Collaboration, respect and customer focus

Oct 22, 2020 | Blog

As a result of the biggest share transaction in its history, Rejlers Finland gained over 200 new employees as the company acquired a significant share of Neste Engineering Solutions’ operations. In June this year, we grew further as a result of the merger of Jimexo Tech Oy engineering company, located in Tampere, which brought about 60 top talents in their industry to Rejlers. This group of highly-skilled experts now work in the renewed Rejlers Industry sector, doing their part in keeping our staff busy at work. Future talent is visible in our new business line managers, who share a mutual trust in each other.

Energy Technology Engineer Jarno Laine is one of the nine business line directors (BLD) who started their jobs in the renewed Rejlers Industry sector. He is responsible for the results and development of operations in the Project Management Office (PMO) business line. Additionally, he works actively in sales.

After the NES acquisition, I was appointed business line manager for the PMO business line, and now I’m in charge of the BLD tasks at Rejlers Industry. At the moment, my team comprises 48 highly-skilled professionals whose roles include project management, project engineering, procurement tasks and construction site supervision in our industry sector assignments.

Jarno Laine has worked in the industry sector since 2002. He first started as design engineer in a design firm that employed ten people and worked as a subcontractor for large boiler manufacturers. After that, he gained experience in different design and product engineer roles in the oil refining and energy industries for 13 years. The job that he started at Rejlers in January is not his first one in his current role; he also led the PMO business unit at Neste Engineering Solutions.

In 2015, I left behind my design tasks and took up the role of project manager at Neste Jacobs. After that, I worked as Regional Sales Manager, Business Area Manager and PMO lead at Neste Engineering Solutions.

 

A job as a marine engine fitter taught humility

Laine is an ambitious and persistent man with a healthy dose of humility. He has not always had a white-collar job; after graduation, he worked for six months as a marine engine fitter.

“Thinking back, the exhausting physical work in hot, noisy and dirty conditions taught me a humble attitude towards work. I still go back to those days to find motivation when my job sometimes feels tough,” he says.

Jarno Laine particularly values collaboration, respect for others and customer focus in his work.

When all is said and done, it’s the customers who pay our salaries. We should always keep it in mind.

Marko Ahvenainen, who started as BLD at the Plant business unit in Industry around the same time as Jarno Laine, shares his opinions. Unlike Jarno Laine, Marko Ahvenainen had already been working for Rejlers for a few years. He started in 2017 and has worked as Project Manager, Design Manager and Key Customer Manager.

“My workplace is at our Vantaa office. I lead the Plant Finland profit centre with the help of seven brilliant business unit managers. There are members of our Plant team at ten different offices. I want all people working in the Plant team to be happy to go to work. Younger colleagues get the guidance they need, and knowledge is passed to others openly,” Marko Ahvenainen stresses.

Marko Ahvenainen also participates actively in day-to-day project tasks, leads projects and participates in sales.Marko Ahvenainen also participates actively in day-to-day project tasks, leads projects and participates in sales.

 

Working life appealed

Marko Ahvenainen graduated as a machine automation technician from the Technical Institute of Kotka in 1994, since when he has gained an impressive amount of work experience in different engineering companies, such as Pöyry, Sweco and Kymtec Engineering.

“I was admitted for further studies, but working life was attractive in the aftermath of the 1990s depression. I moved from Kotka to Kouvola and got a job at CTS, where I spent 1.5 years working on paper and pulp projects.”

Since then, he has worked on piping and steel structure planning, layout design and maintenance planning, with some construction supervision tasks abroad and preliminary planning and project management roles later on.

“CAD software was making its breakthrough in the late 1990s, and we used it for all planning and design work related to new facilities. At first, the work was slow, particularly because the software crashed several times a day and it was necessary to make backup copies frequently,” he remembers. “Maintenance planning for existing facilities was completed manually on drawing boards. I gained enough experience of working on drawing boards that I can firmly say that it is a pleasure to use computers.”

A multi-talented person who is not afraid of work always finds new opportunities. Thanks to these characteristics, Marko Ahvenainen was offered a job in northern Italy early on in his engineering career.

“My first big project was in Italy where I worked on piping planning tasks. Towards the end of the planning phase, I was offered an opportunity to work as a site engineer on the construction site. The eight-month assignment in northern Italy was a jackpot for me in the early days of my career. It taught me a lot.”

 

Learn by doing, succeed by doing together

“After a good 25 years in engineering, I can safely say that I have experience in almost all possible tasks related to plant engineering. There have always been new and more challenging job opportunities available, and I have always embraced the challenge.”

In his new role as BLD, Marko Ahvenainen wants to expand his already impressive expertise by learning the newest design tools. To tackle this challenge, he trusts in the power of collaboration.

“You learn by doing, and succeed by working together. There are no shortcuts, you just have to work your way through it day by day,” he concludes.

Much like Marko Ahvenainen, Harri Häyhä also believes in continuous learning by doing. He is the newest BLD at Rejlers, having taken up his role at the head of the Control business, the largest business unit in our Industry sector, at the beginning of August.

“I started my job at Rejlers at the beginning of August, and I have to say I feel like I jumped onto a fast-moving train. My business unit is called CONTROL, which refers to automation and instrumentation, the related engineering, turnkey deliveries and expert services. With 138 employees and operations in six locations, we are the largest business unit within Rejlers Industry.”

 

People leader

Harri Häyhä works in Tampere, where he has lived since 1998. He holds a bachelor of engineering degree and majored in automation.

“I am definitely a people leader. I enjoy helping people shine in their areas of expertise and improve their own methods of operation. We are all efficient; we just have to focus on the essential and leave out the unnecessary to accomplish a lot.”

The new BLD aims to increase the size of turnkey deliveries and expand our customer base, and he cannot wait to see these developments materialise.

“I get to lead this team of true professionals and experts who have unparalleled experience in their business,” he smiles.

 

Everyone should try new things and plunge in at the deep end

Like his colleagues, Harri Häyhä also has a long career behind him.

“My long career started with 16 years as an automation and electrical engineer on the payroll of power plant and pulp mill suppliers and as an automation product manager at Ahlstrom and Kvaerner. Then I worked for another 16 years on electrical automation contracts and turnkey deliveries at Insta Automation in Tampere.”

Combining experience with his desire to try new things helps him keep his energy levels up from year to year. The Rejlers vision and slogan ‘Home of the learning minds’ is a perfect match with Harri Häyhä’s own vision:

“Everyone should train and educate themselves, try new things and plunge in at the deep end, so to speak. With a variety of specialist areas, it is easier to find suitable tasks at work even in challenging times.”

 

The author, Marjut Starck, works as Marketing and Communications Manager at Rejlers Finland Oy. 

 

More information:
Jarno Laine, Business Line Director | Project Management Office,
+358 40 737 4194, firstname.lastname@rejlers.fi
Marko Ahvenainen, Business Line Director| Plant
+358 50 402 1878, firstname.lastname@rejlers.fi
Harri Häyhä, Business Line Director | Control
+358 40 579 0335, firstname.lastname@rejlers.fi

 

 

Jarno Laine

Jarno Laine

Business Line Director

Project Management Office

+358 40 737 4194
firstname.lastname@rejlers.fi

Marko Ahvenainen

Marko Ahvenainen

Business Line Director

Plant

+358 50 402 1878
firstname.lastname@rejlers.fi

Harri Häyhä

Harri Häyhä

Business Line Director

Control

+358 40 579 0335
firstname.lastname@rejlers.fi