Today is an exciting day for us at Silicia and MicroTech Innovation (MTI). In the last year, we have gone through a rebranding, got ourselves a new name and a new website. Now we are finally ready to share it with everyone.

Silicia and MTI change their name to Kobben.

Supports daredevils

The new name has local roots. Technology and innovation are strong in Horten, so it was important to have a name that represented this.

We took a deep dive into the history of Horten to look for a link to what we do. Then we found this exciting story behind the submarine Kobben and Lieutenant Dons, he says.

It just so happens that "Kobben" was the Navy's very first submarine. It was in service from 1909 to 1919, based at Karljohansvern. With its daring and forward-looking technology, a submarine marked the divide between ancient and modern times.

"Start" was Norway's first airplane. The money to buy the plane was collected by the commander of "Kobben", the Undervandsbaaten Kobbens Flyvekomité . It was "Kobben's" second-in-command, Second Lieutenant Hans Fleischer Dons - a real daredevil - who was the initiator. On 1 June 1912, without a pilot's certificate, he sat at the lever and made the first flight in this country. It went from Gannestad just outside Horten, a sweep over the naval base at Karljohansvern, across the fjord to Moss, and on to Øra outside Fredrikstad.

The technology environment in and around Horten has its origins in the daredevils at the naval base for the Norwegian navy. We in today's "Kobben" combine the fearless attitude of Hans Fleischer Don and his bold colleagues with an innovative environment that challenges the established. Here new thinking is to be done - here ideas are developed and tested - here tomorrow's solutions are born, just like "Kobben" and "Start" more than 100 years ago. We will support the daredevils.

The communications agency Metro Branding has helped Kobben all the way with, among other things, rebranding, branding and programming of a new website.

We are betting big now. In the last year, we have expanded the team with two new employees and now in October we will take over the premises of Innovation Norway here at Forskningsparken. In total, we have 2,400 square meters of space.

Confusion about names

There are two main reasons why we change our name. It has been unclear what we do and for many it has been confusing with several different company names. Then we found out that it is easier if we gather everyone under one name - Kobben.

We wanted to renew ourselves. When we started the process last winter, we soon found out that we not only wanted a new profile, but it was a good solution to bring everyone together under a common name. The company structure is still the same, but outwardly we have a common front.

Since 2001, MTI has worked to strengthen the network for technology companies in Horten. Together with the Electronic Coast cluster network, they have been a strong presence at the Research Park in Vestfold. The incubator Silicia was founded in 2013 and is part of the SIVA network. Their job is to facilitate the growth of start-ups and established companies that work with technology. The time in the incubator will accelerate the growth company so that they get from the idea phase to commercialization more quickly, while also offering a professional and social environment that connects startups, companies, students and research.

An incubator is like a greenhouse where young companies are the plants. Our job is to ensure that the companies with us have optimal growth conditions. The aim is that companies with us grow faster and succeed more often than they would outside the incubator.