Emma Jørgensen has an apprenticeship at Normeka. It's both exciting and challenging, she tells Vice Rector June Kristin Melby Enger at Fagskolen Viken in Akershus, who is here on a tour with CEO Sigurd Nilsen.
Normeka is located far from the nearest port. Nevertheless, the Rømskog-based company exports antennas for instrument landing systems to airports worldwide.
To remain competitive, the geographical disadvantage must be offset in other ways.
– We have to be the best. It's that simple, says Normeka's CEO, Sigurd Nilsen.
It helps to have a good working environment – and almost no sick leave. At Normeka, sick leave has been well under two percent in both 2023 and 2024.
Normeka's masts must withstand extreme weather conditions, while being 'frangible enough' to yield without causing significant damage, should an aircraft collide with them. Photo: Normeka
Many with vocational certificates
The company's 28 employees and two apprentices generate an annual turnover of 85 million kroner. Normeka has had robotized production for over 20 years.
Even though more and more of the production is being automated, the company has never laid off employees as a result of investments. However, job tasks have changed over time, from manual labor to responsibility for managing and monitoring production processes.
Of the 20 employees in production, 60 percent hold vocational certificates. The company actively pursues a policy of recruiting apprentices.
Education must keep up
Normeka is approved as an apprenticeship company in sheet metal work, welding, and machining. These are fields that are constantly evolving, which places high demands on the operators.
Educational institutions must also keep pace. Fagskolen Viken is committed to this.
– We want even closer cooperation with businesses, to be able to deliver higher vocational education that meets real needs, says Vice Rector June Kristin Melby Enger, at Fagskolen Viken – Akershus.
She is committed to establishing effective collaborative solutions with business leaders and trade unions at workplaces, to strengthen and ensure the most relevant content possible in vocational education.
Passionate about education
Normeka is approved as an apprenticeship company in sheet metal, welding, and mechanical trades.
CEO Sigurd Nilsen is committed to ensuring excellent educational opportunities for vocational trades. As a business leader, he is particularly focused on technology and industrial subjects. He points out that with increasing automation and demands for continuous improvement, there will be a great need for skilled professionals.
"Apprentices are primarily how we recruit employees. They often come with a background in technology and industrial subjects from high school in Mysen or Strømmen," says Nilsen.
Some have also taken the opportunity to complete a larger part of their education as an apprenticeship within the company. All apprentices have a dedicated mentor who closely supports them, ensuring they achieve the necessary competency goals.
ILS Antennas for the World
With the exception of the USA and Russia, Normeka has supplied Instrument Landing System (ILS) antennas to countries on every continent. ILS antennas for airports account for 55 percent of Normeka's revenue.
The antenna masts are produced from aluminum, the recyclable metal often referred to as green energy in solid form.
Sigurd Nilsen and Normeka count airports worldwide as their clients, with the exception of the USA and Russia.
The Rømskog-based company delivered its first antennas in 1980. Today, it produces 1300-1400 antennas annually, which are shipped directly to customers worldwide, from small Pacific islands to far north in Greenland.
Utilizes Unique Technology
Using industrial robots and unique stretching benches, Normeka also manufactures other sought-after aluminum products. The company's portfolio includes both gratings and light poles.
"We supply both footbridges and walkways to clients such as Posten and fish farms," says Nilsen, adding that the company has also delivered meteorological masts to Antarctica.
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