A Bright Spot in the Corona Crisis

Sykkylven Hard Hit

Sykkylven currently has the second-highest unemployment rate in the country – 22.4 percent. The municipality has many industrial companies that are particularly exposed as a result of the measures and a shut-down society.

“Even though we at Møre Trafo are fortunate and privileged, we feel deeply for everyone who is now struggling so hard in an almost unreal time. These are tough times and something that affects all of us,” says Tor Rieve Kristiansen.

Mayor Odd Jostein Drotninghaug (Sp) calls the huge rise in unemployment very serious. Anything that still runs as normal is therefore good news in a municipality so heavily affected by the corona situation.

Critical to Society

Møre Trafo is one of the critical-to-society companies in this country by helping secure a stable power supply. That’s why it’s important to keep the wheels turning. So far, the industry is little affected by the corona crisis and the measures.

Business as usual

“Even though we have introduced strict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, we keep up with demand and maintain our delivery times. We have continuously managed to maintain normal production operations, and we have taken steps to increase our stock of critical raw materials,” says Tor Rieve Kristiansen.

Sealed Off

Some office staff work from home, otherwise the team is almost complete with a few exceptions due to closed kindergartens and schools. The factory is practically sealed off to visitors, and all carriers deliver and pick up outside the factory buildings.

Northern Italy

“We have taken steps to secure supplies from our subcontractors. We feared that our suppliers in Northern Italy would run into problems since Italy is so hard hit by the coronavirus, but those factories have also managed to deliver the goods in an impressive way,” says Rieve Kristiansen.

Solid Stock Levels

Møre Trafo also maintains solid stock levels and keeps the most common transformer types in stock. In addition, Møre Trafo can, in cooperation with customers who want it, reserve production capacity for especially critical products.

Handled Well

“Even though our business is doing well despite the crisis, things can change quickly and conditions can tighten further. So like everyone else, we have to take one day at a time. It’s not easy to deal with a virus that threatens both lives and our livelihood, but I think Norway and the authorities have handled this well so far,” says Tor Rieve Kristiansen, CEO of Scandinavia’s largest manufacturer of distribution transformers and fully assembled substations.

Corona Measures

Møre Trafo, like all other companies, has gone through the full range of measures to prevent infection. That includes information on hygiene, staying home if you feel unwell, and working from home for those who can. The canteen closed early, and the canteen employee took on the job of carrying out the extra hygiene measures in the factory.

Touchless faucets

“We have paid special attention to keyboards in the factory, time clocks, vending machines, cleaning all door handles, and cleaning handles on equipment we use in the factory – such as pallet trucks. All doors that can stay open in the factory are now open, and we have started replacing traditional faucets with touchless faucets,” explains Factory Manager Steinulf Grøvik. Møre Trafo has also opened up for a more flexible workday for those affected by closed kindergartens and schools. All business travel has naturally been stopped, and Møre Trafo has solved this by investing in new audiovisual equipment to make better use of Teams for digital meetings.