Applied for ‘voltage’ – and got it

Of course it feels a bit strange, and maybe a bit bittersweet. But Steinulf has prepared and planned this for a while. He’s not dreading it. He’s as ready as he can be to retire.

“What I’ll miss most is good colleagues, and not getting to finish and stay involved in the development that’s happening at the factory,” says Steinulf.

From the Furniture Industry

He has never regretted joining Møre Trafo after 30 years in the furniture industry. Of course, it felt a bit strange and was a real change to swap furniture for transformers. He had to get to know a different culture and organization, and he lost a strong network he had built up over many years in furniture.

“The good thing was that Steinulf, from his similar role in the furniture industry, brought many useful ideas on production flow and management over to Møre Trafo,” says Runar Tandstad.

Many initiatives

When he talks about changing industry, Steinulf likes to say he was looking for new “voltage” – and he found it at Scandinavia’s largest producer of distribution transformers. During his years as factory manager, he has been involved in and helped implement many good initiatives for the employees. Møre Trafo was, among other things, named Senior-Friendly Company of the Year in Møre og Romsdal in 2012, he was in many ways the architect behind the environmental certification in 2014, and he played a key role in establishing the very popular canteen in 2016.

A Big Share of the Credit

“During his time, we went through major changes. The company grew in both number of employees and production volume. Steinulf deserves much of the credit for us still managing to keep the good working environment in the factory. His door has always been open, and he genuinely cares that everyone is seen and heard. This is an important part of our culture, and values we want to build on,” says Runar Tandstad about Steinulf.

People on the Production Line

As Factory Manager, Steinulf handles most of the personnel management at the plant, where hiring new employees has been a major focus in recent years. From 2020 to 2023 alone, 50 new employees joined the company.

Willingness to Automate

“But with rising sales and the need for more capacity, it has at times been very challenging to meet the demands for efficiency and optimization,” says Steinulf.

He believes one of Møre Trafo’s success factors has been – and still is – the will to automate and streamline. Throughout his time here, the board has been very supportive and seen the value of investing in robots and other machines to meet the demand for greater efficiency. Together with skilled colleagues, Steinulf has bought and implemented a lot of new automation equipment every year since he started.

Running Smooth as Silk

Møre Trafo is firing on all cylinders. In recent years the company has set one sales record after another. The cornerstone company in Sykkylven keeps adapting to new challenges and demands.

“For transformer production, the biggest change is the size, complexity, and variants of both the transformers and the substations. This has increased the workload on each individual product, and the bottlenecks that appear keep shifting as we solve one challenge after another. But I think we have handled this very well,” says Steinulf.

Visible Leader

When asked which values have been important to Steinulf as a leader, he answers:

“I’ve always focused on being a visible leader. I’ve had an open-door philosophy where I’m always available. I’ve also emphasized including my colleagues and letting them work independently,” says Steinulf about his contribution to creating a good working environment at Møre Trafo, which has always been known as a pleasant place to work.

Good cooperation

What Steinulf will look back on with the greatest joy after his 16 years as Factory Manager is the good cooperation he has had with his colleagues, the rest of the management, and not least the strong collaboration with the employee representatives.

“The future for Møre Trafo looks very good. If there is one legacy I leave behind, it is that I have always worked for inclusion. I hope my successor will continue with that,” says Steinulf.

The successor is Marcin Gaarden, who comes from the position of Production Director at Jets Group.

Busy retiree

Steinulf retires at the same time as his wife Annette. Now they look forward to having even more time together, and not least even more time with their children and grandchildren.

“I have both a house and home and a farm in Ørsta that need maintenance. I also have a boat that’s been used far too little, and I hope to hunt and do a few more hikes in the mountains this fall. No, I don’t think I’ll have time to get bored as a retiree,” concludes Steinulf Grøvik.