Inside the facade of Alf Pettersson AB is not only the sound of persistent press brakes, energetic welding units, drumming rivet cans and whirring screwdrivers. There is also the energy and intensity of ideas being formed and visions taking shape. We delved into the vibrant atmosphere of the design and development department, which we shortened to APD (Alf Pettersson Development) to understand what makes Alf Pettersson AB a leading supplier in the industry.
Previously, you have met our colleagues Martin, Janne and Gabriel who, with their motivation, energy and different experiences, have lifted APD considerably.
Today we present some of the designers who have been with us for a very long time and someone who came in a little later.
Let us present the experienced team at APD: Noack, Pontus and Simon.
Simon Petersson, with a "t", now living in Alingsås but originally from Vårgårda, has a (hate) love affair with golf (depending on where the ball lands...). In addition to golf, he likes to spend his time with friends, music, computer games and family.
Simon has worked with us since 2016 after he trained as a designer. The reason for his choice of profession was his interest in CAD and drawing technology, which he found while studying engineering in high school.
Before training as a design engineer, he worked as a roofer, machine operator and also did a job session in Norway.
Today, in addition to design work and inspiring colleagues, Simon works to be a constructive link between production and design, so that processes and workflows flow as well as possible.
Pontus Andersson has been with us since 2008 and is one of the veterans at Alf Pettersson AB. He is one of those who have worked the longest in the company and when he was hired we were only 5 employees, now we are over 60 colleagues.
Pontus lives with his Jenny and their two children in Herrljunga. Pontus started his career in production at a welding and forging workshop until 2006. Then he decided to become a designer and took a CAD course, which then led him to start designing products according to customers' wishes. One of these customers was Alf Pettersson AB, which at that time was located in Vårgårda. After a few years, Pontus chose to continue his design work at Alf Pettersson AB, which we are happy about.
In addition to children and family, Pontus is most interested in sports such as cross-country and roller skiing and cycling.
"From a designer's point of view, no matter how good the product is, everything can always be a bit better..."
Noack Lennström lives in Gothenburg with his girlfriend but has a past in Vårgårda. Despite his young age, he has worked in both the restaurant and wood processing industries.
His main interest, apart from spending time with his girlfriend, is downhill skiing, especially in the Alps where the real slopes are. In addition, the family's summer house on the west coast and the water sports activities that can be practiced there, such as wakeboarding, water skiing, sailing and more, are of highest interest. And speaking of sailing, Noack is probably the only person in the company to have sailed across the Atlantic. Great job Noack!
Noack started with us in the spring of 2022, pretty much right after he finished the technology line at high school. He simply got an offer to start working with us. A probationary period that turned out well. It turned out that the job was more fun, challenging and inspiring than Noack had imagined, and colleagues saw how quickly he learned and how carefully he took on new tasks, which was to everyone's satisfaction. Only time will tell where this will lead in the future.
Noack finds it inspiring that there is such close cooperation with colleagues in all departments and that you get to be involved in all processes in the company.
Just like his colleagues Simon and Pontus, Noack finds it hard to say no to fun and challenging tasks, so it's nice for the rest of us that we have established routines and processes so that the job is completed before they embark on the next fun project.
None of the designers want to highlight themselves, but their colleagues are happy to fill in what the others are good at... "What Pontus doesn't know about our products is not worth knowing and his memory for details impresses us all the time" and for Noack, the aesthetic knowledge stands out. "He has an aesthetic approach that some of us lack and he is extremely easy to learn new things," says Simon with a smile.
"Simon acts as a lubricant in the organization; what doesn't work or what gets stuck, Simon makes it work in some incomprehensible way," Pontus adds, and the rest of us agree.
Much of the work of the Design and Development Department - APD focuses on development and new products and the results of the department's latest work can be seen on our website, such as ApCat 38-G3 Catwalk which are customized for both Volvo and Scania. Not to mention our new Cabinet Behind Cab ApTur S, ApTur M and ApTur HH. Please check out the new rear cabinets here.
What the designers are doing right now, we will not see until next year, but we can promise already now that it will be really interesting products, so subscribe to our newsletter, and we will keep you updated.
Then we should remember that no matter what product we develop, the rest of the business must add their expertise to get the final finish and high quality that Alf Pettersson AB's products have as a signature.
And now we have come to the question of the lunch box. If you had to choose one dish in your lunch box for the rest of your professional life, what would you choose?
For Pontus it would be macaroni and falukorv, and for Simon, sausage stroganoff with rice, and Noack chooses curry chicken with rice. We can conclude that it should be easy, simple and rational, but with some variation, when working at APD at Alf Pettersson AB.
Is it perhaps this "recipe" that has made Alf Pettersson AB a leading supplier in the industry?
We thank Pontus, Simon and Noack for the interview and leave the vibrant atmosphere at Alf Pettersson AB for now.
