Hi!

In one week, the Graduate Trainee Program will come to an end and therefore this will be my last post before I start my permanent position. I can’t believe it has almost been 15 months since we started the trainee program at Lantmännen. Wow, time really flies when you have fun :).

As I explained in my last post, I am currently at Aspen looking into new segments where Aspen can sell their fuel. It has been a very fun project and I feel I would have loved spending even more time on it. But the project is almost done and I am just looking into the last parts that need to be completed before I leave.

Many things have happened during this period, except from working on the project at Aspen. We have also presented our SGA-projects (a strategic project that all trainees have been working on during the last six months about one day a week in groups of three trainees), we have been on training in Stockholm and we have travelled around for interviews for the permanent position in Lantmännen after the program is completed. When you are accepted to the Lantmännen Graduate Trainee Program, you are guaranteed a permanent position when the program ends. But since we are able to apply to the permanent positions we want and not just get positioned somewhere when the trainee program ends, there is still an interview process (but it is only one interview and the application process is only about two weeks). I have now signed for Unibake Denmark Frozen, which means that I will move to Aarhus in November. I am very excited, both for the position and also to move to Denmark. It has been very fun and valuable to move around in different countries and business units during these 15 months, but it also feels good to soon settle down more permanently.

Except for appreciating the trainee program and the steep learning curve I have had, I am also happy that all trainees have become close friends and really enjoy spending time together. So last weekend we rented a house outside of Gothenburg and spent the weekend together. It was great to see everyone again and hang out before we all start our permanent positions in different parts of the Lantmännen group.

Over and out!

/Johan

Hi again!

Last time I wrote, I was in Kiev (where Sebastian is at the moment, as you can read in his last blog post). After returning to Sweden, I had some vacation before it was time to move again. This time to Gothenburg!

I have been to Gothenburg several times, but only for a few days each time, so it is going to be great to experience this city for a longer period. Even though it is the second largest city in Sweden, my first impression is that it is not as hectic as Stockholm can be sometimes. Don’t get me wrong here, I love Stockholm, but Gothenburg has a slightly different vibe and I believe I will really enjoy these three months here.

The reason for me going to Gothenburg is to work at Aspen, located in Hindås (about 30 min outside of Gothenburg). Aspen’s most well-known product is an alkylate fuel, which means it is basically free from sulfur, benzene and solvents. Hence, it is better for human, machine and the environment.

My exact assignment at Aspen will be determined along the way, depending on my initial findings. But broadly, I will look at potential new segments for Aspen or existing segments that are worth pursuing even further. So far, I believe it is a very exciting project that will hopefully be valuable for Aspen in the future. Also, I really like the atmosphere at Aspen. Even though it has grown to a large company, it still has a kind of entrepreneurial spirit, which suits me very well. I will let you know more about my time here in my next blog post in a few months.

Allt gött!

Johan

Привіт з Києва! (Hello from Kiev!)

Since the last time I wrote, I have moved from Stockholm to the amazing city Kiev in Ukraine. I had never visited Kiev before and now, when I have been living here for about 10 weeks, I can say I really like Kiev! There are so many things to see and so much to do.

So what brought me to Kiev? Cerealia has an office here (or actually two if you include the one at the production plant) and more specifically, the brands START! and AXA have a production site here, mainly for the Ukrainian market. The products differ slightly from the START! and AXA products you can find in for instance Sweden, where the START! in Ukraine is more focused towards children and both of the brands are a little bit more sweet in the taste.

The office here is a lot smaller than the head quarter in Stockholm, so everyone knows everyone which creates a good atmosphere in the office. I am at the marketing team doing different assignments connected to their two main brands. At the moment, the marketing team is working on a new commercial platform for the START! brand in Ukraine, which is really interesting for me since I get to see the process from the beginning to the end.

Initially, I attended everything from a photo shoot to several focus groups. Since I do not have a background in marketing (I have only had a few introductory courses in marketing), it was all very new to me. As a result, it has been very interesting and I have learnt a lot of new things when it comes to marketing. This is really a good example of why I enjoy this Trainee Program, since you get the opportunity to try and learn new things in areas that is not specifically connected to your previous expertise. We get a really good insight in several of the main parts of Lantmännen, which will be very valuable going forward in our careers, no matter which area we eventually end up in.

