We are Semcon

Do you dare to ask questions and bring things to a head? Are you strong-willed and committed? Then Semcon is the company for you. There are nearly 3000 of us - dedicated people with a passion for product development and information solutions. We are motivat-ed by developing ideas and products of the future to give people a better and simpler life. Here, you don’t only have the opportunity of developing your skills through assignments at some of the world’s leading, most development-

intensive companies, you will also find an employer that focuses on the ’soft’ values that create a better work-life balance. Our customers are based all over the world. Therefore, you will find us at around 40 locations on three continents - in the future in even more places.

Do you want to know what it’s like working for us? Here you can meet some of our valuable employees, who will tell you why they chose Semcon.

Do you like solving problems?

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What Alexandra Teterin appreciates most about her work at Semcon is the chance to have two workplaces - one at the client, one at Semcon.

After three years working at Avure Tech-nologies, Alexandra has become one of the gang. She creates CAD models and produces designs of high pressure presses based on these models. These are used in areas such as the food, automotive and aerospace in-dustries.

”The presses are similar, but you have to adjust them for each customer. In practice, this means that we construct a unique press for every customer. It’s fun to work with a proven concept that my colleagues here have devoted 50 years to create.”

The high-pressure presses used in the food industry improve such things as food dura-bility by subjecting packaged goods to ex-treme pressure. The assignment at Avure is

Alexandra’s first major project for Semcon. In the future she would like to work more with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Product Data Management (PDM).

”Part of the job is creating methods to sim-plify and streamline the development of new products. In a construction department this means, for example, that anyone can take over a project and quickly understand what has been done and what is still to be done.”

For Alexandra, Semcon as an employer and life as a consultant offer many advantages.

”A big advantage is that you have twice as many colleagues and two workplaces. That means you have a lot of contacts. At Semcon, I think we are good at creating a feeling of ’us’, even if you don’t meet your colleagues so often. Since Semcon is such a large com-pany, you have many colleagues around the country and around the world. We are proud of our brand and what we can offer.”

The high pressure expertAlexAndrA TeTerinTitle: Industrial Design Engineer Office: Eskilstuna, Sweden Number of years at Semcon: Three

Thanks to test manager Ulrich Walther, it can be as cold as Siberia at Semcon in Bad Friedrichshall in Germany.

“In our climate chamber where we cold-test cars, we simulate temperatures between plus 95 and minus 40 degrees and we also regulate the humidity. We cover all the earth’s climate zones.”

Cold tests – part of Semcon’s testing ac-tivities in Bad Friedrichshall – are important from a functional and quality point of view and the results go directly to the car manu-facturers. The customers Ulrich Walther and his team take care of include Daimler, VW, Audi and BMW.

“Modern cars are sold worldwide, of course. A VW Golf should be able to work in both Saudi Arabia and Sweden.”

However, cold-testing cars is just a small part of Ulrich’s work. He is a member of the Technical Committee and, as the head of a test

department, he often performs twin roles.“Apart from being a test manager, I’m also

involved in our large projects in leading func-tions relating to testing the entire vehicle. It’s a job that I personally find more interesting and more varied than working in front of a computer screen all day.”

In the future, Ulrich would like to be inten-sively involved in Semcon’s strategic develop-ment in Germany.

“This includes making us even more com-petitive when it comes to the efficiency of work and the growth of acceptance for Sem-con’s brand in Germany.”

Ulrich feels that the culture at Semcon is well on the way to reaching a level the staff and customers need for effective work and a positive spirit. “Semcon’s corporate culture with locations around the world balances employees’ needs and customers’ desire for efficiency.”

Test managerUlrich WAlTherTitle: Engineer and test manager Office: Bad Friedrichshall, Germany Years at Semcon: 13

After 18 years with AstraZeneca, Stefan Qvarnström took a chance, phoned Semcon, introduced himself and got a job. Today he feels that the role of mentoring is becoming increasingly important.

“I was eager to experience new environ-ments and new companies. A consulting role appealed to me. When I worked at As-traZeneca we hired in skills from several sup-pliers but people from Semcon were always a little better, so that’s why I applied for a job here,” he says.

Stefan was not disappointed.“There is ambition here and good job sat-

isfaction. During our working breakfasts, it’s impossible to stop people talking about how much fun they have on their assignments.”

