Learn more about jobs at SSAB, and meet some of the people behind our success. SSAB is a company of people, and the Group’s employees make us what we are. The principles of our personnel responsibility are respect, fairness, our common values and a positive attitude towards change.
No two days are alike when you work in five shifts, but I try to get as good routines in my life as I can. Anyway, I can make sure I arrive at work with a smile on my face every day. I check the day’s production to see if there are any deviations.
I’m a process operator and crane operator. I can rotate between different jobs so my job is never monotonous. I love variety.
I always try to think positively. I see opportunities where others might see obstacles. I love challenges.
Social economics and personal trainer.
In 2010. Before joining SSAB, I worked as a shop assistant. Changing jobs is definitely the best choice I’ve ever made.
The variety and the fact that I can impact my job.
I received all the training I needed here, theory and a lot of hands-on learning. Barring vocational training itself, SSAB is really good on safety training.
I’m concerned about myself and my colleagues. I try to think before I act.
Continuously striving to work more safely and to improve my job, both for myself and for the company.
I ensure that that they get the right order at the right time.
I don’t notice it in my work, apart from when I visit the intranet.
That I see the opportunities and am not afraid to let my own ideas be known about things can be improved and made more sustainable.
Training is my first priority, then spending time with my nearest and dearest.
When you live in a vast sparsely populated region like Norrland, a car is the obvious choice.
Adopt a positive mindset and open your eyes to the opportunities available.
To Lars Högqvist, who made my dream of a permanent job at SSAB come true.
have the first official coffee break with my colleagues. We put the world to rights and chat about news.
I am an electrician, whose job is mainly to calibrate and fix measuring equipment at our Raahe mill.
I started at Ruukki Industrial Institute in 1989. The studies included a lot of practical work, which I did at the mill’s research center. After finishing the training program in 1991, I started in electrical maintenance at the coking plant. At the coking plant, I learnt about the automation equipment used in the coke dry quenching and by-product plants. I worked half a year as an on-duty electrician. In 2009, I moved to the automation maintenance of the repair shop.
I have a vocational qualification in precision mechanics from Raahe Vocational Institute. Before joining what was then Ruukki’s Industrial Institute, I did a seven months’ electronics employee course.
I joined the former Ruukki in autumn 1989.
Variety! In the morning, I seldom know what kind of tasks I will perform during the day.
I apply for training, which is connected to my job.
I always think before I act. It belongs to my personality: consideration and attention.
A lot of my daily tasks require 100% focus.
In my job, customers are all internal functions and departments which have equipment to be fixed or calibrated. We work strongly together: e.g. if there is defined deadline, time slot for temperature sensor’s calibration, I do everything to keep the schedule and if needed, I reschedule other tasks for a while.
I do my work carefully and precisely. The quality of the work is important to me.
I belong to Raahe’s amateur dramatics and I have started to sing in a choir. I also write poetry and book manuscripts. I am the chairman of Raahe’s Poetry association. In addition, I paint and read a lot.
Bicycle
Do your work as you would do it for yourself.
Greetings to electrical maintenance colleagues in the coking plant!
Start up my computer with the press of a button, and start up my body with a cup of black coffee. Check my inbox for unread emails. Prepare updates on projects before the Monday morning pulse meeting.
Product development in Borlänge, where new steel grades are born and old ones further developed.
After one year of military service I applied to study at college. The decision fell on Material Science. After graduation, I applied for a job as a product developer in Borlänge, got the job, and have been there ever since.
I have an M Sc in Material Science.
I joined SSAB in 2009.
My job provides a unique insight into the entire steel process, from deciding on chemical composition, though to steel production and finally as an application in a car, for example.
Foremost, by learning from colleagues. Also by reading technical articles and presentations. Training like the SSL Green Belt program provides new tools and insights. Finally, by daring to try things out and making mistakes.
Think before acting.
Finding “unicorns” – steel grades with good combinations of strength, ductility, formability, flatness and surface quality.
Often indirectly as a supportive function for questions regarding material technical aspects, but also directly since some projects are in close collaboration with customers.
As we are responsible for developing new steel grades, which are to be used on every market that SSAB is active in, we have contact with people from different parts of the world on a regular basis. Since we also have production and development in different nations, we also have contact with these people as well. English is spoken rather frequently.
