Signing Off After 40 Years with Transformers

“No, of course I’ll miss it. Both the job and, most of all, the people,” says Kårstein, who is one of the leading experts on transformers in Norway and the Nordics.

The MSc in Electrical Power has, from his first day at Møre Trafo, been Design and Product Manager for transformers. He has gone from drawing board and calculator to automated calculation and optimization, and has driven product development and system design for distribution transformers. Kårstein’s knowledge and expertise is recognized both externally and internally.

Valuable Expertise

“Møre Trafo has evolved from being a manufacturer to also becoming a major competence center for transformers. That is not least thanks to many years of effort from Kårstein Longva,” says Sales & Marketing Manager Ivar Lifjeld.

The Chair of the Board at Møre Trafo, Tor Rieve Kristiansen, points out how valuable Kårstein has been for Møre Trafo:

“Kårstein has shaped the company’s technical development and strengthened our position in the market through the trust – out among customers – that his expertise has earned us. He has been very valuable to us.”

Keeping Norway Running

The time is probably the last thing on Kårstein’s mind when he’s with transformers and skilled colleagues. He, for his part, is deeply grateful that his wife has let him spend so much time on transformers. And time on developing products that are so strategically important for keeping Norway running.

A Whole New World

“The basic thing is to make stuff work, to see the result physically and up close in our production. It’s motivating when employees, operators in-house, and customers are all satisfied. The transformer brings together a lot of disciplines. When you dive into the product details, a whole new world opens up,” says Kårstein enthusiastically about what drives him.

Building Knowledge

Building knowledge matters more to Kårstein than constantly inventing new revolutionary products. You build and control that knowledge best by producing in and close to your own company.

“High in-house production gives us greater opportunities to be unique and flexible when we test new solutions in product development,” says Kårstein.

At the drawing board at four years old

There’s a photo of Kårstein, four years old, sitting in deep concentration at his father’s drawing board, trying out the drafting machine. Maybe that’s where it all began?

“My real passion for electro-mechanical solutions started in the workshop at Tresfjord Kommunale Elektrisitetsverk. There was no lack of tools or opportunities there. Later I worked as often as I could as an electrician in my father’s electrical installation company. We were all over the place, from houses and industrial buildings to trawlers,” says Kårstein about the start of his career.

High-Voltage Technology

An interest in mathematics and physics took him to NTH in Trondheim to study, among other things, high-voltage technology and control engineering. He delivered his master’s thesis, System Solutions for Installations in Industry and Institutional Buildings, at the Department of Electric Power Engineering in December 1979. His first job, in 1980–1981, was therefore at a consulting engineering firm designing electrical installations in larger buildings.

– On 17 October 1983 I joined Møre Trafo, which at the time was called AS Møre Transformatorfabrikk, after working in the power supply department at NEBB from 1981 to 1983. At NEBB I designed high-voltage layouts and controls for power and transformer substations. I was project manager for construction of 132 kV and 420 kV installations and followed up the fitters out on site.

Design and Production

At Møre Trafo he headed the transformer design department, working with drawing board and calculator. He then developed a program for calculating and optimizing transformers as a product development and management tool. Development started in 1989 and is an ongoing process.

Time-Consuming Program Development

“In short, this is a digital systematization of the knowledge and solutions we’ve built up here since the start of Møre Transformatorfabrikk. The calculation program is the central source for documentation of transformers, price lists/calculations for Sales, and technical data for the customer, and so on,” explains Kårstein.

The result from the calculation program goes indirectly via the MRP system to job cards and daily production, but also directly to set up the core stacking robot and winding machines.

“The software development has been time-consuming, but it has given Møre Trafo advantages. We could improve things dynamically. We could test changes immediately and without waiting,” says Kårstein.

Custom Software

The software is tailored to Møre Trafo’s solutions and production equipment. When a new customer specification or standard appears, you can adapt to the new requirements very quickly. That has given Møre Trafo a clear advantage. The software also ensures that the system has quality control through the standardization of materials and methods.

Developed a Completely New Transformer

– The foundation for the solutions we use today was laid in the 1990s and early 2000s, when we analyzed and tested every single part in the transformers. We reduced the number of parts in each transformer and cut the number of transformer solution variants in our production. We sharpened the product range and switched to small-series production, says Kårstein, who believes the safest way to launch a new product to the market is step by step – but that requires proven solutions. Some

Small Tech Steps – Big Loss Reductions

– In developing both Tier 1 in 2015 and Tier 2 in 2021, Europe has set clear framework conditions for lower losses. To safeguard the transformers’ technical quality, we have used proven solutions while reducing induction in the cores and current density in the windings. This has led to a significant increase in material costs and a significant increase in labor costs for each transformer.

A Major Collaboration

Kårstein believes good agreements like wide freedom, flexible hours and performance-based pay secure skilled employees for Møre Trafo. He describes Møre Trafo as a major collaboration project where all people and functions are equally important, and where everyone does their part to succeed with the shared goal.

“At Møre Trafo you have great opportunities for professional development in many specialist fields,” says Kårstein, who is behind a number of courses, publications and technical articles on transformers. And he has been a member of the standardization committee for transformers NK 14 -IEC TC14 since 1989.

Grandkids and a Boat

Kårstein Longva has both grandchildren and a boat, and as a retiree he looks forward to taking more trips in the woods and fields and to the cabin that sits above the tree line. But first, a troublesome knee needs fixing for the man who would probably still be playing football today if it were possible.