Seppo Noko, Manager, Utilities, has had a particularly long career at HKScan. Now, he is heading towards a different line of work, and it is a good time to find out his reasons for such a long-term commitment.
“My job has been extremely varied and engaging. Through it, I have been given opportunities to influence matters that concern the whole company, such as investments. What I find particularly rewarding, however, is being able to promote new solutions that are better for the environment at our production units,” clarifies Seppo Noko about his long career.
Seppo has group-level responsibility for utilities at HKScan’s production units, such as refrigeration and heat production solutions, water systems, wastewater processing, air pressure equipment, and electric power and transformer systems. HKScan has a total of 18 production units in six countries, as well as the primary production functions in Estonia, which add up to 50 real estate properties under Seppo’s purview.
“In a normal situation, I would visit all the production units regularly, as in this work, it’s important to know all the facilities with their different production processes, approaches and quirks, as well as to keep in touch with my local colleagues.”
Outside Finland, the working language is English, and naturally, Seppo also speaks Swedish.
Responsibility breeds relevance
Working with the production units includes evaluation and monitoring of utilities solutions, benchmarking, guidance, and information sharing. He also makes sure that the unit’s local operation supports the group’s strategy and is within its values – responsibility, such as for the environment and safety, is a major guiding principle.
It has been this opportunity to influence both the production units’ and the entire group’s environmental impact that has been of particular value to Seppo. He is involved in calculating the carbon footprint of HKScan's production units and related operations.
“It is personally a great motivation and very rewarding to work on things that will benefit future generations,” says Seppo.
Opportunity to influence company operation and its future
As part of the group’s strategic development and investment function, Seppo and his closest colleagues play an integral role in the group’s investment process.
“We review and challenge the investment plans on the table, and we might suggest technology changes and present our opinions in general, for example. It’s a very flat organisation, so we can genuinely influence investment decision making,” says Seppo.
A persistent and socially savvy “number cruncher”
Seppo’s work includes many parts, and you might wonder what it takes to achieve success in his job. In addition to a deep understanding of technology, he says it requires commitment, a willingness for “constant number crunching”, persistence, perseverance, good social skills and an ability to communicate your views clearly and credibly.
“Openness to new things and being ready to learn more are also important in this job, because the operating environment is changing constantly. On the other hand, constant change such as developments in technology will always bring with it new opportunities, which makes this work extremely interesting,” says Seppo.
More information:
We are looking for a successor for Seppo's work. Link to the application.