Stefan is back at the pharmaceutical com-pany in Södertälje, but this time as a Semcon consultant.

Like so many other companies, AstraZeneca

has been forced to make some cutbacks.“It’s all about efficiency, but also about

saving energy and the environment. For ex-ample, extra-clean water is used in pharma-ceutical production. Now that less of this commodity is needed, it’s better to reduce production of it, rather than having to get rid of the excess. This is one of the challenges that I’m working on.”

For just over a year, he has been team leader for the group of Semcon consultants working at AstraZeneca, a position that is tailor-made for him after his long time at the company.

“I help the consultants to get started and teach them about how the company works. Also, I like being a mentor to the younger consultants. In the future I would like to work more as a mentor, preferably in a formal pro-gramme. Good mentoring creates a feeling of security and makes it easier for younger people to get started.”

The process expertSTefAn QvArnSTrömTitle: Senior Management Advisor Office: Stockholm, Sweden Number of years at Semcon: Two

Gu Bo is a technical illustrator who was edu-cated in China and the UK, but chose to work for a Swedish company when she returned to her homeland. At Semcon she found new challenges and supportive colleagues.

Since starting at Semcon, Gu Bo hasn’t only developed her skills as a technical illus-trator. She has also broadened her horizons, learned new things about technical writing and about the technology she spends her days illustrating.

Bo arrived at Semcon in Beijing after hav-ing completed a degree in industrial design and then a PhD in product design in the UK. When she saw the Semcon job ad, she knew that the company would suit her perfectly.

“I figured that Semcon would be able to give me a perfect platform to fulfil my poten-tial. And in return I could help Semcon to add value for their clients.”

Bo works in a team of illustrators, techni-cal writers, method engineers and product managers. Her work involves producing line

drawings on a computer for client product information at a large telecoms company. These documents are used for the installa-tion and maintenance of mobile telephony base stations.

Bo knew nothing about base station technology before she started, but she has learned a lot during her four years in the job.

“I now think that the technology is really interesting. And to improve and be able to work more effectively, I’ve also learned quite a bit about technical writing.”

In addition to her role as a technical illustra-tor, Bo works as a graphic designer internally at Semcon.

“This allows me to be a little more crea-tive,” she says.

Bo describes Semcon as more of a family than a business.

“All of my colleagues are pleasant and help-ful, wherever in the world they are. They help each other and learn from each other, which improves everyone’s skills.”

IconographerGU Bo Title: Technical illustrator Office: Beijing, China Years at Semcon: Four

As an industrial designer, Malin Sanner works on product design language. But above all it’s her talented colleagues that inspire her. Malin and her colleagues are currently working on creating a uniform design for a product fam-ily consisting of, amongst other things, air purifiers and humidifiers for the US market.

“We have created the design language so that it shows the function of the different products. At the same time you should be able to see which brand it is, without having to see the logo.”

What is especially challenging is that many components are retained from previ-ous products.

“It means you have to think in order to come up with a good solution. This can often feel restrictive at first, but as long as you turn the parts around and think in new ways, you discover that you can do a lot,” says Malin.

What she appreciates about Semcon is working on a variety of assignments.

“In the future, I would like to work more on ”total design engineering” assignments. Then, when Semcon receive an assignment, you put together a team to work on design, technology and every other aspect of product development. Semcon’s strength is that we have access to everything we need. We have so many talented people with specialist skills, so you learn a lot.”

In addition to developing and being in-spired by colleagues, social relations are an-other key part of work at Semcon.

“The Stockholm office, which I belong to, has a very active staff social club. Of course, many of us work at customer sites and don’t see each other so often. So it’s particularly good to meet up with colleagues outside of work.”

The design language developermAlin SAnnerTitle: Industrial Designer Office: Stockholm, Sweden Number of years at Semcon: Three

Cyro Mancio is an electronics expert who is constantly given new challenges working for VW Trucks & Buses in Brazil. Assignments he gets via Semcon are quite simply never boring.

Cyrio Mancio has a passion for electronics and in recent years has used his expertise from various projects at VW Trucks & Buses in Brazil.

