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| Gert Noël, Founder |
Belgian businessman and wine connoisseur Gert Noël got the idea to create an alternative wine closure at a family party, after opening several bottles of wine that had been ruined by cork taint.
Applying more than 40 years of experience manufacturing products derived from the cellular extrusion of synthetic materials, Noël and his son Marc embarked upon “Project Broomstick” in 1993, determined to create a wine closure based on foam extrusion technology. The team spent six years in research and development before introducing the first Nomacorc closure.
Major international wineries quickly saw the product's potential as a solution to the pervasive problem of cork taint in wine. Since then, Nomacorc has become the world's largest producer of alternative wine closures, providing winemakers,wine industry professionals and consumers with the peace of mind that their wines will be enjoyed exactly as the winemaker intended. Established in 1999 in Zebulon, North Carolina, by Marc Noël, Nomacorc has enlarged its U.S. headquarters to meet growing demand and, in 2001, expanded into the European market with the addition of operations in Eupen, Belgium. In 2003, Normacorc began production in a state-of-the-art facility in Thimister-Clermont, Belgium. Most recently the company has opened a production facility in Yantai,Shandong, China.
Products
Nomacorc's closures have gained rapid acceptance throughout the global wine community for their superior design and performance. Using the company's patented co-extrusion manufacturing process, each closure consists of a foamed inner core layer and a flexible outer skin. This production method creates closures that are highly uniform and yield consistent oxygen transfer rates. Nomacorc closures look and feel like a natural cork while addressing the problems of cork taint, breakage, crumbling, and inconsistent wine preservation.
Over the years, Nomacorc's product line has been expanded to include a portfolio of wine closures, each one designed for different winemaking styles, oxygen-management requirements, and shelf-life expectations.
Today
Nomacorc continues to thrive on a culture of excellence focused on customer service, wine chemistry research, technological innovation and a reverence for the traditions of winemaking. The company's dedication to quality and innovation as well as the scientific study of post-bottling chemistry and oxygen management led to the establishment of state-of-the-art sensory laboratories and the ongoing expansion of R&D capabilities in the U.S. and Belgium locations. Nomacorc's industry-leading post-bottling chemistry research is conducted through strategic relationships with world-renowned institutions such as the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI); University of California at Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology; L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France; and the Geisenheim Institute, Germany.
With more than 500 employees worldwide, Nomacorc has a vast network of distributors and sales agents on six continents. Under the leadership of current chief executive officer Lars von Kantzow, the company's production has grown to billions of closures per year. Expansion continues in current and new international markets, furthering Nomacorc's position as the clear leader in the alternative closure segment.
