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Kitchens are sources of health, comfort and social interaction – many of the good things in life. Novy has made it their mission to uphold these qualities of life with the best available appliances for kitchens. The Belgian company has been at the forefront of stainless-steel cooker hood design and manufacture for more than 40 years.
Novy meets the needs of modern kitchens and the most exacting dwellers with high-end design, silent operation, ease of use, and durability that ensures long lives of appliances. Importantly, Novy meets consumers’ needs with uncompromised quality, using only the highest quality raw materials. A key material for them is stainless steel.
Stainless steel forms the outer skin of Novy’s built-in units, decorative island and wall hoods, and telescopic hoods. Unique selling points for Novy are austenitic stainless steel of grade 1.4301/1.4307 (AISI 304/304L) and a brushed surface finish of impeccable quality.
In 2006, Novy sourced a small trial volume of austenitic stainless steel sheets from Outokumpu, at that time a new supplier for the company. Outokumpu very soon became the number four supplier for Novy, and gradually moved up in rank to first place. The brushed surface finish is a product tailored by Outokumpu for Novy.
“Novy has found themselves a partner who is willing and able to fulfill their requirements for surface quality,” says Maarten Kimmel, Outokumpu’s Senior Account Manager in Belgium. He explains that the quality is the result of long-term product and process adjustments at Outokumpu production units, to achieve a standard appreciated by Novy and higher than that achieved by competitors.
Novy comments that Outokumpu has listened to their requests, reacted promptly upon them, and come up with improvements. They have found from Outokumpu what they have looked for in stainless steel sourcing: a long-term partnership relationship. In addition to the high quality, the partnership with Outokumpu has brought Novy much-welcome stability in stainless steel supplies against the sharply fluctuating markets.
A recent visit by Novy representatives to Outokumpu’s Tornio Works in Finland offered them an opportunity to witness with their own eyes Outokumpu’s quality operations and quality control. The overall product quality is the result of Outokumpu’s comprehensive service network. The brushed surface finish for Novy has been specially developed and continues to be produced at Outokumpu’s service center in Castelleone in Italy.
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