“VW and Semcon work closely here in Bra-zil and a friend who worked at VW told me that Semcon had a vacancy for an engineer with my profile. Today, I am responsible for the electrical diagrams and development of electrical systems and components for buses and trucks at VW.”

Among other things, Cyro has been in-volved in the production of VW’s Volksnet system, which provides real-time informa-tion to fleet managers about vehicle loca-tions, fuel consumption and speeds. Heavy

breaking and poor driving are also registered in the system.

“The new features require new, creative electronics solutions. Part of the work has involved working with hardware for connect-ing all these functions.”

Cyro has also recently tried his hand as team leader at Semcon, something he ap-preciates.

“Semcon is a very good company to work for. As an employee you’re given the op-portunity of trying many different things. It’s easy to talk to managers, either if you want to explain something, or if you have any complaints. Colleagues are friendly, we enjoy doing things outside of work together and we’re all very supportive of each other. It’s a very pleasant place to work. In addition, we’re always given new challenges. Work is never boring and there are always new things to develop.”

Electronics expertcyro mAncioTitle: Product engineer Kontor: Resende, Brasil Years at Semcon: Four

It was Semcon, and then Semcon again for Anna Bratt when she moved from Göteborg to Västerås.

As a technical instructor, she likes the varied nature of her assignments and the individual responsibility to her customers.

Anna Bratt was tipped off by a friend to apply for a job at Semcon. She started out as a mechanical engineer in Göteborg and worked there for two years. She then moved to Västerås and applied for a job at Semcon again, because she had enjoyed her time so much there previously. This time it was as a technical instructor.

Her current customer is the company Bom-bardier, which manufactures trains, amongst other things. As a technical instructor, Anna works with every kind of documentation.

“I am responsible for all the user documen-tation for static converter boxes - the trains’ drive system. This involves product descrip-

tions and maintenance manuals, for exam-ple. But I also put together documents such as designs and engine documentation from other departments, which we then deliver to the customer.”

However, it has not always been about trains. Anna has also previously worked on robots, for ABB and other customers.

“I appreciate what I do and feel that with Semcon I have room to develop.”

Should she want to, there are always op-portunities to work on new challenges.

“The varied nature of my assignments is one of the great advantages of a company like Semcon. Another thing that I like is that we have a large amount of individual respon-sibility to the client. In principle, I am Sem-con’s representative to my customer - my boss has almost no involvement at all. I also think we have a good community here at Semcon.”

The train manual expertAnnA BrATTTitle: Technical Instructor Office: Västerås, Sweden Number of years at Semcon: Seven

Caroline Bramklev has worked on such diverse things as food, radar stations and houses. At Semcon she found a workplace in which her extensive experience came in handy.

As configuration manager, she breaks prod-ucts down into their smallest components.

“A product manager sees what the market wants, where the new customers are and what products and services you can offer in order to make money. A configuration manager knows which components are already part of a prod-uct and those which do not currently exist but may need to be developed. As a configuration manager, you are an important link between the product manager and the production tools,” says Caroline.

It is also about being able to guide the devel-opment to maximize profitability.

When will the next version be released? How many new parts will be needed then? The configuration manager ensures that the production plan is feasible - i.e. that it works in practice.

Caroline describes herself as adaptable. At Semcon she has worked as a product manager, a process developer, a systems engineer and as a business developer.

“I have a solid technical and economic back-ground, so I wanted to work in a company where you can grow, and Semcon won my confidence. If you are interested and driven, you get to do many different things. We are moving into new markets - it’s exciting. Sem-con is a technology company with committed, competent and flexible minds, and we need more of these.”

The product information expertcAroline BrAmklevTitle: Configuration Manager Office: Göteborg, Sweden Years at Semcon: Three

Stefan Isaksson is a design engineer. His keen interest in photography led him to a new area – Computer Generated Imagery. At Semcon, Stefan could explore his crea-tive side.

Stefan Isaksson could just as well have end-ed up in Hollywood and worked on films like Lord Of The Rings and Avatar. Instead, he’s in the CGI group at Semcon.

“We mainly use the same tools as the film industry when we develop animations and pictures of different products.”

Stefan is at heart a design engineer, but intensive training in Hollywood and a keen interest in photography led to his current job: producing stills and animations of products for different companies – often long before they exist. The technology making this pos-sible is CGI - Computer Generated Imagery – the same thing used in the film industry.

