hen Nordtek Trailers launched in 2011 , their aim was to introduce the market to a superior aluminum trailer that would combine the quality of traditional steel trailers with the longevity of aluminium . After developing this trailer it was launched in Western Canada and quickly became a popular alternative to the steel trailers available . The launch was so successful it prompted Nortek to expand their capabilities , opening an Eastern Canada manufacturing facility . We spoke with Albert Wiebe , CPO of Nordtek to get an idea of some of the innovative thinking behind the operations and he told us , “ We come from an automotive background where the manufacturing process must be exact , there is no room for error , the potential costs are just too high . We know that ‘ repeatability ’ is key to quality and our focus was to create the environment where the manufacturing process was able to be duplicated in a very detail-oriented fashion , while still being able to keep production at the necessary levels . We also have an unencumbered communication process . This means anyone in the company can bring an issue to be addressed . There is no separation between sales / management and operations on the manufacturing floor . Our goal is to normalize our level of quality vs . the price of the product , and if that means making a change to improve a process or product , it ’ s done immediately ”.
40 NATDA Magazine www . natda . org