Get Together withdraws from G Travel and becomes Ophelix Scandinavia!
After three years, Get Together separates its ways from G-Travel, and will focus more on group travel, meetings, events and virtual conferences.
Oslo, 22 June 2021: Håkon Wåge-Lorentzen, CEO of Get Together, says that they are changing name and concentrate the focus on their own business.
– Three years after we merged with G-Travel, we can see that we have different visions on the company strategic direction. It became clear it was time to separate our ways and continue investing in different niches, he declares.
Get Together is changing the name to Ophelix Scandinavia, and will keep having offices in Oslo, Bergen, Sørlandet and Stockholm.
– The entrepreneur in me has come to life again. Now we are standing on our own, and we can finally focus on what we are best at, says Håkon Wåge-Lorentzen. – The name Ophelix is simply inspired by my children, Ophelia and Felix, he explains.
Wåge-Lorentzen has extensive experience in the industry from HRG, JCP and Gyro, among others. In 2009 he founded Fotspor Event, and in 2017 he bought DMC Scandinavian Incentives in Stockholm. In 2018 they merged with G-Travel´s group department and were launched under the name Get Together.
Solid chairman of the board in place
Photo: Charlotte Sverdrup
Wåge-Lorentzen now receives solid support from former chairman of the G-Travel board, Hans Holmen, who is now becoming chairman of the Ophelix board. Holmen has more than 20 years of experience from the tourism industry and has previously been head of HRG Northern Europe for more than 10 years.
– I first got to know Håkon when we worked together in HRG and I have kept an eye on him ever since. There is no doubt that he has a lot of expertise in the industry, and he has a strength in foreseeing opportunities in the market and developing the services to meet the costumer´s needs, says Holmen.
He is now joining the board of Ophelix Scandinavia, with good faith that Wåge-Lorentzen will succeed.
– The company is big enough to deliver what is needed, and at the same time small enough to be flexible and adapt to the market´s needs. Håkon´s entrepreneurial spirit, professional competence and market understanding will come in handy. I hope I can add my expertise and experience where necessary. We believe we strengthen each other and can ensure the further success of the company together, Holmen says.
– Holmen has a lot of valuable experience from the industry, and we are incredibly lucky to have him with us as a chairman. His experience and knowledge are very valuable to us, and something we hope to benefit from when we now are focusing on open boarders, physical events, and conferences, says Wåge-Lorentzen.
Nominated for World Travel Award in 2021
– The gradual reopening of the society and effective vaccination of the population makes the timing perfect to focus on what we do best. We go all in and start with four Ophelix offices, he says.
– The pandemic has been challenging for our entire industry and we are proud that we are still going strong, after all. We have worked hard to be able to quickly adapt and meet customers ‘needs in the best possible way, says Wåge-Lorentzen, and mentions that the company has been nominated for the World Travel Awards 2021.
– After facing mostly challenges for more than a year, I am incredibly proud to be nominated for this award. I am also incredible proud of all the employees who has done more for the company than one could expect. It gives me the belief that what we do is right, and we all look forward to the future, he says.
All in on conferences
A couple of weeks ago, Get Together/Ophelix completed a two-day European virtual conference for the Arctic University of Tromsø.
– When everything was closed in March last year, it became critical to conduct events virtually and seamlessly. We quickly adjusted our services to be able to offer virtual events and meet our costumers´ needs. This has meant a lot to the company in the past year, Wåge-Lorentzen says.
Before finishing the conference in Tromsø, they got a request for a new hybrid conference for Oslo University Hospital in the same city. They won the offer because Ophelix Scandinavia can deliver the best technical solution to its customers.
– It`s summer, the sun is out, we are starting to see an end of the pandemic, and the boarder are reopening. Our customers are surrounded by many new inputs and opportunities, and we look forward to a new start and many exciting assignments ahead, he says.