Ocotec was founded in 1991. From the perspective of the beginning of 2025, digitalization was still in its infancy back then, and automation had only been a broadly spread concept for 20 years. Our products were manufactured and sold ready-made, straight off the shelf, so to speak. Our interference shielding production focused on the major telecommunications players of the time, IT companies, and security organizations. The world has changed significantly over the past third of a century, and so have our own operations. Digitalization has spread explosively across the globe. As a result, our customer base has expanded, the applications for our products have diversified, and our ability to customize solutions has become a key market differentiator.

In the early 1990s, digitalisation was largely limited to internal data networks within companies and research institutions, rudimentary mobile phone networks, and the Internet, which had been opened for public use in the 1980s. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that it reached a broader user base through the emergence of the World Wide Web. Interference shielding requirements primarily addressed the needs of companies and research institutions working with these new developments. This mainly involved equipment cabinets in data centres, for which our RF-rack series was developed.

As the 1990s progressed, and particularly with the arrival of the 2000s, there was a tremendous surge in all things related to digitalization. The Internet became increasingly widespread, reaching consumer homes, albeit only on home computers and through telephone lines at first. However, the demand for data transfer, processing, and storage grew, leading to the proliferation of data centres to keep pace with both consumer and business traffic. In addition, research and development of new networks continued, necessitating the construction of various test environments. To meet these needs, we often developed tailored and custom solutions in close collaboration with our partners.

In the 2000s, dedicated broadband Internet connections became common, followed quickly by wireless networks. This introduced yet another source of interference into an environment already filled with radio frequencies and mobile networks. Protecting systems vulnerable to RF interference became increasingly critical. This decade also saw the emergence of a new trend known as the Internet of Things (IoT). This meant that household appliances and devices, which traditionally operated as standalone systems, were now connected to new smart devices via the Internet, forming part of a broader intelligent living or working environment. An interesting development with these new smart devices was the need, much like with mobile phones before them, to test them in interference-free conditions. 

Simultaneously, alongside these civilian developments, the demand for interference-shielded solutions in the security and defence sectors grew. As society became increasingly digitalized, so did battlefields and security environments. Ocotec has been part of this evolution, developing and manufacturing EMP and RF shielded solutions for these purposes.

Over the past 15 years, progress has only accelerated. What was once limited to large IT and telecom companies and security authorities, and in relatively restricted quantities, is now essential to many others and has become an integral part of everyday operations and life. Consequently, Ocotec’s products have broadened their reach, forming part of the systems developed by trailblazers and established players in the industry. The future promises continued growth on this front, and therefore we too will continue our own role at the forefront of this direction of development.