Twenty-five years ago, a small team in Drammen decided not to let their expertise disappear. What they built instead became Visitech.

Before there was Visitech…

In the 1990s, a group of engineers was working at Davis, a company in Drammen, using Texas Instruments’ DLP technology to build projectors for meeting rooms and cinemas. By around 1996, they were deep in the technology and deep in a competitive market, but as Davis was manufacturing in Norway, and the cost of doing so ultimately proved too high, the owners shut Davis down in 2001.

That could have been the end of the story. Instead, it was the beginning of another one.

Øyvind, the current Managing Director, and Roy, former co-founder and one of the key people behind the company we know today, founded Visitech that same year, built around the R&D team that they know so well. The team had a unique competence in DLP technology, and rather than let that walk out the door, they chose to build something new from it.

Nine years of learning and a decision that changed everything

For the first nine to ten years, Visitech operated as an engineering services and consulting company. The work was genuinely innovative: one of the first LED drivers for DLP, head-up displays for major European car brands, and augmented reality overlays for microscopes. By any measure, the team was ahead of the market.

But Øyvind had a growing conviction that consulting was not where the company needed to be. Building products for others was not the same as building something of your own. He gathered the team and made a decision. On the same day, he canceled the contracts, walked away from the cash flow, and went all in on their own products. And as Øyvind says:

“It was like jumping from the harbour and starting to swim. We needed to find something at some point, or we would go bankrupt.”

Building from scratch and building something that lasts

From 2010, Visitech focused on 3D metrology, 3D printing, and PCB lithography areas that have since evolved into semiconductor lithography and advanced packaging. At the time, the entire R&D team consisted of one software engineer, one electronics engineer, one optics engineer, a FW engineer, and one mechanical engineer. Everyone wore multiple hats.

What they built during this period was not just a product portfolio, but a technology platform. DLP mainboards and software developed for one application could be reused across 3D metrology, 3D printing, and lithography. That platform approach became one of the company’s key competitive strengths, allowing Visitech to spread R&D investment across multiple markets and remain resilient when any single market slowed.

One technology that emerged from this period stands out: scrolling.

Invented by Visitech roughly fifteen to twenty years ago in response to a specific customer need. The market didn’t understand it when it was first demonstrated at trade shows; it was, as Øyvind describes it, too much, too early. The company kept pushing it for fifteen years. Today, Visitech is the global leader in DLP scrolling systems.

Around twelve years ago, Visitech established a European operation in Germany to expand into new application areas, with a particular focus on additive manufacturing. Led by Alfred, who contributed both as an optical systems engineer and in sales and commercial development, the team built a growing customer portfolio across Europe.

As the AM segment grew, the American market needed its own presence. Keynote Photonics became a natural partner where Visitech brought optomechanics and production expertise, and Keynote contributed electronics and software. The complementary portfolios strengthened both companies’ positions and led to co-developed products. When the 3D printing market stabilised, both had relationships with the strongest players.

The right partnerships, built the right way

In 2011, Visitech began a project with a major player in 3D metrology. What started as a collaboration grew into a highly successful partnership, combining two complementary technologies into a product that faced virtually no competition in the market.

In the US, building on the additive manufacturing customer base developed through Visitech Engineering, Visitech began working with Keynote Photonics as a distributor around seven to eight years ago, growing the US market by around 25% year-over-year. Five years ago, Visitech acquired the company and established Visitech America. A factory in the US followed, reducing reliance on a single manufacturing base in China and creating the strategic flexibility to offer customers meaningful tariff optimization.

Oyvind considers those two facts to be major factors in Visitech’s growth and YES moments.

“Creating images – together” when the slogan became real

The Visitech slogan was not written by a marketing agency. It was created by the engineers themselves, collectively, as the company was still finding its identity. It reflects two things equally: the way the team works internally, and the kind of relationship Visitech aims for with its customers; long-term, close, and genuinely collaborative. The relationship is, as Øyvind puts it, more like being partners than a vendor-client arrangement.

That slogan was put to the test during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Shanghai went into lockdown, ten members of the Visitech team in China volunteered on their own initiative, without being asked, to move into the factory and live there for ten weeks to keep production running. They didn’t know how long the lockdown would last. They stayed for the full ten weeks.

Logistics were, by all accounts, extremely difficult. With transport routes closed, the team found another way: redirecting food trucks to move products to the airport, using the only vehicles allowed to operate during the shutdown. The effort secured shipments and revenue at a critical moment.

The ten employees were formally recognized with a ceremony, a statue, and a letter of honor from management. The episode remains one of the clearest examples of what the company’s values look like in practice.

“It was a tear-dripping moment to see that they were volunteering to do that.”

— Øyvind, CEO and co-founder

From eight people to eighty, and what comes next

Visitech has grown from a couple of people in 2001 to around seventy-five to eighty today, with offices in Norway, China, the US, and Japan. The organization has evolved substantially from self-made financial tools and revision control to ERP systems, ISO certification, and UL and CE-certified products. It is a more industrial, more professional company than it was at the beginning.

What has not changed is the approach to hiring and building a team across countries. The guiding principle, articulated by Endre (CTO), is character first, chemistry second, and competence third in that order. This allows Visitech to choose the right colleagues across different times and countries.

The company’s current focus is shifting toward fine-line lithography and advanced packaging areas within semiconductor lithography that represent the next chapter of growth. R&D resources are being reallocated, new talent is being brought in, and new customer relationships are being formed globally. The 3D printing portfolio, built over more than a decade, provides a strong and stable base. The next wave is already in motion.

Twenty-five years. Still creating images – together.

But what Øyvind said when asked what drives him after twenty-five years:

“It’s a passion for the product, people, team, and the market. When I see that our products really mean something to our customers and the product is working well in their machine, that really motivates me.”

— Øyvind, CEO and co-founder

When the engineers sat down to write the slogan, everyone was asked the same question: “Why are you here?” Most answered with technical challenges. Roy, who was managing director at the time, said something different: “I am here because of you.” It took years to understand that answer.

Trond, Morten, John D, Ola, and Endre have been part of Visitech from the beginning; through every risk, every pivot, and every late night in the lab. And to everyone who joined along the way: this company is what it is because of the people in it. That has always been the real answer.

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