You took charge as the Global President of Sandvik Coromant on September 1, 2011. How's been the journey since then and how satisfied are you with it personally?
It has been a great journey and I am very satisfied with it. Let me share a few things with you why I call it a great journey. I have a team that I have seen grow from really, really good to great. That is the number one reason.
What we have been able to deliver to the market as a team and company is much more innovation than we have done in the past. I have personally heard numerous testimonials saying that Sandvik Coromant has always been at the forefront (with regards to innovation) in the last two years. They say, at least to me, that we are stepping it up even more! That is something very great.
The third reason why I feel a lot of pride on behalf of my team is that we are much more integrated in between the different functions. We have the pleasure to serve the industry that we are part of. For instance, at Gimo manufacturing facility in Sweden, we have the hard side - insert manufacturing and the soft side - the toolholder side. So by utilising production not only to produce but also by utilising the production to learn about and develop our industry we have done a lot of progress.
So based on these three reasons I would say that we have done a lot of great stuff.
How's been the business for Sandvik Coromant for the last one year globally speaking? Which markets and sectors have given you growth?
China has started to pick up again at the end of the last year and is moving very well. Europe has been very stable at the end of last year and US has also started to show signs of increased manufacturing capabilities. So in that perspective, last year was a good indication of what will come ahead.
If you look at both India and China, over the last couple of years, people have been questioning about how much are these markets driving the need for productivity. What I see and hear from these two markets is that there is a much higher need for productivity. Both markets are moving away from low labour cost countries and are moving up in the value chain. The more you invest, the higher is the need for productivity. So in that respect, there is great development taking place in both India and China.
I believe you visit India quite regularly - at least once every year...
When people ask me what is your favourite market, I can truly say that it is India. Visiting India regularly has always been my vision. And sometimes I visit India even twice a year. I am very interested in history and culture and I have always found India as an important market place. I am very optimistic about that market. And we have great people in India.
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