Reflections from the Leadership Team

As we have entered the third quarter of the year, it is a great time to view back, reflect, value the lessons learned and gain some perspective, while proceeding forward on our mission. Fortaco is committed to reshape the industry; the way things are produced, and to the continuous improvement of safety, quality and delivery accuracy for the benefit of our customers and other stakeholders.

Exciting things have happened in the company this year, which have opened new pathways and enabled us to develop our strategy and business plans for the coming years. All Fortaco Business Sites are currently engaged in preparing growth plans and having on-going collaboration - teams have put in great efforts, trust and visions. ”Fortaco team has been able to present good business performance, despite the turbulent supply and cost development situation this year, and reach continuous growth and profitability improvements”, reminds Kimmo Raunio, Senior Vice President & CFO.

Things and situations in the outside world are rapidly changing, but the basics in the industry have not gone anywhere. ”Customers need safe operations, the best quality, and deliveries on time”, points Lars Hellberg, President & CEO.

There seems to be a trend on the market that customers are considering increased levels of outsourcing both for operator cabins and steel structures.”Several new, quite substantial business opportunities for the key customers are being developed”, shares Mikael Persson, Senior Vice President for Customer & Business Development. Also, Fortaco’s KAM team is looking trough plans for Key Accounts/Development Accounts.

In the field of technology, Fortaco portfolio is filled with increasing amount of projects related to zero-emission transformation. Also, situation in Ukraine drives demand for new products and increase in production capacity related to governmental business operations. ”Manufacturing and assembly of battery cages, research on of fossil-free steel, preparation of cabin business for e-mobility transformation are very high on agenda”, says Rafal Sornek, Senior Vice President, Technology.

The Sourcing team has faced some challenges due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as the both countries are responsible for the significant share of whole EU steel supplies. The Sourcing team has been continuously monitoring the market and done an excellent job securing needs for Business Sites, despite the increasing demand on various products in the world market, like electronics.

Due to the geopolitical situation, security has become even more important topic this year. The IT team has done great work by implementing new system security solutions, as well as developing additional measures to prevent from external attacks. Implementation of SAP 4/HANA, as well as training and development of core team and key user network are projects ready to be finalized till the end of the year. ”We’d like to express thanks to all of you for your continued trust and faith in our team”, states Krzysztof Michel, Senior Vice President, Sourcing & IT.

Exciting projects are emerging also in People & HR, the team is looking forward to the second half of the year.”Fortaco’s P&HR team has been focusing on recruitment and development activities related to the business growth and expectations of our clients”, says Agnieszka Koziara, Senior Vice President, People & HR. One of the projects is focusing on employer branding to attract also future employees. Aiming our focus on employer branding is something we have found very valuable to understand our people, their expectations towards Fortaco, motivations, and in addition, to get a clear view on how we can improve our processes in HR.

Let us enjoy the last month of the summer, be grateful for our team members, and have our trust in tomorrow.