NOARK, known globally for its low-voltage electrical components for industrial applications, is enhancing its services to better serve Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
Known for motor control and circuit protection products, NOARK designs its portfolio for streamlined manufacturing and assembly. Backed by stringent internal development processes and a five-year limited warranty, these products are crafted to uphold exceptional quality standards.
World-Class Manufacturing and Modification Capabilities
NOARK is expanding its ability to rapidly modify or create products tailored to specific customer requirements
Renowned for its world-class manufacturing, NOARK is expanding its ability to rapidly modify or create products tailored to specific customer requirements. Rob Farrell, Marketing Director at NOARK Electric, highlights the role of NOARK's California-based Modification Center in advancing customized solutions for electrical OEMs across North America.
Farrell shares, “We call it a 'Modification Center,' but really, we are building a new product. We source a breaker configured to a certain extent from our parent factory, and customize it to meet specific client needs.” This facility ensures prompt distribution of NOARK's entire product range throughout North America.
Custom Solutions at the Breaker Modification Center
The Breaker Modification Center, managed by Assembly Technician Robert McKean, handles everything from order intake to shipping. NOARK excels in providing bespoke solutions, as McKean explains, “We get requests for specific setups for Air Circuit Breakers or modifications on Molded Case Circuit Breakers and make adjustments based on customer needs.”
Maintaining communication with clients, NOARK ensures they receive high-quality and reliable products. From the initial customization discussion through to troubleshooting in the field, NOARK's certified production plants and adherence to ISO standards guarantee top-tier quality and service.
Stringent Testing and Certifications
NOARK ensures every product, like their A32 Power Circuit Breaker, is rigorously tested post-modification
Meeting strict CIG 203 certification standards, NOARK ensures every product, like their A32 Power Circuit Breaker, is rigorously tested post-modification. McKean describes the comprehensive testing process involving checks at varied control voltage levels and other critical component evaluations.
“Upon completion, products enter an automated test cell for testing every component. If any issues arise, they are addressed before the breaker exits the center,” McKean notes.
Future Developments and Expansion
Looking ahead, NOARK is expanding its capabilities in energy industry applications such as energy storage and solar projects. Farrell notes a shift towards higher voltage levels, with plans to introduce 800 Volt AC breakers and elevate existing products to possibly achieve 1000 Volts.
The Breaker Modification Center primarily handles breakers under 800 Volts, with preparatory upgrades underway for higher voltage products. Currently, the range spans 800 to 4000 Amps, predominantly rated at 600 Volts, but future expansions anticipate 800 Volts AC ratings, sustained by remote engineering advancements.
Competitive Lead Times and Market Edge
Typically, NOARK completes orders of up to five breakers within one to four weeks. Larger orders are coordinated with the main factory, requiring extended lead times due to complexity. By maintaining these timelines, NOARK serves clients across Canada, the US, and occasionally Mexico.
Farrell asserts, “Not enough people realize we can produce a breaker within a week, a unique feat in North America. As we introduce new Enclosed Molded Case Breakers, we aim to broaden our generic modifications and accessory offerings, maintaining our competitive market standing.” Only a few manufacturers currently offer similar voltage products, giving NOARK a unique advantage.
NOARK is a global manufacturer of low-voltage electrical components for industrial applications and their specialties involve motor control and circuit protection products for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Their entire portfolio of products is designed for ease of manufacturing and assembly.
Each component is developed in-house by their engineering team to meet the strictest standards and performance requirements and is covered by their exclusive five-year limited warranty.
World-class manufacturing
NOARK is well-known for their world-class manufacturing and rigorous testing of their products that meet or exceed the highest performance standards in the industry. What should be better known is their ability to rapidly modify or produce products that satisfy their customers’ unique specifications.
In this article, Rob Farrell, Marketing Director of NOARK Electric, and Robert McKean, Assembly Technician at the NOARK Power Breaker Modification Center discuss the Mod Center and how it is expanding to better serve electrical OEMs across North America.
NOARK’s Modification Center
“We call it a ‘Modification Center,’ but really, what we are doing is building a new product through the Mod Center. We source a breaker from our parent factory that is configured up to a certain point, and then we add to it the things that make it unique to the customer specification. When we talk about modifications, really what we are talking about is the production of a new product,” explains Farrell.
