Lars Hellberg appointed as President and CEO of Fortaco Group

Fortaco Group has appointed Lars Hellberg (B.Sc. (Eng.) as President and CEO of Fortaco Group starting from mid-December 2013 the latest. He will be based at Fortaco’s headquarters in Helsinki.

Mr. Hellberg has extensive experience from engineering and automotive industries. Before joining Fortaco, he was President PowerTech division & Executive Vice President at Wärtsilä Corporation, where he served on the Board of Management since 2004. He has held various positions at Wärtsilä with focus on the Industrial operations, Research & Development and a strong focus of establishments in all BRICK countries. He also was Managing Director for the large European financed Hercules program since 2004 focusing on clean energy and highest engine efficiency. Prior to that, he was a member of the Board of Management at Saab Automotive AB, Executive Director for the Customer Satisfaction & Quality division and member of General Motors Europe Executive board for Quality between 2001 and 2004. He began his career in 1985 at Volvo Cars AB, where he worked until 2001. He held positions e.g. as Research Engineer within advanced engineering, Project Director for power train and vehicle development programmes, General Manager for Volvo Car Operations BV and Vice President of Global Business & Volume Optimization within Marketing, Sales & Services. Mr. Hellberg is a Swedish national and has worked mostly outside Sweden in Europe, Asia and the US.

“We are pleased to welcome Lars to Fortaco at this exciting time in our company’s executive development. Lars is a member of the Board of Fortaco Group Oy and has been involved in the completion of the massive integration and improved productivity phase following the merger of units from Komas and Ruukki Engineering. We are now starting the next chapter in building a growing profitable player serving the European engineering industry. Lars is a seasoned manager with an international background and vast knowledge of heavy industry, and I am confident that he will be able to further the process that we have started,” states Peter Augustsson, Chairman of the Board at Fortaco Group. “I am very respectfully looking forward to leading the development and the team of Fortaco. The former Komas and Ruukki Engineering have since many years successfully been preferred business partners especially in the Nordic markets. I see significant potential to further expand the portfolio of customers and products within the European market. Fortaco has a strong and competent team and efficient manufacturing assets in Eastern Europe and Finland. The new Fortaco structure and strategy as a result of the merger will continue to offer profitable growth both for our customers and our company,” says Lars Hellberg.

Mr. Hellberg will replace Esko Harila, who has been acting Managing Director for the interim period. Mr. Harila will resume his duties as CFO.