A few more weeks have passed, and the second rotation of the trainee program at the Ready-Mixed Concrete division is now complete. During this period, we left the headquarters on Södra vägen and visited several different concrete plants to get in touch with one of Thomas Betong Sweden’s core businesses, ready-mixed concrete.
The rotation at Ready-Mixed Concrete division has been divided into weekly blocks where Clara and I have had the opportunity to gain knowledge about all parts of the value chain and gain a good understanding of the business from inquiry to delivery and pumping of concrete. The value chain for ready-mixed concrete begins with the technical sales team receiving inquiries and sending quotes to the customer. The customer service receives the order from the customer and plans the concrete deliveries. On the concrete casting day, the operation managers manage the concrete deliveries, communicate with the customer, and ensure that the concrete is delivered to the construction site as agreed.
During the first week of the block, we were at the concrete plant on Ringön in Gothenburg. During the week at Ringön, we accompanied a concrete delivery professional and a pump operator to see how concrete deliveries work in practice. We also spent a day with the sampling team at Ringön and got to test various concrete testing methods. After the week at Ringön, it was time to visit some of Thomas Betong’s 38 concrete plants. I went to the the PO Mitt division and visited the plants in Örebro, Vagnhärad, Västerås, and Köping. In Örebro, we met with the regional office, which explained how the business is structured in their production area, and we also received an overview of how customer service is organized and how they plan concrete deliveries.
I stayed two days at the plantin Västerås, which is one of Thomas Betong’s newest plants. In Västerås, I followed the plant staff and got the chance to see the daily work at a concrete plant.
A day at a concrete plant is very varied and includes many tasks besides mixing concrete for the concrete trucks and managing deliveries. For example, it must be ensured that there is availability to raw materials in relation to activity and capacity. Daily maintenance and service of the concrete plant are essential, as the concrete and its raw materials wear heavily on the equipment.
The last week of the rotation, I was with the technical sales team in Gothenburg. There I had the opportunity to gain insight into how customer inquiries are handled and how quotes are provided A major asset of the sales force is the technical expertise they possess, which allows them to guide the customer to choose the right product to maximize customer satisfaction. The sales team regularly visits the projects to which Thomas Betong delivers, and I got to join a site visit on Smörslottgatan in Gothenburg.
During the week, all of Thomas Betong’s sales force gathered in Gränna for a sales conference. By attending the conference I got the opportunity to listen to the salespeople’s exchange of experiences and learn about sales strategy.
The period at Ready-Mixed Concrete division has been very fun. Above all, it has been enjoyable to have the opportunity to visit several of Thomas Betong’s plants and meet and get to know colleagues within Team Thomas. It has been fascinating to see that despite the differences between the plants, they can still deliver concrete with the same high performance.
The next rotation is at the Product Center, stay tuned!
// Anton N
