Citec attitude 2015 1

CITEC

1•2015

Sports and business – not that far apart PAGE 6

Sales is engineering and maths

LNG and renewables on the rise PAGE 18

PAGE 20

CITEC FRANCE STEPS UP A GEAR PAGE 10

EDITORIAL

CITEC

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Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Or?

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ulture eats strategy for breakfast – these words, often tied to famous Austrian-American professor Peter Drucker, are frequently quoted by people who see culture as the heart of all great companies. Some say that anyone can come up with a fancy strategy, but that it is much harder to build a winning culture.

In my opinion, no culture, however strong, can overcome poor choices when it comes to corporate strategy. To perform in today’s challenging, highly competitive and complex environment without a clear and well-established strategy, is impossible. The key success factor is to nurture both culture and strategy. If culture is hard to change, which it is, then strategy is too. Both take years to build; both take years to change.

At Citec, we nurture the open and “low hurdle” spirit of the company.

In personnel surveys, we often receive comments like “Senior management is very easy to approach”, and “My colleagues help me out”. We listen and value this highly, and of course also monitor and act carefully on constructive feedback.

For many years, Citec has been strategically working towards providing the energy sector with engineering and information management services. In 2014, we made a breakthrough in our strategy execution when several new key customers – Cargotec, Neste Jacobs and Linde – decided to work with us. Reaching this point has required many years of strategically persistent work and repeating the mantra: global resourcing and local presence.

PUBLISHER Citec, P.O. Box 109, FI-65101 Vaasa +358 (0)6 324 0700 attitude@citec.com EDITORIAL BOARD Vinita Darole, Maria Bertula, Katarina Westerén-Hagnäs, Michael Smirnoff, Lars Rosenblad, Ralf Petell, Anna Jeanne Söderlund EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Smirnoff PROJECT MANAGEMENT, EDITING Anna Jeanne Söderlund PRODUCTION Mantra Communications and Citec LAYOUT Studio PAP COVER PHOTO Sami Pulkkinen PRINT Forsberg 2015 COMPANY KEY FACTS Citec offers multi-discipline engineering and consulting, and provides services related to information management.

The total number of employees is 1,300 and the turnover for 2014 was 77 million euros.

Citec is headquartered in Vaasa, Finland and has offices in Finland, Sweden, the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Kazakhstan and India.

My journey with Citec has lasted for more than seven years now and I still think that the entrepreneurial and open atmosphere remains, although we have almost doubled our staff in these years. This spirit is something we combine with efficient strategy execution.

Culture and strategy may very well feed each other. In this edition of Attitude, you will find a variety of people, competences, services and great customer cases. This is our mix of culture and strategy communicated through Attitude. For real.

Happy reading!

MICHAEL SMIRNOFF DIRECTOR, GROUP MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS CITEC

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CONTENTS

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“ Our values shine through in our day-today work. I dare say that we work a bit differently than other engineering companies.”

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PAGE 6

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“ Thanks to the new tool we can produce oil & gas estimates more quickly, but most importantly more accurately.”

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“The world’s energy sector is currently almost in standby mode.”

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“The best sales guys I have met during my career have very often been engineers.”

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NEWS

New CFO gears up for business ■ Kimmo Rauhala was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Citec Group in March 2015. After working a couple of months at the company, he is thrilled about his new job.

“I am happy to be here. Citec has proved to be a dynamic and truly international company. After my short experience, I can already tell that the Citec way of working globally in customer projects is a clear strength in the highly competitive engineering market”, Rauhala says.

Rauhala brings in a combination of solid financial competence as well as strategic and operative business management experience from several B2B sectors. Prior to his new role at Citec, he worked as CFO of EpiCrystals, and before that in various senior executive positions in different companies, among them VTI Technologies. Rauhala is also a member of the global business management team of Citec.

OSLO ■ What do you think is the best thing about your hometown, Merete Munthe-Kaas, Manager at Citec Norway?

“Oslo is a small city with short distances. Ten minutes from the centre you can find beautiful cross-country ski slopes and downhill skiing during winter. In the summer there are a lot of green areas to enjoy. A downside with Oslo are the traffic jams, and that’s the reason that our office is located in Asker outside the city. Asker is actually called the Engineering Valley of Oslo.

What is your relationship to Oslo?

“I was born here and have lived here all my life.

Both my grown-up kids and my closest family live here too, so I have strong bonds to the city. I enjoy eating lunch and shopping in the city centre, or just having a beer in the sun at Aker Brygge by the seaside.”

What are the must-sees for a first time visitor?

“It is definitely Holmenkollen, our famous skijumping hill. Close to it is Frognerseteren, from where you have a lovely view over the city and Oslofjorden. They also serve good food, but it’s quite expensive even for us Norwegians.