Time really flies, and in a few weeks I am going back to Sweden again for some summer vacation. But before that, we will have a recharge in Copenhagen with all trainees that I really look forward to. I am sure one of the other trainees will write about that in the end of June, so stay updated and don’t forget to read all other blog posts before that – we (the nine trainees) keep you updated every week!

Приємного літа!

/Johan

Hi blog!

Finally it is my (Johan’s) turn again to write a blog post. Currently, I am positioned at Group Business Control in Stockholm. Here, I have a project connected to the follow-up process of the larger investments that take place within the group every year. Given my background in accounting and finance, this project is a little bit more within my comfort zone. It is also great to be back in Stockholm since it is easier to hang out with friends and family compared to when I lived in Copenhagen during the autumn (even though I really enjoyed living in Copenhagen 🙂 ).

A fun thing about the trainee program, except from the great experience you get from working in different parts of an organization with completely different projects, is that we as a trainee group have so much fun together. We try to have AWs, do sport activities and similar together. For instance, Hugo and I have started doing a sport activity once a week, usually squash or badminton. And currently, we are sitting in a car heading to Sälen for some skiing during the weekend! Hugo will show you some pictures from the squash games and the ski trip in his next blog post.

I have also started to think about the last two positions. For the first two positions, we couldn’t really influence in which part of the organization we were placed. One of them should be within the comfort zone and one outside the comfort zone (mostly connected to our studies and earlier work experience). However, for the last two positions, we have much more possibility to control in which direction we want to go. For instance if we want to be positioned abroad (and then in which country) or if we have more specific work related desires, e.g. marketing or just a certain business unit.

In my case, I have not been at Cerealia, where the brands such as AXA, Kungsörnen and GoGreen are included. At the same time, I wanted to do another project abroad and then I heard that Cerealia has two offices (one main office and one production plant) in Kiev, Ukraine. I have not visited Ukraine before, and from what I have heard, many people in Ukraine hardly speak English. So I believe this project will be challenging in a new way, besides just a new project in a new country. But I see it as a really exciting challenge, and I am sure it will be a great experience bringing a lot of joy. Kiev is apparently the third greenest capital in Europe, so I look forward to some great running in the parks and along the river.

Talk to you soon again!

/Johan

Hi blog!

This week, I (Johan) will be sharing what I have been up to during my first position at Lantmännen.

Not only did I have the privilege to start an exciting trainee program at Lantmännen, but also, I had the luck to go to Copenhagen for the first three months of the program. Here, the head office of Unibake (Lantmännen’s bakery business) is located. Unibake consists of several large brands, for instance Korvbrödsbagarn in Sweden :). Unibake is also Lantmännen’s most global business, with bakeries and offices in several parts of Europe, in the United States and in Russia.

In addition to being an interesting part of Lantmännen, being located at the head quarter of Unibake is also exciting since I get the opportunity to spend some time in Copenhagen. It is really a great city, with an international atmosphere, several good restaurants and of course a lot of Danish pastry.

Newly baked Danish pastry at the office 🙂

Furthermore, the office is said to have the best coffee machine in all of the Lantmännen group (which is good for me being a coffee lover 🙂 ) and the view from the office is quite alright.

So what do I do at Unibake? I am at the innovation department, helping in the implementation process of the new innovation strategy. It is really an exciting project where I learn new things almost every day. Also, to know that the assignments I do will be important for some of the steps in the strategy, and will be used even after I leave after these three months, makes it even more interesting.

Not only is Unibake a truly international business, given that there are around 15 different nationalities in the office in Copenhagen, but also since it is such a global business with offices in many different countries. This also means that I get the opportunity to attend many interesting meetings, where key people from the different countries gather and discuss different topics on the agenda.

Apart from working on different assignments connected to the innovation strategy, I have also had the time to visit the grain handling process at Lantmännen Lantbruk in Helsingborg, the pancake factory in Laholm (as you can read more about in the previous blog post), a bakery here in Denmark and finally the mill in Malmö.

A visit to the mill in Malmö after a two day forum with the NPD managers (New Product Development) from the different units and different countries of Unibake.

It is truly amazing to see how the mill works and especially the location of the mill – right in the middle of Malmö, which is quite unique.

Time really flies and it is now already week 7 out of the total 12 weeks of the first period. Next time, you will get the opportunity to hear more about Lovisa’s first position. You don’t want to miss that, so stay tuned! Indtil næste gang!