“What I appreciate most about Holmen is my fantastic colleagues”

Who am I?

Hello! My name is Hannah Sophie and I am a 28-year-old certified forester who lives in Norsjö in inland Västerbotten. I like to spend my leisure time skiing, hiking or by a fire in the forest. I also sing in a choir, which has been a great way to get to know people in a new place.

I work at Holmen Forest as a production manager, so I’m in charge of seven machine teams. I control which tracts are to be harvested, coach the machine teams in how to work, and ensure that we get the right amount of roundwood and pulp from the right origin (Holmen’s own forests or felling rights) to the various delivery points.

My workplace

I am one of 11 people working in the North Region as production managers in different areas. The department where I work, the production department, also includes a production coordinator, quality technicians and managers of our own machine teams. I work closely with my two colleagues in the same flow area and with the logistics officer who ensures that the timber produced by our teams reaches the right recipients. My office in Norsjö has a mixed team of wood buyers, operational planners, silviculture managers and transport managers.

A typical day at work

My working days are often very varied, so it’s difficult to describe a ‘normal’ day. I spend time in the office and out in the field with my machine teams. In the office, there are weekly briefings on the timber flow, checks with wood buyers on felling rights, and meetings with wood buyers, operational planners and the logistics officer on production in the area. Out in the field, I visit the machine teams and see how they’re doing, talk about issues or challenges in different tracts, and ensure that we keep up the quality of the work performed and the timber produced. We often look at upcoming tracts and the route for the coming weeks. The drone is a good tool these days for checking that the tract has been thinned or harvested according to the tract instructions, and that attention has been paid to streams and biotopes or paths requiring consideration. On other days, I have the privilege of meeting my colleagues in other offices for more large-scale meetings.

Why Holmen?

What I appreciate most about Holmen is my fantastic colleagues. We’re a really lovely bunch, and we do a lot of laughing around the coffee table and problem solving between us, as we have so many different functions gathered here in one place. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to be challenged and to develop in my role and as a person, as well as the great level of freedom and responsibility that my job gives me. Holmen feels very much like one big family, and I’ve got to know a lot of different people through the various training courses I’ve been on. We are definitely a skilled and committed group of people with the courage to improve and develop together towards a shared goal.

Conclusion 

Thank you for joining me this week! I’m glad I had this opportunity to share a day in my life. I hope you’ve found it interesting getting an insight into what I do as a production manager. That’s all from me!