Today
Today Telko is focused around developing TECDIS and TELchart ECS. We have expanded the hardware and software solutions surrounding the products, and we are continually working on improving existing products and making new ones, to expand our user base throughout the seven seas. Our products are recognized as the de facto standard in the influential Norwegian offshore market, a position we will work hard to keep.
2014: A new generation steps up
In 2014 the founder of Telko, Knut M. Hansen, retired from his post as General Manager. His successor was Pål K. Hansen, the son of Knut. Pål is also the main developer at Telko, and Product Manager for TECDIS and TELchart ECS. Knut is still active in Telko as chairman of the board, and is still an avid developer and visits the Telko offices often when not on expeditions in Scandinavian fjords.
In the generation change other major contributors to Telko retired, such as May Sylvi Hansen (economy) and Sigmund Fjellberg (developer, hardware engineering).
2012: ISO-9001:2008
In 2012 Telko was certified with ISO 9001:2008. All aspects of day to day operations were systematized and controlled by a quality control system. The quality system at Telko was designed to affect our flexibility and effectiveness as little as possible, proving that the hallmark qualities of Telko since 1974 are recognized as compliant with ISO 9001:2008.
2010: TelMax is sold to Visionsutveckling AB
After continually developing TelMax through the 1990s and 2000s, with the transition to the 2010s TelMax had grown enough to to live independently of Telko. TelMax was sold to the Swedish communications business Visionsutveckling AB in 2010. Telko has since focused on TECDIS and TELchart ECS.
2009: TELchart ECS
TELchart V3 was succeded by TELchart ECS 2009. TELchart ECS is a sister program to TECDIS, and they are developed in tandem. They are so equal in functionality, for most tasks a user cannot tell the difference. This allows TELchart ECS to supplement TECDIS, and it works great as a second/third backup unit, in emergency rooms, or as an office solution to create and optimize routes for larger fleets.
2004: TECDIS
In 2004 Telko launched TECDIS, a new electronic chart system, based on TELchart V3, but evolved to a type-approved ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System), certified by Det Norske Veritas (now DNV GL). Today TECDIS is the cornerstone of Telko, and it is in continuous development. Our development philosophy is that when you purchase a TECDIS, all updates in the system lifetime is freely available. This allows our users with 10 year old TECDIS units to still get the latest software updates, all without a single charge.
2002: TELchart V3
Replacing the original TELchart (raster) and TElchart V; in 2002 we launched the highly successful TELchart V3. This quickly became the norm of navigation systems for fishing vessels in Norway. Even today users cherish their beloved TELchart V3 units.
1993: TELchart
In 1990, Knut M. Hansen came back from a navy exercise with a fresh idea; It should be possible to display marine charts on a screen with automatic placement of the vessel position, based on data from newly available marine navigation instruments. Such a system would greatly benefit navigation. Shortly after and in cooperation with the Norwegian Marine Hydrographics offices, we entered the market with the marine electronic chart plotter TELchart. In the following years TELchart was continuously developed, and introduced vector charts with the release of TELchart V.
1985: TelMax
In the mid eighties TelMax was developed by Telko employee Hans Baksaas, and became a core product for Telko for the coming 25 years. With this product, the company again focused on telephony, this time in the form of a support system for the Ericsson MD-110 business telephone exchange. These exchanges are used by a long range of major corporations and institutions in Norway, and benefit greatly from a PC based system for technical programming, billing, cataloging, switchboard, etc.
1974: The start
Telko was established 19. March 1974 by Knut M. Hansen. The company’s first contract involved delivery of pay phone misuse blocking electronics for the then state owned phone company Televerket. In 1976, stock was issued and Telko AS was fully established.
Telko AS was present during the launch of the very first micro processors in Norway and immediately made use of the new technology. The new microprocessors were well suited to industrial process control and management and many of our early products were oriented towards such markets. Throughout the first 10-15 years after our startup, electronics for such niche markets was our main focus and has remained as a secondary activity in later years.
Some examples of our products from this business area:
- Abbatoir cold storage robotics control
- Abbatoir weight registration stations
- Pressure sensor production PLS control
- Nitrocellulose production labelling software
- Foodstuffs production data collection and logging
- Firing range target control
- Dairy packing robotics PLS control
- Blank ammunition production control
When computers entered the Norwegian market, they were also quickly put to use in our products. One of our early core products was a weighing and billing system for use in quarries, asphalt and concrete production.