Vigelandsparken is also worth a visit – it’s a large park in the heart of Oslo with more than 200 sculptures. I also strongly recommend a visit to the Norsk folkmuseum at Bygdøy, Norway’s largest museum of cultural history.”

What restaurants do you recommend?

“My personal favourite is Bølgen and Moi at Aker Brygge, especially in the summer. In a part of Oslo called Grünerløkka you can also find a lot of cosy intimate restaurants.”

FACTS

Around rld the wo c ite with C

• Oslo is the capital of Norway and has a population of 600,000. The whole metropolitan area has double the amount of inhabitants.

• Citec’s office in Asker just outside Oslo was established in 2013 through the acquisition of the Norweigan company M7 Offshore.

5 QUESTIONS

Kimmo Rauhala

In her right element Ulla Björklund works as an Expert in Health and Product Safety at Citec in Vaasa, Finland.

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What does your job entail?

We ensure that safety is taken into consideration during the concept and design stages of our projects, which are mostly power plant projects. We contribute to the overall plant safety including, for example, process safety and escape routes. We also design strategies for how the power plant will behave in the event of a fire,

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leakage or other emergencies. I have now worked in this position for four years and I truly feel I am in my right element.

What is it that appeals to you? I like the variation. I get to work with different people from diverse fields, and I have the opportunity to see the projects from both a bird’s eye and a frog’s perspective. Since many

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NEWS

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New office in Kazakhstan ■ Citec has opened a new representative office in Kazakhstan under Citec Russia.

“As the Russian market is currently slowing down, we see new opportunities in Kazakhstan, where economic growth has been stronger”, says Magnus Forsbäck, Managing Director for Citec Russia.

Local presence is a must in Kazakhstan in order to enter the market and obtain the necessary design licenses. According to Forsbäck, Citec has good opportunities to develop business in Kazakhstan in sectors such as oil & gas, power supply, industrial facilities, the chemical industry and civil objects.

A 19 kilometre long pioneering project

NEWCOMER. Well-known Swiss railway company Stadler is now a customer of Citec.

Entering a journey with Stadler Rail ■ Citec Germany has got its first order from the Swiss railway company Stadler Rail. A number of Citec employees are currently working at Stadler’s premises in Switzerland, supporting the customer with mechanical engineering in various railway vehicles projects.

Stadler Rail is a well-known and highly respected company in the rail vehicles sector, and there is great

disciplines are usually involved, I emphasize that we all need to work towards the same goal. In addition to that, I juggle several projects at once. I am a curious and analytical person and like to combine my experience with new information to find the best solutions. Although work is demanding at times, it is also very rewarding when the pieces fall into place.

potential regarding the future cooperation between the two companies.

Citec Germany has a long-term experience of rail vehicle design and the employees are always trained on the latest CAD software. The typical way of working is simultaneous engineering together with customers.

Tell us about your background! I hold a Master’s degree in Engineering and I have worked in the oil and chemical industries with production, product stewardship, research, logistics and technical support. After a pretty long sojourn that included studies and work in southern Finland, the whole family moved back to Vaasa where both I and my husband have our roots.

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Citec’s work included process design, as well as piping, electrical, instrumentation and fire-fighting systems.

The Middle East is a very interesting market for Citec, as there is a huge demand for engineering competence in the oil & gas sector. Although Citec had earlier carried out refinery projects in the region, the Yanbu project was special in the sense that it was the first ever pipeline project.

■ Citec has completed the first pipeline project in the company history. The project covered the fuel and water facilities for the Yanbu 2 power plant in Saudi Arabia. The end customer was HANWHA Engineering & Construction company.

Citec’s scope of the work covered complete multi­ discipline engineering services for the fuel pipelines that connect the Yanbu crude oil terminal with the Yanbu power plant. The pipelines have a total length of 19 kilometres.

You live in a real Citecfamily, right?

That is correct. My husband Anders Björklund also works at Citec and sure, we sometimes discuss work at home. We have three children, two of them schoolaged, so a lot of our time is spent driving them to hockey and football practices. We have very recently received the keys to our new house as well.

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It sounds as if you have your hands full – do you have time for any hobbies?

Actually I do! During the winter I attended a woodwork course and I made a gymnastics wall bar for the kids to use in our new house. That said, the whole family is really looking forward to getting the boat back in the water. Fishing and boating during the summer is the family’s common hobby.

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SPORTS & BUSINESS

TEAMBUI L ON AND OFF Are there any similarities between running an ice hockey team and running a company? The question goes to Head Coach Tomek Valtonen of local ice hockey team Vaasan Sport and Citec’s CEO Martin Strand, who manages a team of 1,300 professionals.

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itec is a long-standing sponsor of local ice hockey team Vaasan Sport, which, like Citec, hails from Vaasa in Finland. For the 2014–2015 season, Sport was promoted to the highest division. This meant that the whole team needed to step up their game, since the requirements were heavily raised. Citec’s story is similar; the more the company has grown, the more demanding and complex the projects have become.

