Five eventful weeks have now gone by, and I have completed my rotation within the Ready-Mixed Concrete Division. During these weeks, I have spent a lot of time out in production where I have visited several factories, followed concrete deliveries, met customers and gained insight into everything from production and logistics to sales, quality testing and business performance.
I started the rotation at the Ringön office and factory in Gothenburg. One of my first lessons was how much planning and coordination is required to deliver concrete to the customer, in the right quantity and at the right time. Many different people and functions are involved, and everyone needs to communicate and adapt throughout the day.
I got to experience this process first-hand by joining one of our concrete delivery professionals for a day. The next day I joined Anders Cleasson to several pumping projects, including the construction of the new station at Korsvägen and the renovation of a dam in Lilla Edet. It was exciting to see our concrete being used in such different types of projects.
Later that week, I followed a concrete technician to projects in the Port of Gothenburg where I learnt more about on-site quality testing. We measured consistency and air content, cast concrete cubes and later tested cubes in the laboratory. I also spent a day working at the Ringön factory.
Another part of this rotation was spent with the sales team in western Sweden. I joined different customer meeting, learned how quotations are prepared and helped develop a spreadsheet for larger projects. What stood out to me was the importance of technical knowledge in concrete sales. Customers often rely on our salespeople for advice when selecting the right concrete for their projects. Continuous follow-up is equally important for building strong relationships, understanding the customer’s needs and finding solutions together. During this week, I visited several sites and one of them was an expanding wastewater treatment facility in Kungsbacka.
I also went on a factory road trip through Skaraborg, Värmland and central Sweden, visiting Mariestad, Karlstad, Skåre, Karlskoga, Örebro and Hallsberg. It was interesting to see the different factories and learn how their local conditions influence daily operations. I met colleagues in many different roles, participated in laboratory and factory work and joined part of a risk assessment in Örebro. During this week, I also started an internal project about chromium 6 in concrete that I will continue to work on during my trainee year. One highlight from the trip was getting to see a corrosion concrete being mixed, the first time in 15 years in Karlstad!
The rotation ended in Stockholm, where I visited Stäket, Stockholm Bulkhamn and the city center office. At Stäket, I saw the new C-lab facilities and learned more about the future development of factory operations in the area. At Stockholm Bulkhamn, I was given a tour of the site and had the opportunity to watch a ship being unloaded, including sitting inside the offloading machine used in the process.
These five weeks have shown me that ready-mixed concrete involves much more than producing concrete. It requires technical expertise, careful planning, strong customer relationship and close cooperation between many people. Most importantly, I have gained an even greater appreciation for the knowledge and commitment found across Team Thomas. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me, shared their experience and allowed me to take part in their daily work!
Next I will spend two weeks at the pre-cast factory in Lane-Ryr and after that my next rotation will be at Product Development!
