Johan Pettersson
| Location | Heléns Rör AB, Zweden |
| Position |
Head Operations & SHEQ |
| At Van Leeuwen since | 2017 |
| Age | 49 |
For Johan Pettersson, Head Operations & SHEQ at Heléns Rör AB in Sweden, 2021 was marked by the OneHalmstad project. He is working together with his colleagues on consolidating the warehouse, production and head office at a single location in Olofsdalsvägen in Halmstad. This will make it possible for the Van Leeuwen business to continue to grow in Sweden.
At the present time, Van Leeuwen’s company Heléns Rör AB in Sweden is still working from various locations throughout the Halmstad region. Its head office, which dates from 1968 and is located in Västergårdsvägen, is separated from the nearby warehouse and production facility. In addition, there is a third branch with a warehouse and production facility in Knäred, 40 km outside Halmstad.
‘Heléns is going to make considerable investments over the coming years, for example in more efficient machines and in a high-flow production line for precision materials. Consolidating the business units enables us to do this more effectively and allows us to work towards making our services even more efficient,’ says Johan. ‘With this centralization we bring all of the knowledge and experience of our colleagues together under one roof. This way we can work even more effectively on smart solutions for our customers.’
Great future
Johan has 25 years of experience in the pipe and tube industry and joined Heléns in 2017. He lauds the company’s entrepreneurial spirit. ‘Van Leeuwen is not afraid to stick out its neck and to make large-scale investments when it sees an opportunity,’ he says. ‘OneHalmstad of course is an example of this. It shows that Van Leeuwen believes in a great future for Heléns and that creates a lot of positive energy within our company.’ In the near future, the company premises in Olofsdalsvägen will cover a total area of 60,000 m2.
‘In 2021, we completed the expansion of the central warehouse by 5,000 m2,’ says Johan. ‘In addition, we relocated nine cutting lines and installed three new ones in the hall. This was one of the biggest challenges, because it required the roof to be temporarily removed. This required very close cooperation with our colleagues in the warehouse, production, technical services and production planning.
Business continued as usual while construction was underway and of course, we also had to deal with all of the corona-related restrictions. This meant working without letup for all teams, but I am proud to see how far we have managed to come together. In 2022 we will continue with the construction of the new head office, among other things. We expect to be able to fully occupy the expanded company premises in January 2023.’
Listening
For a company such as Van Leeuwen, strong teams are indispensable, Johan emphasizes. ‘OneHalmstad once again proves this. An operation of this magnitude can only succeed when all employees feel committed and are prepared to put their shoulders to the wheel together. You can only expect colleagues to have this drive when you involve them in important decisions. As manager I try to do this to the best of my ability. For example, we took the advice of our production colleagues concerning the relocation of the cutting lines to heart. They are the experts in this area. It is important that you listen to your people.’