Nor-Tech At 35—Celebrating Thanksgiving Blessings

A generally gracious and grateful lot, Norwegians don’t  celebrate Thanksgiving in their homeland. Unlike elves such as Ljósálfar, Dökkálfar and Svartálfar, Thanksgiving isn’t a Norwegian thing.

Finishing up another fine year of business and philanthropy, the Nor-Tech has much to be thankful for. Photo by Pete /Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

But that’s one of the beauties of immigrating to the United State. You gain exposure to to this nation’s own holidays without having to give up your own.

And when it comes to Thanksgiving, Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats  company co-founder, president and owners group member Trond Schou of Norway has embraced the holiday as if he hails from the U.S. heartland. He’s been celebrating Thanksgiving stateside for more than 40 year—35 of those the public face of the brand.

That’s why Schou, members of the Nor-Tech leadership team, more than 100 employees and their loved ones enjoyed a catered Thanksgiving lunch yesterday afternoon at the company’s Cape Coral, Fla., home-based

“We have many things to be thankful for,” Schou explained.  “We have the best employees in the business— I call my extended family—hands down. The dedication and commitment our they demonstrate every day is unmatched. It’s why we are able to stay on top and continuously deliver a superior product and have over time become a force to be reckoned with.

“Although, we have an exceptionally loyal group of repeat buyers in our customer family, I am also thrilled to see so many new faces building their first boats with us,” he continued. “Just as I call our team members extended family, our customers also are members of that fine family. Without customer loyalty and growth, our company would be nowhere.”

Schou emphasized that Thanksgiving means giving back, and not just on one day. Philanthropy is woven into the fabric of Nor-Tech year-round. That’s why earlier this month it revisited its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive program through its partnership with the Cape Coral Caring Center.

“Together, we were able to donate more than 6,000 pounds of food and necessities so many other local Cape Coral families would be able to celebrate a nice meal and give thanks with their loved ones,” Schou said. “There is more to boat-building than just creating the ultimate pleasure boats as we do at Nor-Tech. It is about remembering where you came from and always giving back when you can and do whatever you can to strengthen and support the community in where you live and work.

“Our main focus is helping children in need and we work with several charities including the Blessings A Back Pack program, which is led by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida, Ronald Mc Donald House Southwest Florida, Golisano Children’s Hospital and many others to make that happen. These charities have a special place in our hearts, we are proud to be able to support them in their mission and thank them for providing companies like ours with a platform to be able to participate.”

That business has been good isn’t lost on Schou. He never takes that for granted.

“We are incredibly fortunate to be finishing up another record year at Nor-Tech, “ he said. “I can proudly say on behalf of the ownership and employees that we are thankful for 2025 and are looking forward to 2026.

“We are very, very blessed,” he added.

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