My life

Vetlanda, Sweden

After two years as trainee in Tidaholm I was prepared for new challenges. I Vetlanda the local manager Jan Liljegren had found another job outside the company, Nils Vikdahl had replaced him and Ken Frick had started as print shop manager. The company wanted also to strengthen the splint department, and so I started as the department manager in May 1998.

It was quite nervous, I still was not 25 years old and I was lacking experience of how to lead people (we have hade a management training course in Tidaholm, but it is one thin sit in a pupil's desk and another to be out in the reality). However, the first time went well, and I got a good support from my production supervisors Gert-Inge and Ragnar. I worked a lot and quickly got into the department. The first thing I did was to create a production planning system for get a good hold of the production. Soon the quality control was also computerised and my dream of having an intranet was fulfilled with the 'SplintNätet'.

Quite soon I realised that the production technique department was set back. There were (and still are) five very skilled mechanics working (Wallin, Kjelle, Håkan, Rolf and Torsten). Here I had the possibility to help them making drawings for mayor and minor changed in the production set-up. In the end of 1998 the decision to install a new automatic peeling machine was taken, and after a lot of work, the machine was in placed and conformed to the CE standard after the vacations in 1999.

When I started in Vetlanda, there were two different systems of packaging splint for export: in cases or in kegs. The problem in the case packaging department was that the capacity was too low and in the keg packaging department that the working environment was not good enough. During the fall 1999 I was appointed responsible to design a new set of case packaging machines with the objective of raising the capacity by 35%. Mostly working with Wallin, we developed a new splint packaging machine, type SRM. I handled the design and Wallin built the machines. During spring 2000 was machines were ready and installed. Soon it was clear that the new machines had a radically improved capacity, double that of the previous ones while improving the packaging rate. Thanks to the new machines, the keg packaging machines could be retired and the export packaging department could focus fully on the cases.

The splint packagaing machine SRM in 3D

In the splint department, Staffan Berg was working on the log yard. Staffan was responsible for the computer section of the leisure club (together with Robert Karlsson) and dedicated a lot of his spare time programming. After I had left Vetlanda Staffan took over the responsibility of several of the systems I had created, and he has also built an excellent production supervising system for the splint production machines together with Johnny.

The splint department has developed a lot since I left it, but I am happy of having had the possibility to be there and help with some of the changes.

But there is not only the splint department in Vetlanda. In the office there were Molle (current manager of the splint department), Annemarie, Birgitta and Nils, and in the print shop we had Ken and Sanna. There was a really nice working mood in Vetlanda, and that is something I miss from there. But most of the people are still there, and some new have joined since then.

During the fall of 1999 and spring of 2000 I passed through something which might be called an early 40 year crisis (much too early in fact, since I was 26 years old). I hade continued to train hard and could run 10 km in terrain in little more than 40 minutes and had also participated in a couple of bicycle competitions like Sommen Runt and Björkebylopppet. I decided to do the Swedish Classic and quickly applied for the Vasaloppet. But the winter was not what it should have been (there was hardly any snow at all) and I had to buy roller skies. Despite of working a lot, I dedicated a lot of time training and managed to complete all sub competitions of the Swedish Classic.

I also decided to get a driver's licence for heavy motorcycles. Shortly before the exam I got an offer to move to Spain for work, which I accepted, so the time plan was really tight and I only had once chance of taking the driver's licence before leaving for Spain. However, the exam went well and I can surprise both my colleagues at work and my parents showing up on my brand new yellow street racer. And yes, they were surprised!

Move to Spain... I had studied English and German earlier, but in the best of cases I could order a beer in Spanish (and even if this is good enough for some time, you get fed up with it shortly). So I started to study Spanish very hard. I could just forget about preterit, subjections and these kinds of things. It was quite tough, but at least I could make myself understood.

Read more here: < Tidaholm | Valencia, Spain >