In ice hockey, the players are the key to success the same way that Citec’s employees are crucial in their line of work.

But are there other similarities when building and leading a team in the sport and business sectors respectively? Citec’s CEO Martin Strand and Sport’s head coach Tomek Valtonen give their views on the matter.

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THE TEAM PUZZLE TOMEK: My team consists of 30 players, all with different

personalities. Building a team before a new season is like putting together a puzzle; first we buy the most expensive players, and then we start to fill the other slots according to what the wallet allows and the market supplies. A great team needs different kinds of players, both bruisers and artists. However, more important than the talent is the personality of the player. In the end it is the personality that determines if you can adapt and work together with the other players. I count on all the players to be able to work as a team on the ice; we cannot afford them not to.

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LDING THE ICE

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SPORTS & BUSINESS

Like in business life, the world of ice hockey toda Katja Lösönen

YOUNGISH TEAMS. Many of the Sport icehockey players are promising talents, and the average age of the employees at Citec is fairly low as well.

Martin: Since we work on a project basis, this means that the teams are put together before each project, much like a Sport team is put together before a new season. The composition of the team is determined not so much by personality, but by experience and competence, since we, like Sport, assume that everyone should be able to work together. However, when we are hiring, the personality is of course an important factor in addition to competence and experience. Being a team player is of the utmost importance for the projects to succeed, since our whole business model is based on the ability to cooperate and communicate well.

Martin: Our business model is based on cooperation and our corporate values rely on mutual respect; we assume that everyone is able to work with anyone. We try to match the correct person with the suitable tasks at the right time. In practice, what often happens is that the more social individuals might become sales executives or project managers, whilst the more techy ones become experts.

A YOUNGISH TEAM BRINGS ADVANTAGES TOMEK: Many of our players are promising talents.

STRATEGIC MATCHMAKING TOMEK: A player lacking motivation can be a burden

TEAM PLAY. “Our whole business model is based on the ability to cooperate and communicate well”, says Martin Strand.

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for the whole team. I speak to the players a lot to get a feeling for how they are doing and to be able to prevent any potential problems. Shouting and ranting does not work. Instead, you have to tread lightly to get across to them. During my career as a manager I have learnt that the most important thing is to prevent the problems already when recruiting.

Before I hire a new player I make a lot of phone calls to check what makes the person in question tick, and what his general attitude is.

Since we have a lower player budget than the other league teams, this is a sensible strategy, and to be honest, our only chance to succeed in the games. We sign long contracts with young local talent and hope that they develop into full-blown pros.

Martin: The average age of our employees at Citec is fairly low as well. I think that is one reason behind our open and direct company culture. We like to see the young talent develop step-by-step and consistently receive more demanding tasks. We also encourage people to work abroad for some time to broaden their horizons.

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ay is international MARIA SUNDELIN

INTERNATIONALITY IS OBVIOUS TOMEK: Like in the business sector, the world of ice

hockey today is international. We have a lot of foreign players and English is our daily working language. The greatest challenge with an international team like this is to get the foreign players to like living in Vaasa. I have also learnt that it is not only the players that need to like it, but their families too. If a wife or girlfriend does not like it here, there is a big risk that the player will not stay in the long run.

Martin: At Citec almost all teams cross national borders; it is explicitly our way of working. When a lot of nationalities work together, communication is the biggest challenge, since misunderstandings easily happen. Even if we have fine technical aids to help us work together, meeting face-to-face occasionally is still important. As I lived in France for two years earlier in my career, I can highly recommend going abroad to work for a while. Of course, foreign postings always cause some practical challenges – much like hockey players, engineers too have families, so we look for solutions that work and are interesting for the whole family.

THE BRAND IS VISIBLE IN THE DAY-TO-DAY WORK TOMEK: Our goal is that the Sport brand should be

visible even when the logo on the jersey isn’t – the brand should be evident in our way of playing. We play fast-paced, active ice hockey. We never give up and fight until the last second. Another of our values is to constantly develop as a team.

Martin: At Citec too, the values shine through in our day-to-day work. I dare say that we work a bit differently than other engineering companies, which is probably due to the fact that a lot of Citec’s workforce has been outsourced from other companies. This means we are more service-minded and think more specifically about the customer’s business. Our product is not just a bunch of blueprints, but the whole process of creating those blueprints to suit the customer in question.

BRUISERS AND ARTISTS. “A great team needs different kinds of players, but I count on all the players to be able to work as a team on the ice”, says Tomek Valtonen.

Sami Pulkkinen

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CITEC FRANCE CASE: WÄRTSILÄ

NEW ERA FOR CITEC When Mikael Strand was asked if he wanted to join Citec France, he did not ponder for long before saying yes.