In order to be a company that’s taking the lead, we need products with superior performance and quality. I help to develop these products.
After caring for my kids and tucking them into bed, I usually take the time and relax with a good movie/tv-show or read a book. A couple of evenings a week I train Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
My “Friday-after-work-beer” bottle opener☺.
Dare – say, ask and act.
To my family, friends and colleagues.
have coffee and fruitful conversations with colleagues – if I’m at the office at all. As I travel quite a lot, and mostly towards the east of Finland, at that time I am already meeting customers, perhaps even having a lunch.
I’m area sales manager for protection steels, with responsibility for India, Russia and the Middle East. I also head the protection steel Technical Customer Service and I’m based in Raahe, Finland.
I have held various positions since I started as a summer worker in 1999: foundry worker, operator, shift foreman, development engineer, Product Manager - WE, Sales Manager - ME & India, Director – Ramor and now ASM - Protection.
I have an MSc degree from the University of Oulu, where I studied mechanical and industrial engineering. I also majored in business management.
I first had a summer job in 1999, and after graduation a permanent job since 2005.
I really like the truly international business environment and the possibility to make things happen. It‘s great to meet, and even exceed the customer´s expectations regarding product, delivery, service – you name it. My customers and colleagues are all over the world and English is the language we mainly use. It might seem strange, but I might even have a stronger business vocabulary in English than in Finnish.
I have been privileged to participate in different training events quite frequently. E.g. presentation training, International leadership, sales skills, financial & cost analytics, to mention a few. I also have had a possibility to change position roughly every 2½ years, which has kept me also very busy learning new things. I have taken part in a mentoring program, which I found very useful.
I follow the news about the different situations over the world. I only travel to safe enough places and use common sense abroad. It’s also important to take enough time when travelling as anything can happen.
Lots of different actions and requests: both internal and external. During the past 12 months, also the merger between former Ruukki and SSAB has driven extra interest in creating an organization, learning new ways of working, extending the sales program and communicating it to customers.
The customer comes first. Since I work in the sales organization, I consider myself as having two types of equally important customers – internal and external – and both need to be taken care of. The interesting part of this job is trying to balance sometimes rather challenging end-user requirements and – you might say - limited delivery possibilities. At the end of the day, it means compromises on both sides but so that everybody is happy.
My colleagues and customers are all over the world, which means the global network, which means receiving e-mails 24/7.
My personal interest areas are well in line with SSAB´s values and I want to be involved in proving them to our customers as well and showing what values mean in reality.
I am a father of two kids, so naturally the evenings are pretty much taken up with their different activities. But I also practice kickboxing, try to go to a class a few times a week - that is my way of getting my head straight and clearing my thoughts.
I am a big fan of cars, and generally of things with engines, and in those pieces of art you can see all types of steel in all possible forms joined to each other by various methods. Isn’t that just amazing?
Maybe this is a cliché, but a positive – yes we can –attitude and an eagerness and willingness to look for new things/ways of working will eventually pay off. It was said somewhere that a positive customer experience is shared with 2 persons, a negative one with 7 –which group we should be in?
Not to anyone specific, but rather to everyone: we are all special individuals with different talents and personal interests, all of which are needed to overcome the future challenges facing us!
go through my emails over a cup of tea and plan my week by setting some goals. Then I try to write down what I want to achieve by the end of the day.
I work with developing the markets for SSAB’s Wear Services business unit as a global support function.
After doing my master’s thesis in the same department, I got a job offer to continue.
I studied Material Science and Industrial management.
I joined SSAB as a full-time employee in August 2014.
The creative environment and space to transform ideas into actions.
I have attended some SSAB academy courses in order to learn more about the company and the business. Additionally, I keep myself updated on our challenges and opportunities ahead through constant dialog with sales and technicians.
I always wear seatbelt when I drive to work.
The many diverse tasks that take me to fields I have never entered before. For instance; supporting a global team with different needs and environmental differences, working with our communication and marketing tools, as well analyzing databases.
I work indirectly with our end-customers. The closest I get is to supporting the sales team and centers, educating them about new tools, capabilities, marketing. This in turn, impacts end-customers.
