Inspired by his father's Band saw Sales and Repair business ( Established in 1950 ) found Walter Oppliger starting his own business after training as a mechanic in 1974. In the early days of Optimatic, Walter focused on revising and perfecting the Band saw sharpener used in his business, which led him himself to develop a Band saw sharpener. In the early days of his new company, Walter recognized the need for band saw swaging and shaping technology. Walter developed a hand-swage and shaper for band and gage saws and were among his first product offerings. The hand-swage was later fitted with pneumatic controls and the model PSE 810 was developed! The PSE 810 was a big success; large quantities of swages were sold through distributors worldwide. In 1985, the development work began for the first ever automatic leveling machine for Band saw blades. With the prototype completed in 1985, the first Band saw Leveler was displayed at tradeshows in 1986. As with any new technology, there was a lot of skepticism when the machine was first introduced. The skepticism diminished when the users saw the leveling results on the Band saws! Two years later the model RMO 880 was designed for the international market. The RMO 880 could handle saws up to 16" wide and made it perfect for the North American market.
In 1987, Optimatic and Simonds Industries forged a distribution agreement for the North American market. The agreement between Optimatic and Simonds has been a true partnership that has resulted in the development of new technology for products sold throughout the world.
With the additional demand for equipment, in 1989 Optimatic brought production of Optimatic machines "in house" in the new Optimatic factory in Uetendorf.
With the success of the RMO 880, the need for an automatic circle saw leveler was recognized. A research and development project was initiated and the technology to level circle saws was developed. This new technology led to the introduction of the world's first circular saw leveler, the KRO 910 became a reality.
The acceptance of Band saw leveling technology was well entrenched by within the first few years of the introduction of the RMO 880. The next logical step in the new product development process was to develop a machine that would complete the benching task, the development of the worlds first Band saw tensioning machine began. With the technology perfected, the Band saw Tensioning machine was introduced in 1993. This new machine automatically added the correct tension to a Band saw and put in the proper "Back".
With input from customers, the development of the KRO 970 Vertical Circular Leveler was introduced. This new machine leveled circular saws in a vertical position, removing gravity from influencing the leveling process.
The KRO970 model requires less space in the filing room and the laser used to measurer the saws allowed users to level saws, even saws with strobes and slots!
Many filers saw the drastic improvements in the ability of the KRO 970, even those customers with "soup bowls"! The KRO 970 turned the "Soup bowls" into usable saws!
One of the greatest success stories in filing room technology became a reality in 1998. Optimatic had already developed a Band saw leveler as well as a Band saw tensioner, joining the two technologies! The RSMO 980 Automated Bench was introduced in 1998, this was the first machine in the world that leveled and tensioned Band saws by using one machine! The Automated Bench allowed the filers to complete a time consuming task with an automated machine and combining the two technologies freed up valuable space in the filing room.
Since 1986, leveling and tensioning machines from Optimatic have been successfully installed by over 800 companies in the sawmill industry worldwide!
It was recognized that having a Band saw that is level and with the proper tension is no value if the teeth are bent! The world's first ever automatic tooth straightening machine was developed in 2006. The design of the TS 06 allows the mill to use the machine in conjunction with their existing grinding machine; it can also be used as an auxiliary feed.
As touch screen technology became standard on machinery throughout the world, in 2009 the RSMO 090 was developed out of the proven technology in the Model RSMO 980 Automated Bench. The new Model 090 AB incorporates a modern touch-screen to access the many settings that required a mechanical setting on the earlier model.
The 090 significantly improved the efficiency in mills that have multiple sized Band saws, Saw shops that repair Band saws and saw manufacturers.