Meet our Member: Noratel – striving today for a better tomorrow
Unrivalled transformers and reactors
Noratel specializes in designing and manufacturing transformers and reactors. They are especially known for their optimized designs, reliability, and global manufacturing capacity. The company is a strategic supplier for a wide range of recognized customers within the renewable energy industry, including industry leaders who manufacture, install and service wind turbines across the globe.
Their liquid-cooled and dry-type solutions are used across a wide range of application areas in the wind turbine industry. Custom designs range from current transformers for power monitoring to liquid-cooled inductors for wind turbine converters. The application areas Noratel serve are many and growing.
As a company that has been continuously growing since its establishment in 1925, Noratel has been serving the global wind turbine market for the last two decades. Now, they are a leading supplier of high-quality transformers and reactors to the global wind turbine industry, and their customers are receiving industry-leading support through design centres and manufacturing units in 13 countries across Europe, North America, China, and South Asia.
Ultimate security through quality control and reliability
Since they implemented APQP4Wind in 2017, Noratel has adopted the framework for several key market segments and product categories. To be able to use the method effectively and achieve its key benefits, Noratel has been training managers and specialists globally.
The employees who have undergone APQP4Wind Specialist Training have been supervising the design and production units involved in the development and manufacturing of new products. Furthermore, Noratel has developed a software to support them in their APQP4Wind processes, Per Forsell, Group Quality and Environmental Manager says:
To be able to plan the APQP4Wind process and keep planned dates and activities, we have developed our own software to be used. When introducing a new APQP4Wind process, the software automatically generates all needed activities, and the project manager adds the responsible employees and due dates. The software will then automatically send emails to each responsible team member with the task and expected date for the task to be performed.
Continuous quality improvements with APQP4Wind
APQP4Wind is utilized globally across Noratel’s manufacturing sites. At Noratel, the responsible team member for each task needs to report and document the APQP4Wind results in the bespoke software developed in-house. This allows the project manager to follow the developments in the APQP4Wind project. The result of the APQP4Wind process has been very useful, creating internal discussion for quality control in the development and production processes. Noratel has also received positive feedback from customers for the documented results.
The tools and processes that APQP4Wind offers enables Noratel to secure industry-leading quality processes and reliability across their global manufacturing sites. The process of product quality assurance demands (APQP) and the product release process (PPAP) have been adopted for many years. They allow Noratel to keep the cost of quality at a minimum, securing continuous supply to leading providers within the wind turbine industry. Quality and Environmental Manager at Noratel China, David Wu says:
With the implementation of APQP4Wind, the preventive and cross-functional approach has changed our company culture and our entire management system. It is a reliable and systematic tool that ensures that we develop and produce new products consistently to meet all our customer requirements and at the same time reduce our quality costs.
Responsible sourcing and ESG
The standards made available through APQ4Wind have been created to substitute company-specific procedures and set aligned methods and procedures for suppliers and sub-suppliers nationally and internationally. Noratel meets this requirement and ensures that suppliers also contribute to the responsible sourcing level expected. The company meets customer expectations as a long-term partner that ensures responsible sourcing, continuously working with suppliers to mitigate risk of non-compliance with requirements in the supply chain.
Noratel’s requirements are built upon the UN Global Compact Principles on Business and Human rights, the Modern Slavery Act and other international standards. Along with these standards, APQP4Wind ensures that Noratel as a global manufacturer optimizes how it communicates internally and externally to stakeholders involved in the design, manufacturing and distribution of bespoke solutions for the global wind power industry. Quality and Environmental Director at Noratel Poland, Anna Pawlowska comments:
In Noratel, the APQP4Wind standard ensures effective communication between all parties related to the implementation of projects. One format, one language, clear tasks and a common purpose is applied. Simply stated: Ultimate product quality for customers in the wind turbine industry.
Being a committed APQP4Wind Company Member, Noratel is encouraged by the many market areas where it could elevate quality performance and secure consistent top-quality deliveries. Noratel wants to do its part to assist with continually decreasing the levelized cost of energy within the wind industry, striving today for a better tomorrow. Furthermore, Noratel consistently seeks to continuously improve its approach to sustainability and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) affairs as a discoverIE Group plc company.
Does your company also want to take the lead as an APQP4Wind Company Member and advance your business, career, and the industry like Noratel?
Get involved and become a vital part of the development of APQP4Wind by signing up for a Company Membership. Find the form on the website under Become a Company Member or contact the Secretariat at contact@apqp4wind.org.
Core business: Transformers and reactors
Global presence: Designing and manufacturing in 13 countries across the world
Employees: 2,500+
Website: www.noratel.com
LinkedIn: Noratel