Blom

Blom is a European provider of geospatial information services and data products. Its activities span the acquisition, processing, modelling, management, and delivery of geographic information for public-sector, commercial, and consumer-oriented uses. The company is headquartered in Oslo and has operated through subsidiaries across Europe. The business developed from a Norwegian surveying and hydrographic operation founded in 1954 by hydrographer Ole H. Blom. Over time, Blom expanded beyond traditional surveying into aerial photography, laser scanning, digital mapping, three-dimensional city modelling, geographic information systems, and online map services. This progression reflected the wider digitization of cartography and the increasing use of location data in infrastructure planning, asset management, navigation, urban development, environmental analysis, and public administration. Blom's technical capabilities include the collection of oblique and vertical aerial photography using large-format cameras mounted on fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. These operations are supported by global positioning systems and inertial measurement units to improve the accuracy and georeferencing of captured imagery. The company also uses survey cameras, LiDAR scanners, and hyperspectral scanners to gather different classes of spatial and environmental data. A central part of Blom's business has been the creation and maintenance of geographic databases. These databases have included aerial photographs, laser data, digital surface models, digital terrain models, three-dimensional city models, digital orthophotos, and related map information. Blom has also provided database applications, GIS services, online map services, and location-based services. Its BlomURBEX offering represented the company's focus on delivering urban and geographic information through online services. The company has served government agencies, enterprise customers, and consumers, while also enabling partners to build applications using its databases, navigation systems, and location-based services. This positioned Blom less as a conventional consumer brand than as an infrastructure and information-services provider whose data could be incorporated into third-party products and public-sector workflows. Blom ASA was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange by 1988. In 2015, Blom merged with Team Bane and Svensk Järnvägsteknik to form NRC Group. Following that transaction, Blom became a subsidiary within the NRC Group structure. The available reference material describes Blom as having more than 600 employees and subsidiaries in ten countries, although the exact current workforce, operating footprint, and standalone corporate status are not specified here.

Blom traces its origins to Norway in 1954, when hydrographer Ole H. Blom founded the company. Its early identity was rooted in hydrography, surveying, and the production of geographic information. As measurement technologies and computing changed, the company broadened its activities from conventional field and map work into increasingly sophisticated methods of aerial data capture and digital geographic modelling. A major element of Blom's development was the use of aircraft and helicopters to collect imagery. The company employed large-format cameras for vertical and oblique photography, with positioning and inertial systems used to support accurate data registration. It also adopted laser scanning, including LiDAR, as well as hyperspectral scanning and survey-camera techniques. These tools allowed Blom to create and update detailed representations of terrain, buildings, infrastructure, and urban environments. The resulting data was organized into extensive geographic databases. Blom's collections included aerial photographs, orthophotos, laser data, digital surface models, digital terrain models, and three-dimensional city models. The company processed these resources into mapping, modelling, GIS, and online services rather than limiting its role to raw data acquisition. This made its output useful for public authorities, infrastructure and enterprise customers, developers of location-based applications, and other organizations requiring spatial information. By the late twentieth century, Blom had become a substantial corporate operation. Blom ASA was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 1988, reflecting its development from a Norwegian specialist into a publicly traded geospatial-services company. Its subsequent expansion included subsidiaries in multiple European countries and a reported workforce of more than 600 employees. The company maintained a particular emphasis on online services and on making geographic databases available for applications involving maps, navigation, urban information, and location-aware services. BlomURBEX was associated with the company's online map-service activities and its focus on urban geographic information. More broadly, Blom's business combined data collection, photogrammetry, laser scanning, modelling, database management, and service delivery. This combination enabled it to support projects requiring both the capture of geographic information and the conversion of that information into usable digital products. In 2015, Blom merged with Team Bane and Svensk Järnvägsteknik to create NRC Group. The transaction changed Blom's corporate context: rather than continuing solely as an independent listed company, Blom became a subsidiary of the newly formed group. NRC Group was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker NRC. The available material does not provide enough information to describe later leadership, ownership changes, product discontinuations, or the precise current status of every Blom operation. Accordingly, Blom is best described as a geospatial-services brand and operating business associated with NRC Group, rather than as a separately listed company.

• 2015

  Formation of NRC Group

  [1]Blomen.wikipedia.org

  Blom merged with Team Bane and Svensk Järnvägsteknikk to create NRC Group and became a subsidiary of the new group.

• 1988

  Blom ASA listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange

  [1]Blomen.wikipedia.org

  Blom became a publicly traded Norwegian company, marking its development into a larger geospatial information-services enterprise.

• 1954

  Blom founded in Norway

  [1]Blomen.wikipedia.org

  Hydrographer Ole H. Blom established the company, initially grounding the business in hydrography and geographic information work.

A European geospatial information and surveying specialist supplying authoritative geographic data, models, and digital services to government, enterprise, consumer, and application-development customers.

• Geospatial data acquisition

  Aerial photography

  Blom captures vertical and oblique aerial imagery using large-format cameras installed on twin-engined fixed-wing aircraft and rotor-wing helicopters. GPS and inertial measurement systems support the positioning and processing of the imagery. The resulting photographs can be used for mapping, orthophoto production, urban planning, infrastructure assessment, and other geographic-information applications.

• Geospatial data acquisition

  LiDAR and laser-scanning data

  Blom uses laser scanners, including LiDAR systems, to capture detailed three-dimensional information about terrain, buildings, vegetation, and infrastructure. The processed point-cloud and elevation data support digital surface models, digital terrain models, mapping, engineering, environmental analysis, and urban modelling.

• Mapping products

  Digital mapping and orthophotos

  Blom processes photographic and survey data into digital maps and orthophoto imagery. These products combine geographic positioning with visual information and can provide a consistent spatial base for government, enterprise, planning, navigation, and GIS workflows.

• Geospatial modelling

  3D city models

  Blom develops three-dimensional representations of cities and built environments from aerial imagery, laser data, and other survey inputs. Such models are intended for urban visualization, planning, infrastructure analysis, geographic databases, and applications that require spatial information beyond conventional two-dimensional maps.

• Online map service

  BlomURBEX

  BlomURBEX is identified with Blom's online urban and geographic information services. It reflects the company's effort to make imagery, maps, models, and related location data available through online interfaces and services for customers and application partners.

• 2015

  Join the transaction creating NRC GroupM&A

  Background

  Blom was operating as a publicly listed geospatial information company before combining with Team Bane and Svensk Järnvägsteknik.

  Action taken

  Blom merged with the two businesses to form NRC Group and continued within the new corporate structure as a subsidiary.

  Aftermath

  NRC Group became the listed parent structure, while Blom was no longer presented as an independent listed company in the available reference material.

  Source

1. 1Blomen.wikipedia.org