History

"I’m a firm believer that you don't know where you are going until you know where you've been."
— M. McWhorter

Thank you for visiting our company’s site today and please allow us to share a brief history of where Nor-Ral comes from as it deeply pertains to our company’s values to this day.

The idea of Nor-Ral began back in 1962 when Norris McWhorter and his friend Ralph Sosbee worked together in the tooling department at Lockheed Martin. As a way to earn some extra income, they started repairing tools in Norris’ basement for a few customers. They continued this as a side job until they officially incorporated in 1971 as Nor-Ral Plastics.

Over the years, tool repair turned into tool manufacturing as Nor-Ral sought to meet the ever-changing demands of its growing customer base. Branching out from strictly tooling work, Nor-Ral quickly developed and implemented parts manufacturing and machining capabilities – both complemented by its experienced in-house tooling department. Over the years, Nor-Ral continued to add equipment, capabilities, certifications and talent all while staying true to its customer-focused roots.

We became AS9100 certified in 1995, NADCAP certified in 2014, and most recently became a Part 145 FAA Repair Station in 2017. While Nor-Ral is not a large company by most standards, we never let our smaller size stand in the way of larger aspirations.

Although both Norris and Ralph are now gone, their beliefs, values, and dreams that were the catalyst of Nor-Ral, are still alive and strong in the very fabric of its people. Nor-Ral is not just a company; we are a family. A family of likeminded individuals who strive to uphold a long-standing tradition of exceeding our customers’ expectations. It’s through our team’s efforts, focus and purpose that we have been able to achieve what Nor-Ral is today, and will continue to be for our customers, employees, and families well into the future.

From our team, here at Nor-Ral,
Thank you.