Now he leads a company in a strong development phase.

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itec France was originally founded as a back office in 2008. The company grew slowly for a few years until Citec acquired the French oil & gas company Akilea Engineering in 2013. This meant that the French workforce suddenly increased dramatically. In August 2013, Mikael Strand moved from Finland to France as a Business Development Manager and a few months later he became the Managing Director of Citec France.

“When I got the question I did not have to think about it very long. I called my wife, who responded positively, and that settled it”, Strand recalls.

Strand had previously lived in France as a teenager and speaks the language fluently. In addition, he had always wanted to work abroad for some time if given the opportunity.

Since February 2015 Strand has been leading both Citec France and Akilea Engineering; one of his foremost tasks is to integrate and develop the two companies. The hunt is presently on for a new space in Paris where all the employees can fit together; the two companies also need to merge juridically.

“I do not foresee any major challenges relating to the merger, rather there is a lot of good synergy to be harnessed. Akilea has a lot of customers we haven’t had before and we have already had many potential discussions thanks to Akilea’s contacts”, Strand says.

Generally speaking, Akilea operates a slightly different business model than Citec, as the company mostly provides manpower services.

Strand, however, does not see that as a problem.

“We will continue with the same business model, SATISFIED but AND at the RELIEVED. same time“The we will close tryproximity to pitch for and smoothly forward. The companies’ long-term Timo Kumara of Citec and Kai Kettu of Wärtsilä.

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A lot of oil & gas companies have their headquarters in Paris.

MIKAEL STRAND POSITION: Managing Director at Citec France and Akilea Engineering PREVIOUS JOBS AT CITEC: Design Engineer, Project Leader, Team Leader, Business Development Manager EDUCATION: Master of Engineering FAMILY: Wife and two children, 3 and 1 year(s) old

Sami Pulkkinen

bigger projects. One does not exclude the other.”

One of the biggest changes in Citec France since 2013 is that today the project and sales organisations work independently with Citec India. This means less coordination and faster and more efficient projects.

The market in France and other French-speaking regions is enormous according to Strand.

“A lot of large oil & gas companies have their headquarters in Paris. In addition, French is an important language in large parts of Africa, a continent with massive potential.”

Another advantage is the fact that the French state supports biofuels, thereby increasing demand in that sector. Citec France is currently putting the finishing touches to a combined heat and power biomass plant in eastern France. It is the whole group’s first complete EPCM project and thus a very important reference for the future.

Mikael Strand hails from Vaasa in Finland and came to Citec for the first time in 2006 for a summer job. Subsequently, he worked as an adventure guide for a while before getting a permanent job at Citec in 2010.

Strand has acclimatised well in France. It only took a month before his fluency in French returned, and he has not experienced any major culture shocks.

“I would say that the biggest difference between the French and Finnish working environment is that the working days tend to be slightly longer in France, but that is not something that bothers me. When in Paris, you do as the Parisians do.” cooperation of Citec and Wärtsilä help drive projects partnership is an asset to both,” say Project Managers

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Sami Pulkkinen

FRANCE

ALMOST NATIVE. Mikael Strand used to live in France as a teenager, and it only took a month before his fluency in French returned.

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EPCM PROJECT

PLACING INDIA ON THE Citec India’s first EPCM project is a state-of-the-art testing centre for cars.

“The project has helped us gain a lot of new experience and improve our knowledge in areas such as tender procedures and vendor scrutiny. We have also learnt about international regulations on car testing and the design of crash labs as per international norms”, says Project Manager Lakshmanan Balakrishnan.

There were times when a lot of brainstorming was needed to find the right solutions for the project requirements. One good example of this was when designing a 90-metre free span crash area with no intermediate columns. Another challenge was faced when the concept of the car lab changed during the project; this was in order to fully comply with international regulations and standards.

TOUGH REQUIREMENTS. One of the challenges when designing the building was the 90-metre free span crash area.

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itec has been commissioned to design a new testing centre for cars in Chennai, India. The building is part of the so-called Natrip initiative, which is a project aimed at strengthening the automotive sector in India. The testing centre in Chennai will, along with other similar centres, ensure that Indian cars meet international safety standards.

The project, which was won through an open bid, is Citec India’s first project for the government of India. As it is also Citec India’s first EPCM project, it will make a good reference in the future.

EPCM (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management) is a common form of contracting arrangement within the construction industry, where the client selects an EPCM contractor to manage the whole project on behalf of the client. In line with Citec’s company strategy, the aim is to obtain more EPCM contracts in the future. Citec has already successfully worked on other EPCM projects in other countries.

As an EPCM contractor in the Natrip project, Citec has been in charge of everything from bid documentation and cost estimation to actual design.