“One of the reasons I started to work for Semcon was that I could explore my artistic

side. My job isn’t just about sitting in an office – I get to work creatively and use my visual brain regarding composition and lighting, for example.”

Stefan and his colleagues’ job involves any-thing from taking beautiful real-life pictures of sailing boats, kitchen utensils and house interiors to animating cars.

“The main aim is that the client should be able to produce marketing material long be-fore the product physically exists. We often get a CAD model from the manufacturer, or make a 3D model ourselves from sketches. The 3D model is then used to produce stills and animations on the computer.”

Stefan has no doubt that he also wants to work with CGI in the future.

“It’s a rapidly developing area at the mo-ment, and here at Semcon I get the chance to have varied assignments with many different clients, where I can follow the entire process from idea to final result.”

Visualization expert STefAn iSAkSSon Title: Group leader, CGI group Office: Göteborg, Sweden Years at Semcon: Four

Jenny Bengtsson Algelid works on safety at nuclear power plants, but her background is in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a form of cross-fertilization that she thinks perme-ates throughout Semcon as a company.

Jenny works as a validation engineer for Semcon at Ringhals, the Swedish nuclear power plant. There, she and her colleagues are validating a new security system on one of the reactors.

“We check that the requirements are moni-tored and ensure that testing and analysis is performed. We’re a sort of monitoring and coordinating body that oversees the collec-tion of important documents in a form that is easy to reference, if and when requested, to ensure that they genuinely meet the require-ments of the authorities.”

Primarily, Jenny’s background is in the phar-maceutical industry, something that may come as a surprise to some.

“Our department works in the pharmaceu-tical and nuclear industries, two areas that

may not seem to have so much in common. However, both areas are tightly monitored, surrounded by numerous laws and regula-tions, so there is one important similarity. Our process, which originated in the phar-maceutical industry, was completely new to Ringhals, and it’s both fun and challenging to bring new thinking and new practices to their operations.”

Before she came to Semcon Jenny worked for a staffing agency, but she knows that Semcon can offer much more as an em-ployer.

“We have a defined culture, a working environment where you can ask your col-leagues for advice and they are happy to help. Although we work in different places, there is a lot of cohesion.”

She also thinks that Semcon takes care of its employees.

“We get to go on courses and there is also a lot of expertise exchange internally. Quite simply, you have room to develop.”

The validation expertJenny AlGelid BenGTSSonTitle: Configuration Manager Office: Göteborg, Sweden Years at Semcon: Three

Carlos Barbosa is a calculations engineer with a passion for engine simulations. At Semcon he has found a safe and challenging environ-ment in which to develop.

Carlos Barbosa felt at home a mere two weeks after starting at Semcon’s vehicle sim-ulation testing department in Wolfsburg.

“Everyone who comes here does very well.”At that time he had worked for another

company for two years, developing machin-ery. The step to Semcon’s vehicle simulation department was not a big one for Carlos. The technology is roughly similar.

“We calculate strength, dynamics and oth-er things, both for entire engines and for sin-gle components. We investigate everything apart from the engine’s inner workings, like pistons, for example,” he says.

They do this by simulating tests on com-puters. It is a more reliable method than mechanical tests on completed engines, as

computer technology gives exact results. However, methods are constantly develop-ing, and Carlos hopes that a car’s entire drive mechanism will be able to be simulated.

His favourite part of the job is simulation testing, even if his administrative duties as department manager have increased as the team has grown. He also likes the working climate.

“If it wasn’t so good I wouldn’t work here.”Carlos and his colleagues work with several

different customers – amongst the largest is the car manufacturer Volkswagen, which is based in Wolfsburg.

“Our long-standing co-operation with Volkswagen means that we are seen as col-leagues, rather than hired help. But it’s reas-suring to know that at Semcon you always have a workplace and a desk to go to, even if you’re not out on an assignment with a customer.”

Engine calculations engineercArloS BArBoSA Titel: Calculations engineer Office: Wolfsburg, Germany Years at Semcon: Three

As a teacher with technical skills, Henrik An-dersson was cut out for a job as a technical trainer at Semcon. Strategic thinking has now become an important and exciting part of his work.

