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OPTIMA Machinery Corporation, founded as a subsidiary for the OPTIMA Group, Germany recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

OPTIMA Machinery is looking back on an exciting history, starting with the development of the first packaging machine for diapers at the end of the 1970’s.The first inquiry for this new technology was made by Kimberly Clark in the early 80’s, and was followed by other U.S. companies.

In order to service the U.S. market and customers better and more efficiently, OPTIMA Machinery Corporation was founded on October 28, 1985 with only two employees. Since 1999, Mr. Thomas Seifert has had the role of president of OPTIMA Machinery Corporation.

The honoring of long-time employees was one of the highlights during the company’s celebration. Twenty-three employees were honored for being with OPTIMA Machinery Corporation for a 10-20 year period.Today, OPTIMA Machinery Corporation has 45 employees and a revenue of $21 million. Since 1994, OPTIMA Machinery Corporation also offers their own machinery, “made in the USA”– the Bagstar line for paper hygienic products.

Until 1994, OPTIMA manufactured machines for the paper hygienic market. Today, through expansions and acquisitions at the corporate level, the shares of pharmaceutical packaging machines have caught up to those of the paper hygienic market.

The speakers for the event included: Mayor Jim Schmitt from Green Bay, Simone Pohl from the Midwest German-American Chamber of Commerce, and Hans Buehler, CEO of the OPTIMA Group, Schwaebisch Hall, Germany. In a show of thanks to the U.S. subsidiary, Mr. Buehler presented OPTIMA Machinery Corporation with a historical gift of a “Salzsieder” figure (Salzsieder = Salter, salt made the city of Schwaebisch Hall, Germany rich and independent in the Middle Ages).