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In India, three million cars are sold annually, and the number is expected to rise in the future. The Natrip project plays an important role in enhancing and supporting the automotive industry in the country as well as in positioning India on the global automotive map. At the same time, the results from the testing lab will help consumers choose the safest cars on the market.

The total area of the car testing centre is 24,000 m².According to the latest forecast, the building will be fully completed in August 2016. Once ready, the testing lab will be one of the best in Asia, offering, among many other possibilities, angular crash testing.

CITEC’S KEY ACTIVITIES IN THE PROJECT • FEED Engineering • Bid documents and BOQ • Scrutiny of vendors • Technical evaluation of tender • 3D animation video of project • Detailed engineering of retrofitting foundations and PEB superstructure • Monitoring by Resident Construction Manager • Progress report, timeline management and quality control • Change management & cost control • Safety management • Documentation

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AUTOMOTIVE MAP

STATE-OF-THE-ART. Once ready, the testing lab in Chennai will be one of the best in Asia.

The building is part of a project aimed at strengthening the automotive sector in India.

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CIESTA SOFTWARE

R ELIABLE OIL & GAS ESTIMATION

QUICK AND ACCURATE. With Ciesta it is possible to carry out weight and cost estimations for platform topsides with far more accuracy than was previously conceivable.

The new Ciesta tool developed by Citec will help oil & gas companies in the early stages of new projects as well as modification projects.

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hen starting a project in the oil & gas sector, it is often very difficult to accurately estimate total costs when many uncertainties need to be considered. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for budgets in oil & gas projects to be broken, which has major implications for the field economy. To overcome this problem, Citec’s experts in Norway have designed an estimation tool to help customers make sound decisions early on in their projects.

The software is called Ciesta – an abbreviation of Citec estimation application. With Ciesta it is now possible to carry out weight and cost estimations for platform topsides with far more accuracy than was previously conceivable.

The starting point of the development work was a vast database of weight and cost information that Citec had gained over several decades in the business.

“The estimation methods are based on a well-proven philosophy that Citec has obtained lately. Thanks to the new tool we can produce estimates more quickly, but most importantly more accurately”, explains Project Development Director Henning Flingtorp, who has C I T E C AT T I T U D E 1•2 01 5

more than thirty years of experience in project development and estimates.

“In practice our solution consists of three parts; the Ciesta software itself, our vast database, and the expert using the software and database together to generate the best possible estimates.”

The development of Ciesta started in 2014. Now the stage has arrived when the weight estimation software is tested before its launch in late 2015; the software for manhours and costs will be ready for testing and launch in 2016. Ciesta will mainly be used internally by Citec experts for the benefit of the customers.

“Many customers benefit a lot from better estimates; oil companies, platform operators, ship owners, contractors and licence shareholders. Sound and proper estimates make it easier to make the best decisions, for example which topside is best adapted for the intended purpose and whether the project economy will be satisfactory”, Flingtorp concludes.

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A SALES-MINDED ENGINEER

KENNETH LOVIDIUS IS THE NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR CITEC SWEDEN

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hen Kenneth Lovidius was contacted by a headhunter inquiring whether he was interested in the position of Managing Director at Citec Sweden, he had never heard about the company. However, after meeting people from Citec’s senior management he became convinced he wanted the job.

“We got along well from the start. I also see a great potential in Citec’s way of working with a local presence and global resources.”

One of Lovidius’ first tasks is to make Citec more known in Sweden, by actively working with sales and meeting new potential customers.

Lovidius has 20 years of experience in the business; he started out as a service engineer and project manager. In the years prior to joining Citec, he worked at Midroc where he was responsible for the industrial consultant business.

“The business was similar to Citec’s, the main difference being that my previous employer sold more project management services and less engineering capacity. Citec’s global resources concept is a new thing for me, and the role of Managing Director is also a new and exciting challenge.”

Lovidius brings a lot of experience in terms of different setups for making a business grow as well as in working with sales in a structured way. He is also familiar with different strategies for developing the cooperation with the customers.

Roughly 45 people work for Citec Sweden, in offices in Karlstad, Uppsala and Stockholm.

Kenneth Lovidius is based in Stockholm.

“I started working at Citec in January 2015, and we have already intensified the sales. One of my goals is for us to become more known amongst the big players on the Swedish market. Sweden is a market with good potential, since the industrial sector in the country is doing well at the moment.”

POTEANTIAL. Kenneth Lovidius had never heard of Citec before he was contacted by a headhunter. Now he wants to make Citec more known in Sweden.

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CUSTOMER CASE: SIEMENS

C OST-EFFECTIVE ENGIN Greater flexibility and lower costs are among the advantages of Siemens’ cooperation with Citec. As an added bonus, the employees at the department for order engineering have learnt quite a lot about Indian culture.

