Starting out in a small town in Norway, the idea for a reverse vending machine has transformed TOMRA from a small, two-person endeavor to an international company spread over 55 countries. By 2000, the company had over 1,700 employees working in 46 different markets. Orders keep coming in, and in 2006 there were over 8,000 orders from customers in Germany alone. By the second quarter of 2010, the company enjoyed revenues of over 1.6 billion Norwegian Kroner (kr), with an operating profit of kr 220 million. TOMRA has also been recognized for its efforts incorporating new technology with its innovations. In 2004, the company received the Qualcomm 3G cdmA-List Award from the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association of the United States for using wireless technology to monitor its reverse vending machines.