Who am I?
My roots are in Västmanland and I trained as a certified forester in Umeå, but I now live with my partner in Norrköping. Outside of work, I like to fill my time with a mix of activities. Exercise, running, orienteering or outdoor pursuits are some of the more active things I do on a regular basis, while baking, sharing the results with friends and reading books bring me a sense of calm.
In short, I’m curious about life and the world and keen to explore things large and small, which is why travelling and hiking are two interests that are close to my heart.
Mountain hike in Rogen.
From this summer’s interrailing in Europe. Here I am in front of a diesel train in the Julian Alps in Slovenia.
My workplace
I work in the wood department (known as VA), together with colleagues focused on biofuels and logistics. The department is a great place to be because we deal with many different issues and so you get an insight into much more than your own work.
The VA team are scattered all over our geographical area, but you’ll find me at the regional office in the centre of Norrköping. The office houses around 30 colleagues from different parts of the organisation, including accounting, local purchasing, finance, communications and VA.
The regional office in Norrköping, on the bank of Motala ström.
Although I’m based at the regional office, you’ll often find me elsewhere. One day a week I’m at Holmen Forest’s other office in Norrköping, working with my colleagues in the production department. Sometimes I’m out in the forest, and now and then I’ll show up at one of our industrial facilities or measuring sites.
This is my workplace too.
A working day
For me, no two working days are ever the same, generally speaking. Although my job title is ‘specialist’, the role is very broad, giving me the privilege of working with both forestry and industry.
My duties include price evaluations, various analyses, price lists, log cutting and measurement issues, and follow-up. I also work on most wood value and quality projects, which is such an enjoyable part of my job, especially working across business area boundaries.
More specifically, my job involves ensuring that we prepare logs of the right lengths and dimensions in the forest, to meet internal and external sawmill specifications. I therefore work closely with our own industrial facilities, so that I can translate their wood orders into a matrix of lengths, dimensions and distribution requirements that the harvesters in the forest use to cut the trees. Getting this right requires analyses and a sound understanding of the forest, machinery and industry. In addition, the job involves following up on outcomes and making adjustments where necessary, as well as ensuring that we meet the required level of quality.
Is the wood good or bad?
Checking the logs. Are they the right length and straight enough?
Why Holmen?
I’ve been working at Holmen for about four years and I enjoy it very much. Why? First and foremost, it’s the sense of community and the high level of commitment from all my colleagues, which make my workplace fun and rewarding. I love the commitment in particular, as it creates an upbeat atmosphere that makes me want to do the best job I can.
I also appreciate the fact that Holmen is a large company that’s spread out across the country, making it possible to live close to work in so many locations from south to north. Holmen’s size also means that there are many different job and development opportunities in all the business areas, which I like. Another thing that makes Holmen attractive to me is that in my role I get to interact with colleagues from Paper and Wood Products and so I get to learn more about the whole business, plus it adds another dimension to the job, in a positive way.
Harvester operator Lars-Åke and I in conversation about log dimensions.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading about me and my job. I hope it has given you a better idea of what a wood specialist at Holmen Forest might actually do during a working week. I hope our paths cross – in the forest or out in the business somewhere. Bye for now!