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Over the past four-years, orders and usage of distribution cross arms have steadily increased in the U.S. due to frequent fires and storm fighting. To meet the high demand, Kortick increased its production by 30% and reorganized its facilities.
Fires that strain the region’s power grid regularly hit the west coast of the United States. In 2018, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), a California-based electricity supplier, asked our North American subsidiary Kortick Manufacturing, based in Pittsburgh, northeast of San Francisco, to supply no less than 45,000 fiberglass cross arms per year for their stock and repairs to address damage caused by climatic hazards.
"We have set up a specific program to be able to assemble and supply these pieces," says Gavin Frase, Kortick's Director.
Given the quality and compliance with the deadlines imposed, PG&E's annual orders doubled in 2020 and again in 2022, to an order of up to 130,000 quantities per year. A sign of customer confidence.
To be able to meet demand, Kortick will rely on a secondary location located in Sacramento, California, north of Pittsburgh, where Kortick provides wooden cross arms for the needs of the local utility. "Our small plant could help us fulfill the entire order, provided we expanded it quickly. Within a month, Pittsburg's IT, Human Resources, Procurement, Engineering and Quality Management systems were all adopted and integrated into Sacramento's operations."
Thus, with the increased support of the Pittsburgh team, new equipment was installed and new employees were trained.
PG&E conducted a quality audit of Sacramento. "Because we were able to deliver the parts on time and up to standard, the feedback was very positive,". In addition, Kortick has largely achieved its objectives in a highly competitive market, despite the global supply chain crisis. "This is thanks in particular to our high-performancing Kortick team along with suppliers with whom we have forged strong partnerships,".
And now? "We want to continue the development of our two factories because we still receive many orders. We focus on building quality cross arms to our customers specifications and delivery requirements," concludes Gavin Frase.