“I had heard a lot of good things about Semcon and was curious. So I arranged a meeting with my current manager and my profile seemed to fit very well,” says Henrik.

At Semcon, one of his jobs is to develop training plans, something that fits in perfect-ly with his background. Henrik is a qualified teacher and also has a year of engineering studies behind him.

“Here I work across the entire spectrum, from creating and developing individual courses, to developing a complete training strategy.”

Henrik developed a new communications system for the emergency services, which required an elaborate training plan. When it’s a matter of life and death, it is of course

essential that staff have the correct skills. This can also be adapted for various customers around the world.

“Projects like these are interesting, particu-larly the strategic dimension.”

There has to be a strategy regarding how training should be performed and the im-pact it should have. Therefore, Henrik is often there at the start when a training strategy has to be developed.

“At a leading marine company, we had the chance to create a training strategy for the entire business. So we travelled around meeting people in factories in various places in Europe to obtain a complete picture of how they worked. Then we created a training strategy, tailored to their business.”

What Henrik really appreciates about his work is the large amount of variation.

“You’re never bored. At Semcon you have great opportunities for development, such as working abroad.”

The training experthenrik AnderSSonTitle: Training Information Analyst Office: Göteborg, Sweden Years at Semcon: Three

For Pär Heyden concept design is a bench-mark of a company’s strategic development. At Semcon he found an opportunity to work on various assignments and what he is pas-sionate about: projects in their entirety.

Pär Heyden works on embodying brands through design, in particular concepts and future solutions in the automotive sector, for example, which uses concept cars to try out ideas on customers and develop their own designs.

“It’s important to maintain the link be-tween the design and the brand, otherwise everything will fall down. It’s a bit like putting one step into the future. You don’t decide exactly what cars will look like in years to come, but it creates a benchmark to aim at,” says Pär.

He has been involved in five different con-cept cars, but he has also developed concept lights for Semcon.

“The lights were exhibited at the Stock-holm Furniture Fair. There we could show

what Semcon can do, but in a less costly way than with a car,” says Pär.

To start with, Pär worked a lot with interac-tive products, for customers including Volvo Cars.

Now he has creative responsibility for projects which Semcon Design runs in-house - i.e. projects that are not run at a customer’s site, but in Semcon’s own studios.

“Semcon is perfect if you are a recent grad-uate, because you get to try your hand at many types of assignment before special-izing. Also for someone like me, who doesn’t want to specialize, Semcon is a good com-pany. I would get bored if I had to do the same things all the time.”

What he likes best is projects in their en-tirety.

“A dream assignment would be if, for ex-ample, Electrolux wanted a completely new kitchen concept involving everything from the layout to the appliances, ranging from the functional to the aesthetic.”

The concept designerPär heydenTitle: Strategic Designer Office: Göteborg, Sweden Years at Semcon: Two

Since Nayyar Rahman began at Semcon in India in 2006, his assignments have been varied. His assignments as a product design engineer have included projects for Scania Trucks, Reva Electric Car Company and Arctic Trucks. Another assignment took him away from his hometown - Bangalore, India - to Volvo Cars in Göteborg.

“I learned to be organized and to carry out my work in a more professional way there. I got to meet people from all over the world and learn about their culture and lifestyle, and this has helped me to communicate more effectively with different customers.”

Nayyar is inspired by a variety of sources, such as manufacturing, purchasing, market-ing, packaging, construction and assembly.

“My responsibility is to capture information from these sources and then to come up with

a product manufactured in the best possible way, suggest which material should be used and which tools and designs should be used during assembly,” he says.

Nayyar heard about the job at Semcon through a friend who already worked for the company.

“At the time, Semcon had just started up in India, which meant more challenges, more chance to influence my work and more op-portunities to be successful in the future,” he says.

Now, four years on, Nayyar says that he feels like one of the family and is looking for-ward to taking on more responsibility.

“Every individual here at Semcon is impor-tant and significant. Hard work and dedica-tion always pay off - it is rewarded and boosts your career.”

The interiors specialistnAyyAr rAhmAnTitle: Product Design Engineer Office: Bangalore, India Number of years at Semcon: Four

Where in the worlddo you want to work?Semcon is a global technology companywith more than 40 sites on three continents. Read more about us at www.semcon.com.

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