My role is a global one, which means I usually get to have online meetings with Asia Pacific in the morning and the Americas in the afternoon, and of course the rest of Europe and CIS, Middle East and Africa the whole day. My support depends on the degree of matureness in growth and business environment.
I am driving the wear services’ business forward by being responsive to end-customer needs, the business environment and our growth stage in the aftermarket.
Exercising, traveling, spending time with friends, experimenting and exploring.
A hammer.
If you would like to work in an environment with inspiring and caring people and enormous development opportunities, SSAB is definitely the company to join.
To everyone I have met so far in the company, I am very greatful. Big or small impact, it does not matter, but it has helped me to grow both as a person and in my role since I started my journey at SSAB.
have a cup of coffee with my colleagues after checking new emails and making a To do –list for the week.
I work in the product development of color-coated products, with projects, for example, creating totally new coatings or developing our existing products.
Sometime after graduating from university, I got this position by answering a job advertisement I saw in the newspaper. Since then, I’ve enjoyed developing my expertise within the changing challenges of this work.
I have a master’s degree in material science, majoring in polymer technology, from Tampere University of Technology.
I started working for the former Ruukki in 2006.
How my job has developed as my knowledge and experience have increased, which has led to varied tasks and new challenges. I also enjoy working with people, as a team aiming for the same goal.
I have participated in several training events, for example, Project Management, and updating my computer skills to ensure more efficient ways of working. I also read trade magazines to see what’s new and attend conferences and seminars when possible.
Wearing proper safety gear when working in the laboratory or production, and by asking for help and guidance before acting on something I’m not sure of.
Staying on top of things when there are a lot of moving parts and the timetable is tight.
How I meet customers is mostly through test profiling and other evaluations of test material. My job there is of course to hear what the customer has to say and to answer technical questions related to the product, but also to evaluate how well the coating works from the product development point of view.
Cooperation with our new team members and colleagues abroad has been interesting and I’ve learned a lot.
At the moment my major input is in taking care of line trials to run in Swedish color-coated products on Finnish coil coating lines, so that the quality requirements are met even though production sites are changed.
I enjoy family life with my husband and two boys, exercise and do handcrafts when I have the opportunity.
Something I couldn’t live without..? The refrigerator! ☺
In a big company, there’s a lot to learn, but be bold and ask for help, together we can find answers, as nobody knows it all!
I’d like to thank the people on the Kankaanpää color-coating line for their great cooperation during the line trials in spring and summer. Let’s keep up the good spirit!
in the middle of answering emails and going through the coming meetings during the week.
I work with sustainability strategy and coordination at SSAB’s HQ in Stockholm. Working with sustainability is a really varied and interesting field to work in – especially in an energy-intensive industry!
I studied industrial engineering and management, after which I ended up working for a few years with corporate communications, first at an agency in Beijing, China, and then at the consultancy firm JKL in Stockholm. Working as a consultant is a very good way to start your career if you are prepared to work hard. You learn how to work with many different clients, be efficient and get to know many different industries within a short time. After a few years, I felt it was time to work in industry and apply what I had learnt. I ended up working as a project manager in corporate communications at SSAB in the middle of the merger with Rautaruukki. Such an exciting time to join the company! As a result of the merger, there are many changes going on internally, and after a year I got the opportunity to start working with sustainability instead.
I studied industrial engineering and management at the Faculty of Engineering in Lund (in Skåne, the south of Sweden).
I joined SSAB in October 2013.
I have the opportunity to work with people that have lots of experience and who really are experts within their field, so I learn a lot every day! Besides which, we have many exciting projects ongoing, so I like having a lot to do and no days being the same. Working with sustainability also gives me a sense of purpose – how can SSAB become more sustainable and create more long-term value for its owners and stakeholders?
It is important to make sure that you go to seminars and forums, read up on research to ensure you keep up with international developments within sustainability. I also enjoy meeting students to hear what they think about the future, and what is important to them when thinking about a potential employer, or people whose work is un-related to what I do and who see things from a different perspective.
Being confronted with new situations, and trying to get people to implement sustainability into their everyday work – in everything from product development, procurement and marketing to how you sort the trash in the office and get to and from work everyday.
