Trucks
Walking down the floor at the Powertrain Production site in Skövde almost gives you the feeling of home. Not in the sense that people actually live there, but the friendly atmosphere and the fact that the employees seem to know each other well, give you a warm and welcoming start to the visit.
Nesma Odiso gives us a big smile as she collects her long hair and puts it in a pony tail. She has been working here for one year and a few months.
”I like it a lot. My shift is normally the night shift, and my task is to assemble parts of the engine. In the beginning, I was a bit nervous, but after a year I have learned a lot. I feel like I challenge myself everyday”, she says.
She lives with her husband and son in Skövde, and has been in Sweden for eight years. The commemorative year of 1993, when the first FH truck reached the market, is actually her birth year, so she has no recollection of the first FH truck.
”Oh no! I was in my mother’s belly at the time of the launch. I didn’t even know about the FH trucks until I came to Sweden. I understand that the truck, and the engine of course, has been a great success though. It is a good feeling to have, that I assemble something that is a big and important part of this truck.”
Daniel Lundgren was an operator at the assembly line in 1993.
The signature truck, and the important first D12 engine, is however something that Daniel Lundgren, a colleague, thinks about practically every day. In 1993, he was an operator at the assembly line and remembers the first engines he assembled very well.
”I felt proud to know that someone out there was about to drive a truck with ”my” engine”, he smiles.
His role today is dual: First-line Manager of the Product Audits and CoP testing, where the engine is tested in various ways, and also a Quality Control Driver, where he focuses on quality prevention of the production. Daniel has been with the company since he was 17 years old.
”When I started, pretty much everything was manual. Nesma operates robots now, and we didn’t have them for assembly earlier. But the feeling with the colleagues is the same. Also, Volvo is a company to grow in, and that is something that I really appreciate. Actually, that is also an advice I would like to give to Nesma. Grow and educate yourself, there are plenty of opportunities for it,” Daniel says.
Nesma nods. Her task is partly to operate the robots, but that also demands a lot from an operator.
”It was tricky in the beginning. I can only imagine how it was when everything was manual,” she says.
And as for the advice to take opportunities to develop, she already has plans for the future.
”I will continue studying here in Skövde later, and take business administration. I would like to stay at Volvo, but after I’ve graduated it would be in the finance department instead.”
We continue across the floor, and both Daniel and Nesma cheerfully greet people on the way. Skövde is a fairly small Swedish city, and the Volvo plant plays a big role in its identity.
”People have worked here for generations. My son, also born 1993, has a job here now”, Daniel says and Nesma fills in:
”Another one born at the same time as the FH truck. That is cool.”
Facts Nesma Odiso
Age: 24 (25 in November)
Lives: Skövde
Family: Husband and son
What I did at Volvo in 1993: I wasn’t born
My job at Volvo now: Operator
Best thing about working at the Skövde plant: That I feel at home and have a chance to develop
Spare time: I work out and spend time with my family
Facts Daniel Lundgren
Age: 48
Lives: Skövde
Family: Three grown-up kids, grandchildren and my dog Sixten
What I did at Volvo in 1993: Worked as an Operator and was a part of building the new department for the D12 engine assembly line
My job at Volvo now: First-line Manager Product Audit & CoP
Testing (50 %) and Quality Control Driver (50 %)
Best thing about working at the Skövde plant: All the amazing people!
Spare time: I work on my house, ride my motorbike, spend time with family and my dog
Facts Skövde plant