About NOREX

On October 1, 1980 by Ron & Sandy Haberkorn. The original concept was to help organizations in the US and Canada buy and sell computer hardware without broker interference or fees. The new company was located in the basement of the Haberkorn home in Prior Lake, MN.

The promise was that no money was to be collected until 25 Members joined the group. Member #8, Mayo Clinic, accidentally processed payment right away. Honoring his promise, Ron offered to send the check back. The Mayo contact said to keep it. Mayo is still a NOREX Member today.

Providing the first  opportunity for Members to share best practices regarding equipment exchanges.

In response to Member requests to shorten the name of the group, the NORth American Computer EXchange name is shortened to NOREX.

NOREX Luncheons begin as clusters of Members grow in various cities.

The 1st professionally moderated 3-day NOREX International Roundtable is held in Minnetonka, MN. The event includes several sessions to address various areas of IT. As had become the tradition at previous Roundtables and Luncheons, vendors were not allowed to participate or sponsor. This was the beginning of the evolution from a hardware exchange to the vendor-free exchange of IT peer experiences as the primary focus of the group.

NOREX was one of the 1st organizations to deliver services via the new “World Wide Web.” NOREX Members could download documents created by their IT peers directly from the NOREX website.

NOREX launches 1-hour IT peer discussions held via phone-conferencing technology. The goal was to provide shorter, professionally moderated opportunities for detailed discussions on specific topics. Discussion transcripts were distributed to Members, and no vendors were allowed to participate or sponsor.

1-day Roundtables grow to 16 regional locations.

Ron authors The Unconventional Manager to encourage students, entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders to resist the temptations of radical self-interest and “success at any price.” The book shared Ron’s business philosophy which is notable for the emphasis on employment fairness and stability outranking profit as the primary goal. Ron believed it is the obligation of management / ownership to “flex” as required to achieve maximum employment security. This philosophy continues to guide NOREX today.

In response to requests from Fortune 1000 organizations within the NOREX community, NOREX Select is created to provide additional opportunities for IT professionals from enterprise-level organizations to discuss large-scale IT projects.

NOREX Direct Connect is launched to give Members the ability to interact and post questions to each other online while still being supported by Member Success Managers.

The online NOREX Document Resources area grows to include 2500+ Member-contributed templates, discussion transcripts, Member poll results, and more. The ever-evolving documents available allow Members to jumpstart their initiatives.

NOREX freshens logo branding.

NOREX introduces video and chat for the 1-hour discussions.

In response to the COVID pandemic, NOREX pivots quickly to host 3-hour and multi-day Virtual Roundtable events in place of in-person events. Participation is huge (200+ Members) with very active chat discussions. As always, vendors are not allowed to participate or sponsor. Travel budgets are no longer a barrier for participation. The evolution to hosting longer-format virtual discussions begins.

NOREX ownership transitions to Ron & Sandy’s daughters Deb (Haberkorn) Kind, Pam (Haberkorn) Humphrey, and Amy (Haberkorn) Dill. The daughters pledge to continue the NOREX vision to be the leader in facilitating peer-sourced IT experiences and solutions – with no vendor influence.

Executive Summaries of the 1-hour discussions are created in response to Member requests for quick overviews of the transcripts.

NOREX shortens and rebrands the 1-hour discussions as Roundtable 55s to emphasize the unique discussion format and avoid confusion with “webinars” that typically feature presentations. Deep Dive 55s also are launched to provide opportunities for small-group, follow-up conversations after virtual events. Both RT55s and DD55s are 55 minutes to address Member requests to have transition time between virtual meetings.

The NOREX IT peer community includes thousands of IT professionals representing a wide cross-section of industries. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve this amazing community for over 40 years!