We see an increased interest in sustainability throughout our value chain, including customers. Companies are increasingly expected to take responsibility for their whole value chain and this is a trend that we will see more of.
Since my work is at the group level, it spans across SSAB so we constantly take into account all our divisions and group functions.
When talking about e.g. our emissions, we look at them from an international perspective since we compete in a global arena. Additionally, climate change is a global problem that cannot be fought at a company or country level, it requires wider collaboration.
I have a personal interest in this field and believe that, in future, it will be even more important for businesses to ensure they have a sustainable way of working. I believe that SSAB’s vision is a great way of explaining what we want to achieve – stronger steels create lighter and more resource efficient products, and thus a more sustainable world. Hopefully
[SSAB’s vision: A stronger, lighter and more sustainable world]
I try to meet up with my friends during the week, over an early breakfast or a dinner, trying out a new restaurant or going to the movies. During the week-ends, I like to escape to our summer cottage to get away from the city.
Our boat! I use it all the time whenever I am at our summer cottage – during the spring, summer and autumn.
Make sure that you have a good boss who you enjoy working with and have fun at work!
It has been a really fun journey this past year together with Maria Långberg, our Sustainability Director, to develop sustainability work within SSAB. I am looking forward to implementing all the new activities that we are planning!
find myself planning the activities to be done during the week: scheduling customer visits / reading and answering new and pending emails / updating myself with the latest important news in the market to be able to negotiate using fresh and important information / checking recent answered quotations that haven’t yet become orders.
I am a regional sales manager, responsible for all business, except for automotive and mining, that SSAB can carry out in the state of São Paulo.
My whole story at SSAB has been in the commercial sector. I started working at SSAB in 2005, in the former strip division. At that time, SSAB was very much in its early days in Brazil, and so I was responsible for everything related to high-strength steel strip in the southeast of Brazil. It was a prospection job by that time. After that, I spent many years working and developing the automotive segment. Meanwhile, I had a brief spell in the Brazilian customer service department and then, a couple of years ago, I started working in my present position, where for the first time I could learn more about our plate products.
I am a metallurgical engineer.
I started at SSAB in October 2005.
When you work with sales, you face a new and different challenge every day. There is no fixed routine or recipe for how to do it. It is about dealing with people and no two persons in this world are alike. It is about constantly learning new and different things and being able to offer them to your customers.
Selling, for me, is to be ahead of your competitors, to offer something that your competitors cannot, to have a different approach. Our competitors are always trying to catch up with us, so we must always do something different to keep ahead. This constant challenge and lack of routine is one of the great attractions of my job.
Reading and interacting as much as possible.
SSAB offers an extensive opportunity to learn: internal documents / intranet / internet / videos. The support of colleagues– both technical and commercial - is also extremely important. There is an impressive level of knowledge within our organization, and colleagues’ brains are the organization’s main library. Working together / holding workshops / participating in courses such as X-Days, or Business school, are some of my main ways of getting knowledge.
I would rather lose a sale than put someone at risk. Last week, for example, we had a customer who was making his very first purchase at SSAB. He went to load his truck at our facility without the proper safety devices for the driver and to secure the sheets onto the trailer. Despite him having his own truck and being his own driver, we haven’t allowed him to load, even though we run the risk of losing him as a customer. A piece of steel that can fall off of a trailer in the middle of the road can cause an accident and we don’t want this to happen to anyone. I hope he has understood our safety message....
The main challenge, as stated above, is the constant change of environment. The need to quickly adapt is the main challenge when dealing with selling SSAB’s sophisticated products.
By being very close to them. Talking and understanding their needs, views, difficulties and ambitions. I always try to adapt our distinctive products to their needs to ensure both companies can enjoy achievements.
This is one of the main assets a company can have in terms of knowledge and culture. Often, a solution, new trend, an approach, or a new possibility can be found in another country or culture. If you constantly look at what is going on in other parts of the globe, you will have a different perspective of what is happening – or could happen – near you. In the case of SSAB, this impressive global interchange of knowledge, culture and experience is easily accessible to each and every employee and is, in my view, what makes us different.
Passing on the experience and knowledge I have received from others and from our life experience.
Priority number one: to see my daughters, despite them normally being asleep when I arrive home, and my wife. After that, whenever as possible, a little exercise by riding my bike.
