Sandvik has acquired a minority stake in the privately owned American company Oqton, a leading provider of AI-powered manufacturing solutions that allow manufacturers to manage, optimize and automate their manufacturing workflows.
Oqton provides a secure end-to-end, cloud-based platform that links data across the manufacturing ecosystem to help users understand, optimize and drive highly interdependent, but traditionally siloed, processes. The open cloud platform targets inefficiencies and waste in processes throughout the manufacturing workflow by combining several manufacturing software capabilities: order tracking, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), scheduling, manufacturing execution systems (MES), Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and production traceability. All into one platform, enabling manufacturers to operate agile factories that manage complex product mixes, with lower inventory and a simplified supply chain.
The company was founded in 2017, with a corporate base in San Francisco, USA and three R&D centers located in Belgium, Denmark and China. Oqton’s founding team includes Samir Hanna and Ben Schrauwen and several angel investors, including former Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, Dries Buytaert from Drupal and Acquia, and Peter Mercelis from Layerwise. The management team welcomes the transaction, which will provide Oqton with a strong industrial partner that will accelerate opportunities for growth. The financing will be used to further develop Oqton’s platform, while expanding its commercial partnerships in multiple domains and verticals, such as additive manufacturing, robotic welding and CNC machining.
The acquisition will support Oqton’s global expansion plans, while aligning with Sandvik’s own agenda to broaden its offering in digital manufacturing solutions. The investment will be managed by Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions’ division Design & Planning Automation, within the business area Sandvik Manufacturing and Machining Solutions.