Orwak Through the Years: See How We’ve Innovated and Evolved

Orwak Balers has been bringing trash compactors and innovative waste solutions to people and businesses around the world for over 50 years. You may have seen our orange machines out and about, even in some surprising places, but do you know how we’ve evolved over the last several decades? We’ll take you through the years to demonstrate just how far we’ve come as a company.

1971 Orwak 5030

Our story begins in the small town of S?vsj?, Sweden, in the year 1971. The very first machine we created, Orwak 5030, served its purpose for 45 years in a local bakery within a gingerbread-style house. It was recently moved back home to the reception area of our Orwak factory.

1973 Orwak 5032 and 5033

In the early 1970s, Orwak brought customers the ability to sort and compact with one machine via the introduction of the Orwak 5032 and Orwak 5033 models.

1978 Orwak 8020

At Orwak, we are always challenging ourselves to think bigger and our early days were no exception. In 1978, we designed our first big baler and became a pioneer in marketing the multi-chamber baler. This very system would eventually allow us to grow globally as a company.

1980s

As our first several machines found great success in their new homes in Europe and the UK, we started to move into the US market in the 1980s. New markets call for new machines, so we saw quite a few new models created during these years.

Orwak 8010

This machine was the fastest down-stroke baler in the world with a cycle time of just 10 seconds - talk about productivity!

Orwak 4000

Given our pioneering role in the waste industry and our innovative spirit, it may not come as a surprise that when the French market demanded a compactor for plastic bins, Orwak was the first to deliver. The end product was Orwak 4000, a simple yet effective in-bin compactor.

1990s

The ever-growing Orwak reached the Japanese market in the 1990s and, with this impressive growth trajectory, we introduced many new machines over the decade.

Orwak 5070-HD

The Orwak 5070-HD was a response to Japan’s tough requirements for a heavy-duty machine with speed and bale density.

Orwak 3100

We mean it when we say “compact is impact,” so Orwak designed its smallest baler so far in the 80s to deliver on that promise.

Orwak 4100

This period also saw the dawn of our Orwak 4100, a compactor for larger plastic bins.

2003 Orwak 3300

As the century turned, so did the gears in the heads of our inventors. In 2003, we launched Orwak 3300 to give customers a new, attractive, and low-built baling option.

2007 Orwak 3105 and 3110

To cut through the noise of the early 2000s, we introduced a new line of front-loaded balers with silent operation to replace some of our beloved, but noisy classic models. The Orwak 3105 and 3110 models had extra small footprints to get the job done without all the hubbub.

2013 TOM

In 2013, we met our dear friend TOM, a new waste compaction system designed for public spaces with a high volume of visitors.

2016 Orwak 4240/4360

Timed to the founding of Orwak North America, we also launched Orwak 4240 and 4360 for in-bin compaction.

2018 Orwak 3120

The COMPACT baler family got a new member in 2018 with the addition of Orwak 3120.

2020 Orwak 3220

Despite the world feeling a little sad and slow in 2020, Orwak kept pushing forward to accomplish great things, including the launch of the extra low-built Orwak 3220.

As you can see, we’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings with major milestones and many impressive machines along the way. Since machine number one in 1971, we’ve built over 100,000 balers and compactors. Our promise to you is that we will not stop innovating to bring you the best technology in the industry.