Big cranes
Learn as much as possible, be open to new ideas and concepts, accept someone else’s view or way of doing things. And never forget to be patient: everything we create in our life takes time... learning takes time... living takes time.
To all my family: daughters, wife, parents and brothers. They are and were my equilibrium, my north and the people who have made everything I have achieved in life possible.
go through my emails, sum up what had happened in the previous week with a weekly report, and make some plans for the coming weeks.
I generate and follow up wear projects together with our customers, find out wear application results, and create sales arguments for our sales.
Actually this is my formal work after graduating from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. During my studies, I had a chance to visit SSAB’s steel plant in Oxelösund. I was very impressed both by the company and its world famous product – Hardox. So after having heard there was an opportunity in SSAB APAC, I immediately applied for the job. Before joining SSAB, I did my master’s thesis at Sandvik’s R&D Center. This was related to wear behavior studies for their ceramic materials. I believe this also contributed to my finally joining this great company.
At university, I majored in casting, and then studied advanced metallurgy for my master’s degree. After that, I received all of the advanced training from SSAB.
I joined SSAB on August 22, 2011.
Understanding the customer’s needs, offering them wear solutions and solving their wear-related headaches.
By continuously keeping in touch with specialists in KSC , keeping track of what’s going on and the latest study results. Also, I take part in all the training - wear technology, welding, and structural designing training, etc offered by KSC specialists , such as.
Every time I’m in an in-door public area, the first thing I do is to check where the emergency exits are, and make sure I know the shortest exit route.
I am always concerned about not having enough knowledge to solve customers’ problems or meet their expectations. This means I’m continuously developing myself and moving forward.
Firstly, I try to understand their business, current marketing situation and so on. Then we discuss their current challenges, problems and try to understand their needs. After that, we see how we can help.
Wear projects within the APAC region are my responsibility, which means it’s quite normal for me to communicate in other languages and visit other countries. Meanwhile, through regular meetings and the company network, we can easily share information and exchange knowledge & experience, which in turn makes it possible for me to develop myself and offer more efficient support to local customers in my region.
Together with sales and technical managers, we accumulate lots of application results and success stories regarding our Hardox material. Combined with the knowledge and experience we learn from other countries, we can offer our customer a unique service and clearly stand out from the local competition.
Spend time with my family, especially my wife and child.
My car.
Don’t hesitate to join this great company when there is an opportunity. However, before you do so, make sure you meet the challenge.
David Wand
I usually go through the previous week’s reports from different market areas and discuss key market news with my colleagues over a cup of coffee.
I’m responsible for the structural product group within the Special Steels division. Together with my team and other functions, we develop the structural product portfolio and related services to be able to offer even more advanced solutions to our customers. We work also within key customer segments to identify new applications for special steels.
I joined the steel business quite early, actually right after my studies. Over the years, I’ve had an opportunity to work within many different areas and organizations like service center development, business development related to special steels growth, sales of heavy-welded structures and key account management. The past three years have been a very interesting time in product group management with the constantly changing environment in special steel market.
I have an M Sc in Industrial Engineering and Management from Tampere University of Technology.
I joined the former Ruukki in 2000 when I did my master’s thesis on long-term cooperation in subcontracting networks.
Leading a product group gives an excellent view of the core of the special steel business, and I enjoy working in a really global environment and with multicultural teams. I’m strongly motivated to continuous development and now, since the merger, we have huge opportunities to improve our ways of working based on a new set up.
In a constantly changing environment, I try to be close enough to a few of our industry-leading customers to be able to understand their current thoughts and where their business will go in future.
I have two school-age children and we spend quite a lot time sailing. When out at sea, I'm constantly updated on the latest weather changes and I ensure we have all the proper safety gear required on board the boat.
The product group is involved in several functions and processes, and now almost all of these processes are undergoing some kind of change, so we are all really part of shaping the new SSAB.
Customer responsibility lies with regional sales, but our team quite often joins customer visits or technical seminars in a product group role.
Structural special steels are sold at a global level, so my team interacts regularly with all SSAB market areas.
During the first year of the new SSAB, I have been leading the team to combine structural products under the new Strenx brand. Launching Strenx and our new My Inner Strenx brand program has been a really great team effort from everyone involved.
