says.
2020 has been all about delivering to our customers
Optime was, in many ways, relatively well equipped when the corona pandemic hit. Their customers were waiting for their shipments, so it was largely a matter of being able to deliver the products in accordance with agreements.
“The first few days after March 12th were marked by shock and uncertainty. But then we quickly turned our thoughts to the belief that we must finish the projects that we had planned,” recalls chairman Reidar Tveiten.
A peaceful holiday before
we kickstart 2021
A peaceful holiday before we kickstart 2021
The senior management team would like to thank their customers and employees for cooperation and efforts in this exciting and demanding 2020. For Optime Subsea, 2021 will be a raw technological year, in which Optime will succeed in reaching new heights.
If everything goes according to plan, next year will be a steep curve upwards for Optime. The plan is for Optime to become even more visible as a company, both in the local community, in Norway and internationally.
“My dream for 2021 is that we will succeed with the projects we have entered into now and that we go international. I believe this will happen next year,” Jan-Fredrik says expectantly.
But first; Christmas
Before they begin again in January 2021, Frode will enjoy himself by spending time with his grandchildren in Kongsberg, Tor-Øystein will serve the Christmas liqueur he prepared this summer and Torfinn will go ice skating with his children before Christmas dinner. For now, everyone in the management team is looking forward to having some quieter days with the family.