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couple of years ago, Siemens department for order engineering at the Medium Gas Turbines division decided they needed a partner to increase their capacity and flexibility. They chose Citec and cooperation started in 2012.

“We started working as we usually work with hired consultants, by placing Citec’s employees in our offices in Finspång in Sweden”, Manager Kristofer Thoresson at Siemens explains. “But the idea has always been to eventually hand over larger projects to Citec.”

It can take some time to find the right working methods when starting up a new form of cooperation, which also proved to be true in this case.

“Both we and Citec first thought that the most practical thing would be to handle our communication with Citec India via Citec Finland. However, there were too many steps in the process”, Thoresson recounts.

“I got a very positive impression of Citec India. I am convinced that they will manage to carry out advanced work for us as well.”

A total of roughly 25 people from Citec have so far worked at Siemens’ department for order engineering to familiarise themselves with their systems and tools. According to Thoresson, that number is set to increase.

“We want to train more people to make it easier for us to increase the volume, should the need arise. A great advantage of such cooperation is that it gives us flexibility in relation to the inflow of orders. Another great advantage is that the work can be done at a lower cost, thanks to the cooperation with India.”

I got a very positive impression of Citec India during my visit.

Instead the decision was made that Siemens would communicate

5 QUESTIONS

directly with Citec India, which turned out to be a good idea.

“For us it has meant that we have learnt quite a lot about Indian culture. We had limited experience of working with international partners before, and we were aware that we did not have the knowledge. Above all, we have become a lot better at giving clear and precise instructions on how we want the work to be done”, says Thoresson.

Citec has helped with the training, for example by arranging an India Day where the Siemens employees learnt about Indian culture. Kristofer Thoresson has also visited Citec’s office in India.

Managing quality in Germany Stephan Seile works as the Manager for the Quality Projects department in Germany.

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Tell us a bit about your work at Citec?

I am the Manager for the Quality Projects department in Germany.

We provide all types of quality management services such as series launches, risk analysis and feasibility studies. We work in many businesses including the automotive, rail and energy sectors. I started working at Citec after meeting people from Citec in

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my previous job; I have now been working here as of October 2013.

What are the best and the most challenging parts of your job?

The best part of my job is working with my team and with different kinds of people on the customer side, as well as in Citec Germany and the whole group. Most of our projects are single-person projects

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CUSTOMER CASE: SIEMENS

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N EERING FOR SIEMENS

FLEXIBILITY. The order engineering department at Siemens Medium Gas Turbines started cooperating with Citec in 2012.

handled by one expert, so every team member has to cope with his own entity. Things don’t always go as planned, so that makes the challenge. Every team member is in charge of the project’s success.

What kind of markets do you think there are in Germany for Citec?

Citec Germany is still highly based on rail engineering. The opportunity

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for the future will be to bring the engineering skills to other industries as well. We are improving our business and professionality in Germany step by step, and it is very interesting to be a part of this process.

What do you think about Citec as an employer?

Citec Group is a very professional organisation. In my opinion

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Germany and all the other countries in the group could work even closer together than they already do. Even stronger synergies would help all of us. For example, we in the Quality Projects department travel a lot and work 90 per cent on sites all over the world. On the sites there are lots of other Citec Group customers who could benefit from our services as well.

What do you do in your free time? As I travel a lot, I love to spend time with my girlfriend when I have the chance. We do sports such as jogging and fitness training. In wintertime we ski and snowboard and in the summer we wakeboard. I try to train every day, because it keeps me fit and makes me feel better the whole day.

Sports also give me the energy to perform my work even better!

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EXPERT ARTICLE

THE ENERGY SH Gas will become the “first fuel” in the world and renewables are increasingly gaining ground, according to the IEA’s latest energy outlook. Citec is well prepared for the change.

Rudmer Zwerver

In 25 years, renewable energy sources will be more important than coal for electricity production.

INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT. In 2040, gas will account for as much as one quarter of the global energy mix.

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EXPERT ARTICLE

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IFT HAS BEGUN T

he global energy demand is expected to grow by 37 per cent in the coming 25 years, states the IEA (International Energy Agency) in its latest outlook. The outlook also observes that the energy production in the world is currently in a period of transition, and the whole system is under much pressure.

Nevertheless, there are positive signs and opportunities; renewable energy sources are increasingly gaining ground. Still, in order to combat climate change, even larger changes will be needed, in particular those regarding the political decisions which will steer energy production – and consumption – in the right direction.

“The world’s energy sector is currently almost in standby mode”, says Martin Strand, CEO of Citec. “Everyone is biding their time to see which decisions will be made at the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015.”

Strand himself believes that, this time, more concrete decisions will be taken than those taken at earlier conferences. “It is high time to decide whether climate change should be taken seriously or not”, he says.

