Hello,
I have made an Vlogg for you to watch – Hope you like it.
If you are in UK and want to visit the Farnborough International Airshow come by the 15th of July, I will be there. If you prefere I provide you with a link and you can follow the worlds biggest aviation exhibition thru social media – click here!
Warmest regards and i wish you a happy vacation time or summerbreak, dont forget the sunscreen..
//Gustav
Regards,
Gustav
The trainees is back home from a tour in France and England. We have made many exciting visit. Airbus, Filton, Bristol, Birmingham, London, Imperial College and Pall Mall – where we conversed with GKN plc’s CEO.
I’ll tell you a little more about the Airbus visit. Friday, March 29, we visited Airbus in Toulouse a giant plant which makes the final assembly of newly built aircraft and sell to customers for example Qatar Airways.
Toulouse is the home of Airbus Group headquarters, comprising many support and strategic functions (customer relations, supply management, human resources, marketing, sales & communications, finance and more).
We were well received by Technical Executive Assistant to SVP – Head of A350XWB Central Program Management. We got an update of the A350 program, threats and opportunities. A quick spin of GKN difficulties as a supplier to Airbus in the mentioned program before we went out and looked at the assembly for A350 – 900 / -1000 two different size models. After that we went on a tour in their testing facility where they test software and hardware in simulators. A rig called the “Iron Bird” is a kind of combination test for hardware and software – wings and flight computers.
Toulouse is also a site for many Airbus Group Divisions. It is the production location for numerous Airbus aircraft (including the A320, A350 XWB and A330), has facilities dedicated to cabin furnishing and painting, and is home to the A380’s final assembly line and flight preparation. Airbus has a wide range of activities in Toulouse: engineering (general design, systems and integration tests, definition of the structure), structural testing, materials processes development, systems organisation, flight tests, architecture & general design, integration tests and systems, propulsion, structural design and computation as well as aircraft painting and delivery. The Airbus Training Centre also provides many training opportunities of all categories (flight crews, maintenance staff, cabin attendants, and performance and operational staff).
Those who are eager to experience similar things the Toulouse facility has guided tours for tourists.
The days have turned into weeks and it goes faster and faster.
I am working in a department controlled by the Director Financial Reporting & Treasury. It is really a great “eye opener” in terms of the company’s finances, businesses, customers, and how everything is connected internally and externally.
Because it is very broad and comprehensive department, this has enabled me seen how we pay our salaries, pensions, how we manage our cash flow, how we qualify suppliers, how we work with credit to customers and how we collect debt funds etc. There are a variety of financial solutions for this. Before I started as a Trainee, I have worked in the workshop and when I was finished with a detail that then where sent to the customer, we used to say that now it is sold. Really, it’s not. When you go to the grocery store you pay the goods immediately and then you go. However, at GKN you do not know when you will get paid, the uncertainty is not so good for many different reasons.
Private persons know each month that they will get their salary at a specific day XY and adapt purchases accordingly. If you are playing with the thought that you do not know when you will get your salary next year. How would you plan your finances when you must pay the rent, book a trip, buy food or other investments? Difficult right. The same is for us at GKN, but it is the reality.
By spending time here dealing with all the different GKN Aerospace function finances and get an understanding of how it is to run larger companies, difficulties, opportunities and what type of work required. I am very happy and I am fortunate to be able to sit here even on my next rotation even though formal work in another finance function.
I have also a cross-function assignment between finance and commercial, through a “Continues improvement initiative”, which is decomposed from our strategies to increase competitiveness in the future. All our initiatives in all areas of excellence are in a so-called “Obeya Room”. More precise this is about increasing our forecast accuracy for our RRSP (Risk revenue sharing partner) contracts. For those of you who are interested in strategies to some extent try to read annual reports, these documents are filled with interesting information, markets, strategies, future within various industries and so on. More than economic data, as many believe.
Within a few days, a major bank are invited here to talk about risk management and business structures for dealing in South – South East Asia. I have been on many similar meetings through my education and I spent 1.5 years in Asia. They usually talk about the state of macro / micro economics and general matter. It will be interesting to see the difference on a company visit where the bank wants to sell their knowledge and support. Can one imagine that the Bank will respond to the question “what kind of support do GKN need in order to do business in these markets?” And of course have an answer to that.
As of today, the acquisition of Fokker through after legal process is done. It is an exciting addition with about 5,000 new employees, 21 new sites in nine different countries.
On Saturday I go to Prague and meet up with friends from my exchange in Switzerland, they come from the UK, France and Belgium.
#The only financial trainee in the group
#Combustion Engine Mechanics 7.5 credits
#Fokker Purchase
#Soon another trainee trip
# Exhibitions
Graduate Trainee Gustav Soderberg signs up to write his first blogpost, as you know, you can read about all Trainees under the tab “Trainees through the years”.
I have the honor to write about half of our activity week. But first I’ll start at the right end. On 7th September, I officially started at GKN Aerospace Trainee scheme, for me it is a welcome return. We had a really good and what you would expect, solid start as a trainee. What was funny was that we all got things to produce manually in the manual milling and turning machines.
Followed by two weeks of practice around various workshops and its functions linked to production, to finish everyone got to recapitulate what they did but primarily what their functions do and how products flow. Even for me who have been around the company a number of years taught me a lot about how we do our products. What repeatedly strikes me is that the skill everyone possesses is advanced among employees, it is important to emphasize. I’m aiming to be a part of it.
After this, we carried out an activity week, Linn has already opened the floor for me. CybAero was fun to visit as an old shareholder. Public affairs office was incredibly rewarding from employee perspective. I would like to propose that the two Gentlemen get time internally to present their work, challenges and thoughts for everyone.
At last we visited the SAS Group HQ (Scandinavian Airlines). This visit, I personally looked forward very much to. Why? Well at GKN Trollhättan & GKN we manufacture engine parts and other components mounted on many of the different aircraft SAS operates. We arrived early in the morning, we would meet with Niklas Hårdänge, Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Asset Management, Asset Management, I interpret in this occasion that it is about their airplanes, in Swedish, he has the head responsibility for their fleet. What we knew was that we would get a session in fleet strategy, engine service, contract management and LEAN. We met up with three people, one of whom had worked for Volvo Aero before in Florida at Engine Services. I and Toni gave a corporate presentation about GKN as they had asked for it. They had a couple of heavy and specific questions naturally. Later we were led to their LEAN department where we got a very good review by two SAS LEAN experts. They have come very far in their work, but still have challenges.
To summarize this visit – professionalism is the word. They received us exceptionally well kept times and had stitched together a very ambitious schedule packed with comprehensive material. They really wanted us to understand them and learn from us, they were inquisitive, they were explanatory and it was obvious that they did not take our visit as one in the crowd, even if they behaved as they always do, they deserve applause.
We ended our activity week with two days in Bokenäs, a conference center in the archipelago. The theme was group development. We tackled easy and difficult challenges, including swimming .. October 1 ..
Its weekend and I have just finished a course in corporate governance and investment strategy.
#Long road trips are evolving with the proper company
#Public Affairs, should all get to listen to
#Good planning takes time
#The treatment at SAS, world class!
#The refugee situation, what do you do?
#Bathe in October, check
#My trainee colleagues, 🙂
#New Trollhätte citizen, Mikael Ingvarsson