One of GLWN's most interesting member success stories for 2011 revolves around an offshore OEM new to the U.S. (for which GLWN helped establish a domestic purchasing presence) and a supply chain partner new to the wind industry (with whom GLWN advised). Spoiler alert: The story ends with the latter securing a blanket purchase order from the former.

The story begins in 2010 when Patrick Fullenkamp, GLWN's director of technical services, conducted a Wind Capabilities Profile at the request of Norlake Manufacturing Company, a designer and manufacturer of custom-made magnetics used to power a variety of high-end electrical equipment. With 80,000 square feet of manufacturing floor space in its Northeast Ohio facility, Norlake was in a perfect position to enter the wind industry as a supplier of magnetics for wind turbines, and sought out GLWN's guidance, connections and assistance to help make that goal a reality.

Following the formal assessment conducted through GLWN's Profile process - which gauged Norlake's strengths in the areas of capabilities, competitiveness and qualifications specific to the wind industry - and a plant tour, GLWN was able to identify certain opportunities for improvement, ranging from quality systems, manufacturing processes, material flow, traceability and workplace organization, that would clearly meet wind industry standards and increase Norlake's attractiveness to potential wind industry OEMs.

With some modifications in these areas, Norlake could improve performance during a wind industry manufacturer's on-site evaluation and would be viewed favorably as a potential vendor specifically to manufacturers of community scale and utility scale wind turbines.

A mere three months after conducting Norlake's Wind Capabilities Profile, Fullenkamp happened to meet key representatives from Ingeteam Energy, an electrical systems market leader headquartered in Spain, who were seeking supply chain partners for a new plant being built in Milwaukee. Without any representation in the U.S., Ingeteam engaged GLWN to act as a boots-on-the-ground purchasing consultant to help identify potential suppliers for its domestic operations. (Read how GLWN became Ingeteam's international purchasing office at http://glwn.org/news-GLWN-Adds-International-Purchasing-Office-Service.html)

Ingeteam's initial need was for a domestic supplier of magnetics for the inverters it was building, and Norlake was identified along with nine other manufacturing candidates as a qualified and potential supplier. Following the standard non-disclosure phase, Fullenkamp furnished prints and specs to each candidate as part of the round-one sourcing for Ingeteam.

Norlake got involved in the quoting process and was identified as one of three finalists. That quickly led to a full-day plant tour and evaluation by Ingeteam engineering and quality members who had the opportunity to eventually sit down with Norlake representatives to discuss suggestions for improvement on the overall product specs. Norlake engineers, in turn, were able to offer alternatives to Ingeteam's original specs which had the potential to reduce production costs to make the product line more competitive.

Ingeteam was impressed and awarded Norlake a blanket purchase order in April, 2011, less than one year after the initial Profile was conducted by GLWN.

Fullenkamp commented on the Norlake success story, saying the GLWN Wind Capabilities Profile provided exactly what Norlake needed to gain a foothold into the industry.

"Our interactions with wind turbine manufacturers show that a company's specific capabilities, qualifications and competitiveness areas are key elements that OEMs consider when evaluating potential suppliers," he noted. "The assessment helps a company to understand what an OEM expects from a quality management system standpoint, another key component. OEMs won't do business with a company that doesn't maintain a quality management system."

In Norlake's case, Fullenkamp said the process presented an outside "set of eyes" to view the operation and identify several areas that could make the company more competitive in the wind industry. "It also equipped the company's management with the ability to bring some fresh ideas to the table to improve Ingeteam's product and ultimately secure a contract," he added.