Clearly, an energy shift away from oil and coal has already started. This is stated in the IEA outlook, and the same trend can be seen in Citec’s activities.

“As late as in 2008-09 we had several potential projects with new coal power plants in Germany, but they have all fizzled out.

The coal power projects carried out today are more about upgrading old plants – and that is, of course, also important since they will then become cleaner than the old ones.”

The IEA predicts that the demand for coal in the world will level off around 2020, mainly as a consequence of political measures aimed at increasing energy efficiency, support for renewable energy sources and imposing costs on CO2 emissions. The same trend is also noticeable in China, which is the world’s largest consumer of coal. Coal consumption is still on the rise in China, however at a slower pace than before. The IEA points out that coal, at present, is unsustainable as long as carbon capture is still undeveloped.

“It is interesting to note that the IEA still considers carbon capture to have a future. If it succeeds, the problems with coal will disappear”, says Strand.

A fossil fuel which is becoming increasingly important is gas, in particular LNG (liquefied natural gas). According to the IEA, LNG will replace coal as the “first fuel” in all other regions except Europe. In 2040, gas will account for one quarter of the global energy mix.

“At Citec we have already been predicting for a long time that the significance of gas will increase, but I’m still a bit surprised that the IEA expects the growth to be so considerable”, says Strand.

In 2013, Citec acquired two companies in the oil & gas sector, and those investments are hence completely in line with the global development, despite the fluctuating oil price.

“Currently we are working on our first LNG project, a port with adjacent storage for LNG carriers in Tornio in northern Finland.

Two other similar projects are also ready to start. At Citec we can see concrete evidence of the fact that the gas sector is picking up, which also confirms that we have made the right investments”, says Strand.

Alongside gas, renewable energy sources are also increasing; according to the IEA, they will go from strength to strength in the coming years. Renewable energy sources are expected to account for half of the total capacity increase which will take place by 2040, and in 25 years renewable energy sources will be more important than coal for electricity production.

Wind is the renewable energy source with the fastest growth rate, followed by solar photovoltaics (PV). Solar PV, for example, is expected to account for as much as 35 per cent of Japan’s energy mix, and in some regions in Europe the share might be even higher.

“At Citec we notice the increasing demand for renewable energy, as it also means a heavier demand for smaller and more flexible power plants which can balance the fluctuations. Other ways of producing electricity will be needed on cloudy or windless days.

This concept is often referred to as smart power generation”, says Strand.

According to the IEA, although renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly competitive, continued subsidies are still needed. The report also calls attention to the fact that fossil fuels will still get allowances, which is highly problematic for renewable sources.

The world is moving towards a more decentralized energy production with an increasing number of smaller units. This can be noticed at Citec through the smaller but more numerous projects under development.

“At the same time as we are discussing different energy sources, we must remember that improved energy efficiency is one of the most effective ways to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Just imagine that Citec’s new head office uses the same amount of district heating as the old one, even though it is five times larger”, Martin Strand points out. __________ The article “A crucial juncture for world energy: IEA outlook for renewables, coal, gas and nuclear”(Power Engineering International 23/1/2015) was used as an additional source for the text.

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SALES

Sami Pulkkinen

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SALES

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New times demand new sales methods – therefore the sales process should be developed with the same engagement as the products.

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n Europe and Scandinavia sales have never been very highly valued, neither in the academic field nor in the business world.

This is claimed by Jonas Kjellberg, who writes and speaks about how companies can boost their sales. Kjellberg knows what he is talking about – he has run several startups and developed their sales into world class success, Skype being one of them.

“I fully realised the significance of sales when I entered the job market after my MBA. It dawned on me that I didn’t have a clue how the new company, for which I had been appointed CEO, would sell its products”, says Kjellberg.

Kjellberg’s first sales idea may sound banal today; however, 20 years ago it worked very well. His company started selling mobile subscriptions through call centres.

“Since we were among the first ones who did this, it went very well. But after all the competitors started using call centres, the concept didn’t work that well anymore. The sales process must continually evolve”, says Kjellberg.

This is his thesis: companies should invest as much in the development of sales processes as they invest in the development of products and services. Scandinavian companies are usually good at making high-quality products, but not very good at marketing or selling them.

“When many companies offer similar products, it is the company with the best sales processes that will win the deals”, says Kjellberg.

When Kjellberg realised that direct sales through call centres was not necessarily the most effective method anymore, he became interested in finding out how sales could be integrated into the actual product, so that it would not even be necessary to use the phone.

When he worked for Skype he discovered how a product can almost completely sell itself.

“The most successful companies succeed in what I call delight. They are able to offer something different than their competitors, something unique.”

This is no magical mumbo-jumbo, only the result of hard work. Or, as Kjellberg puts it: “It’s engineering and maths. Developing a better sales process is a job that is as wellstructured as developing a better product or service. Just think about an IKEA store – the customer’s path through the store is so well designed that it is almost impossible to get out of there without buying anything.”