I spend time with my family enjoying our common hobbies.
I’m a bit of a car enthusiast, so definitely it’s a car, and also way how the automotive industry has driven the usage of advanced steel materials.
SSAB offers a wide selection of interesting career opportunities. It’s also incredibly nice to see how well customers recognize SSAB’s knowledge and expertise.
check the sales results and activities of my team, prepare reports or have my weekly meetings.
I work as a Senior Sales Manager at SSAB's Ruukki Construction division. I’m responsible for sales and development of the Ruukki Express chain in Poland.
I joined Rautaruukki Polska in 2004 as a Sales Representative in the roofing business. After a couple of years, I was promoted to Area Sales Manager with responsibility for the west of Poland. In September 2014, I was appointed Senior Sales Manager, Ruukki Express.
I studied at the School of Management and Banking and I’ve a master’s degree in financial services.
I joined the former Ruukki in 2004 and became an SSAB employee when SSAB and Ruukki merged in 2014.
The possibility to create and run new projects with people whose engagement and goal awareness are at the highest level.
I develop my skills and competences by participating in leadership and sales training, for example, as well as by playing an active role in projects. The biggest project I’ve been involved with to date is building the Ruukki Express chain in Poland.
Work in a sales team requires frequent travel by car. Everyone should ensure the safety of themselves and others and concentrate when driving. I postpone phone calls if possible and naturally I don’t read text messages or emails while driving.
My biggest challenge is to build a strong, revenue-generating commercial network, where each Ruukki Express sales point has a key role on the local roofing wholesale market.
Buying a roof is usually a once-in-a-life transaction. This is why each customer who buys a Ruukki roof has to receive a detailed quote and professional consultation. Our aim is to ensure the buying process and use of our products is easy and safe for the customer. Our quote also includes installation services, so we take full responsibility for the whole process: from quotation to installation. This is how our customers save time and money.
We can learn and use the knowledge and experiences of our colleagues in other countries.
Each employee achieving the company’s sales targets impacts the company’s performance and market position. I am focused on my targets.
I spend my free time with my family – or running. I take part in half marathons and my goal is to run a full marathon.
Motorbike!
The most important assets are a willingness and commitment to work. Persons who are active, open, consistent and creative achieve their goals and can be successful at work.
I would like to send regards to colleagues in the entire roofing department, customer service teams, logistics and production. My special thanks to the Ruukki Express team: without you I wouldn’t have achieved that much!
I usually plan my day and week’s activities. I really to organize my work, but also need to be flexible since I can’t always predict customer needs.
I’m sales manager at Tibnor in Latvia.
I started at what was earlier Ruukki Metals Latvia as a sales assistant in May 2011. A year later, I was promoted to sales representative and since June 2015, I have worked as sales manager at Tibnor, Latvia.
I have studied economics at Riga Technological University of Civil Aviation, specializing in labor sociology and economics.
I joined what was earlier Ruukki Metals in May 2011
Most of all I like meeting customer’s needs. This includes organizing the whole process from preparing quotes, placing orders, organizing delivery to end-users in Latvia, sending invoices and receiving accounts due. It is like a big chain, where you have to be in control of all the links to ensure a good end-result.
Since this is my first job in the steel business, I have had to learn a lot about steel. Before I had experience of customer service, negotiation skills and business planning, but no technical knowledge about steel. This is why I regularly participate in product training (e.g. engineering steel, special steels), visit mills and really try to build on my knowledge every day using our internal information channels.
Because competition is fierce, it’s not always easy to give customers good quotes. However, you should always try to find the happy medium that offers better solutions to ensure the customer is satisfied with our service and really wants to do business with us.
Phone and e-mail are my most important communication tools. It’s important to provide a quick response to any enquiry. I also visit my customers regularly.
Even though I work locally with my customers, internally it is important to work together with colleagues from different countries.
We in sales are behind our customers to support them in the best possible way.
After workday I like to spend time with my kids and do regular housework. Sometimes while I’m preparing food for dinner, good ideas for work spring to mind.
My favorite steel product is most probably a car.
Actually it’s a piece of advice for everyone: Whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
Regards to my family and my fantastic three boys who support and inspire me a lot!
