One of Northern Transformer’s strengths was its engineering. The company had long prided itself on precision, quality, and its ability to design engineered-to-order power transformers that powered industries across Canada. However, as demand increased and power transformer designs became more complex, growing pains emerged.

Inefficiencies in managing designs, revisions, and production data were becoming more evident. Information was spread across job folders, revision tracking was manual, and coordination between departments relied on time-consuming processes. Mistakes could lead to costly rework, delays, and potential risks to product quality.

While this approach worked when the company was smaller, scaling up required a more efficient and reliable way to manage data flow and streamline operations. Northern Transformer needed a digital foundation to support sustainable growth.

Partnering with SolidCAD to Build a Digital Infrastructure

SolidCAD provided the expertise and tools to make that transition possible. By implementing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Autodesk Fusion Manage and Product Data Management (PDM), and Autodesk Vault, Northern Transformer gained a centralized system that ensured all design data was properly structured, tracked, and accessible across teams. No more manual revisions, no more scattered job folders—just a single source of truth for engineering and production teams.

“Our product isn’t just the power transformer—it’s also the data that defines it. That data needs to move from customer specifications to engineering to manufacturing without gaps. SolidCAD has helped us build the digital foundation to make that happen.”
– Russell Anderson, VP of Business Systems & IT

Creating the Right Strategy: A Structured Journey to Success 

Rather than adopting technology for the sake of it, Northern Transformer wanted a solution tailored to its specific way of working. SolidCAD developed a structured Journey to Success—a digital transformation roadmap designed to support long-term growth.

Key Implementations:

✅ Data Centralization: With Fusion Manage and Vault, teams could seamlessly collaborate, ensuring that engineering data, revisions, and customer specifications remained accurate and accessible.

✅ PLM & ERP Integration: SolidCAD helped Northern Transformer integrate Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, eliminating duplicate data entry and enhancing coordination between engineering and manufacturing.

✅ Real-time Insights with Power BI: Leadership now had instant visibility into project performance, engineering efficiency, and production timelines, enabling smarter, data-driven decisions.

✅ Automation for Quality Assurance: A new digital inspection workflow ensured that every power transformer met precise specifications before leaving the factory. By instantly comparing specs with test results, QA teams reduced errors, improved compliance, and reinforced Northern Transformer’s commitment to excellence.

The Impact of Digital Transformation

By integrating SolidCAD’s solutions, Northern Transformer has been able to:

• Reduce design churn and rework, ensuring that designs are right the first time.
• Improve collaboration between design, manufacturing, and quality teams, ensuring all departments are aligned on project requirements.
• Standardize processes, making it easier to onboard new engineers and scale operations more efficiently.
• Strengthen quality management with automated inspection workflows, ensuring precise adherence to specifications and industry standards.
• Ensure compliance with strict industry quality, documentation and safety regulations, including the nuclear sector.

With these solutions in place, Northern Transformer has positioned itself at the forefront of Canada’s grid modernization movement, ensuring that tomorrow’s power infrastructure is built on a foundation of efficiency, reliability, and innovation.

Want to learn more? Read the full success story