ENTREPRENEUR. Jonas Kjellberg has been involved in the development of several companies, including Skype. Today he teaches other companies how to improve sales.

The best sales guys I have met during my career have very often been engineers.

Jonas Kjellberg has been involved in the development of several companies, including Skype. Today he teaches other companies how to improve sales.

In the field of B2B, Kjellberg sees a clear trend when it comes to sales: It is more about giving than about taking.

“And when I say give, I first and foremost mean giving out information that the customers will find useful. You can invite customers and potential customers to seminars or offer them useful information in other ways. By doing so you can highlight your own expertise at the same time as you show them that you care about them.”

According to Kjellberg, one of the biggest myths when it comes to sales is that some people would be natural born sellers.

“That is not at all true. The best sales guys I have met during my career have very often been engineers with a great interest in developing sales processes. They manage to find a model that works for their company.”

__________ Jonas Kjellberg was one of the key-note speakers at EnergyWeek in Vaasa in spring 2015. Citec was one the main partners of the event.

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CITEC FEMTON

5 QUESTIONS

MODULARITY. “With Citecfemton, you can use the same content for everything from manuals to training material”, says Hanna Korpinen.

Solving highlycomplex puzzles Gopal Phule works as a Design Manager, Engineering Analysis at Citec’s new office in Pune, India.

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Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am currently working as a Design Manager in the Engineering Analysis team at Citec’s Pune office in India. I have a master’s degree in structural engineering and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. I am 36 years old, married, and extremely blessed to have two wonderful boys.

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What are your main work tasks?

I am in charge of a team of 20 strength analysts. In the domain of structural analysis, it’s my responsibility to ensure that our technical competence matches industry standards and that all our customers receive quality and timely support. We work in a virtual environment using simulation tools. This means that a lot of

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CITEC FEMTON

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Affordable new modular content service CITECFEMTON WORKS FOR WEB-BASED PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION

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itec has a new modular product documentation service, called Citecfemton. The service includes a completely webbased documentation process. As an especially cost-effective solution, it offers an easy step to move away from traditional documentation to modular writing.

“New tools are usually very expensive, but we wanted to create a more affordable alternative for modular product documentation.

The customer will need no IT installations at all, as Citecfemton is provided as a cloud-based service, also known as Software as a Service (SaaS),” says Hanna Korpinen, one of the developers of the service and Manager at Citec’s Info Services Sales Support, Project Delivery.

According to Korpinen, modular documentation will save a great deal of time and expense. Modularity refers to the processing of texts into sections, which makes it easier to use them again. The topic is written just once and can be used everywhere – and when the topic is revised the amendments are updated also in other publications if desired. The layout and content have been separated from each other in Citecfemton.

“This means that you can use the same content to publish a manual or make a presentation for training, for example. You can also use different topics and element structures at different stages of the writing process,” Korpinen explains.

brainstorming is required in order to simulate and analyse the realistic behaviour of structures.

What is the best thing about your job?

I like the challenges. When it comes to analysing different structures, my current role means that I get to work on solving many highly-complex puzzles. Since every structure is unique, there is

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continuous brainstorming involved.

What I enjoy most is the feeling of fulfilment I get when our results correlate with the test results.

You have recently transferred from Cargotec to Citec. What is your first impression of Citec? Citec is a well-established brand and the company has a clear roadmap. I am very impressed with the strong

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The key benefits of Citecfemton are that the authors can write topics using an integrated XML editor, translate them, send them for approval and publish them in different forms. Customers can also search for information and comment on texts.

“Citecfemton can be used to create manuals and service instructions for products, training material, spare-part books, quality handbooks – anything you would typically write in traditional writing environments,” Korpinen says.

Citecfemton is sold as a service, not as software. Citec offers at least one technical writer with the service. The customer only needs to have a network connection through which they can comment on the documents. The idea for this service was conceived a couple of years ago from the customer needs, so Citec started to evaluate different alternatives. Led by Korpinen, ideas for the service were explored and finally realised in 2014 in collaboration with Fenten Oy. Korpinen is confident that Citecfemton will answer a real need.

“It doesn’t require a large investment; you can access the service and use it easily and immediately without great expense.”

work processes and the quality systems that are followed here. In addition, I have learnt and experienced that Citec provides an equal opportunity for each employee to grow. With the multiple industry segments at Citec, we have an opportunity to be trained in different domains.

Overall, I am pleased with the recent change and positively look forward to working here.

How do you see the future? On the professional front, my ambition is to develop our Pune office as a global centre of excellence for engineering analysis.

One of my long-term personal plans, however, is to develop an agricultural farm in my native village, fulfilling my father’s dream.

I am also determined to take part in social service activities and contribute to society.

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