These modifications are done out of NOARK’s California-based warehouse location. As NOARK’s primary distribution center, this location ensures prompt and reliable deliveries of their entire product range to customers all over North America.
Breaker Modification Center
McKean runs the Breaker Modification Center and is responsible for everything from taking orders to building and shipping breakers. He explains how NOARK can provide not just exceptional products for their customers, but also customized solutions.
“We will get requests from our distributors who have customers looking for a specific setup for an Air Circuit Breaker, or maybe smaller modifications on Molded Case Circuit Breakers as well. And, after talking about what their needs are, and seeing if we’re able to do that with what we have in inventory here, we make any adjustments that we need. We keep close contact with a lot of our customers.”
World-Class Quality
NOARK’s experts maintain a close relationship with their clients to ensure that they get the exact product they need. From the initial conversation about the order and the specific customizations, through to installation and troubleshooting once installed in the field, NOARK has services in place to provide their customers with the highest quality products, backed with world-class service and support.
Starting with a quality product minimizes future troubleshooting when modifications are done. NOARK’s products are safe and reliable from the start; their production plants are certified according to ISO standards to satisfy the highest demands in terms of quality assurance and production quality.
CIG 203 certification
Additionally, NOARK also meets the stricter CIG 203 certification. When McKean receives a Molded Case Circuit Breakers (MCCB) or Air Circuit Breaker (ACB), for example, he already knows he is starting with a quality item that meets or exceeds certification standards.
And once it is modified to meet unique customer specifications, it is rigorously tested again to ensure it is safe and reliable. Using NOARK’s A32 Power Circuit Breaker as an example, McKean explains the strict testing that each modified product is put through.
Automated test cell
“For the A32s, once they are built, they are put into an automated test cell that tests just about every component that we put into it. For example, with the motor operators, it’ll test them at different levels of their control voltage down from 70%, 90%, and then 110% of its rated control voltage.”
“It’ll do the same test with the trips that may be in it, our shunt trip, closing trip, under voltage trip. Then it’ll test the Trip Unit that’s attached to it. It’ll do a long, short, instantaneous, and ground fault test on them.”
McKean adds, “If any errors come up during that test, that’s when I work to troubleshoot these issues and figure out whether it’s the component, or an issue with the ratings that were entered for the test. Breakers don’t leave the mod center until they’re able to pass the test completely.”
NOARK’s Future
The Breaker Modification Center is expected to expand to support electrical OEMs with more products. One area of growth that Farrell is noticing is in the energy industry. He sees growth in applications that involve energy storage and transmission.
He says, “For end applications like energy storage and solar and wind projects, primarily the former two, the trend in the industry is to push the voltage levels up for Molded Case and Power breakers. We are now introducing a new series of 800 Volt AC breakers, and we have plans to bring some of our existing products up to that level. Ultimately, we would like to get to 1000 Volts, and I think we are headed that way.”
Product range
Right now, the product range for the breakers modified and tested at the Center is typically under 800 Volts; however, upgrades have been underway to prepare the test center for new products that will be rated for higher voltages.
“Right now, the product range is from 800 to 4000 Amps. Most of the products are 600 Volt rated. The new products will be rated up to 800 Volts AC as they come out,” explains Farrell. To prepare the Breaker Modification Center for this upgrade, their team of engineers was able to work remotely on the test machines to update some of the programming and parameters.
He adds, “It is a fully automated test cell that was built by the product engineers that designed the product.”
Delivery timings
Typically, NOARK aims for one-to-four weeks for an order of up to five breakers. Orders larger than that would be pushed to their main factory and planned with more lead time due to the size and complexity of larger projects. Maintaining these lead times, NOARK’s Breaker Modification Center serves all of Canda and the US, with occasional customers in Mexico.
Their expansion of the Mod Center positions NOARK with a unique advantage in the market. With only a small handful of other manufacturers providing 880 Volt to 1000 Volt products, NOARK maintains a competitive edge.
Enclosed Molded Case Breakers
Farrell says, “Not enough people know that we have the capability to produce a breaker in a week if need be. That is unique in North America right now. Most manufacturers are in that six-to-eight-week timeframe to produce a breaker like the one that we are doing.”
He adds, “We started with the A32 power breakers, but we are also adding a new line of Enclosed Molded Case Breakers within the next month or so, and then we are going to expand that to be more generic modifications and adding accessories to our products.”
