The new CEO of Kilkanen has a Strong Background in Subcontracting Companies
Petri Leppinen started as the new CEO of Kilkanen on October 1, 2023. Arto Aro, who has been the CEO of Kilkanen for a year, will continue to contribute to the development of Kilkanen as a member of the board, in addition to his role as the CEO of Uwira.
Improving Operations is in the Center at Kilkanen
During his first month on the job, Kilkanen's new CEO has already had the opportunity to familiarize himself with the ongoing projects within the company.
"One of our biggest projects is the development of Kilkanen's production. In the development of production, we have considered the quality requirement system of the automotive industry, and in recent months, there has been a lot of documentation related to quality. This is a leap into a new area for us, which teaches us a lot and enables profitable growth for the company.
Leinolat Group has decided to improve the sustainability-related themes of the entire group, and future challenges are also on Leppinen's mind.
"Since we are part of the subcontracting chain, we need to continue to develop with our stakeholders in the future to be able to meet customer needs. In addition to developing responsible business practices, we need to be able to solve the challenge of finding skilled and motivated personnel in the future. The demands of the working life have changed in the 21st century, and multi-skilling has become even more important. This poses challenges for recruitment and personnel development, because ultimately all the work happens in production.
Leppinen was Found for the Role from Within the Group
Leppinen served as T-DRILL's Sourcing Manager from 2019 before taking on his new role. He had under his leadership two technical buyers, and he was responsible for multi-million-euro procurements. In addition, he oversaw T-DRILL's sub-assembly in the role of Production Manager.
"T-DRILL was an interesting workplace, especially because most of their production is exported. I got to work internationally from Laihia, Finland. At times, I felt it was a challenge to divide my attention and time between two locations and different tasks. On the other hand, it prepared me for this new position. Even though it involves leading a single company, there are more moving parts and attention-demanding issues than before."
A Bold Choice in Studies Determined the Direction of His Career
Leppinen has pursued a determined career path towards something new. He made a choice during his studies that defined the direction of his career.
"I initially started studying information technology, but I realized that programming wasn't my thing, even though I had been tinkering with computers since primary school. I switched to studying industrial management and began my career at Velsa (now Fortaco) as a maternity leave substitute buyer. After five years of purchasing and quality tasks, I worked as a sales manager for a company that manufactures electrical cabinets.
Two years later, Leppinen got a call from Velsa and they asked him to return to sales in Kurikka, Finland.
"In practice, I didn't get to do sales at Velsa, because I started as a Sourcing Manager on the first day after my return. In addition, I have worked in the roles of quality manager and production manager.
Leppinen finds production management extremely interesting.
"There are a lot of variables in production management. There are employees, machines, and customer needs that can change. Responding to all of these fills the workdays nicely. In addition to this, one must be prepared to develop the company's operations and the skills of the personnel and consider various investments. Cliché-wise, it could be said that no day is the same," concludes Leppinen.
