OC-SYSTEM at 30 // Longest-serving employee Matti Sutinen: “If a bear hunt calls during working hours, in this company, it’s no problem at all!”
To celebrate OC-System’s 30th anniversary, we are publishing three articles looking at the company from different perspectives. This second interview describes the experiences of Team Leader Matti Sutinen. He has been a part of the OC-System story right from the start.
The longest-serving OC-System employee has experienced the ups and downs of the company. He values in particular his varied job description and the freedom offered to employees.
Matti Sutinen made a career change in the early 1990s after the Finnish depression ended his previous job in sales, but Sutinen quickly found a job at OC-System. “I did everything that was needed in manufacturing guard elements, such as welding and taping. I was a worker from the outset,” Sutinen says.
When a welding robot was introduced, Sutinen learned how to use it. The former salesperson had a lot to learn. Some things he learned by doing, others by attending training courses. Now, nearly 30 years later, Sutinen is responsible for the OC-System wire mesh panel production and powder coating as a team leader.
“Thinking back, I would never have believed I would be here now,” he says.
OC-System offers stable jobs
Sutinen has seen the path of the company right from the start. The ever-changing nature of the work has kept him at OC-System all these decades.
“For my part, no two working days are the same. If I had become bored, I would hardly be working here anymore. Now my goal is to see this job through until I retire,” he says.
Staff enjoys particular freedoms
Sutinen values in particular the company’s approach where employees are granted freedom to plan their own holiday periods within the framework set by management.
“If a bear hunt calls during working hours, in this company, it’s no problem at all! Few workplaces offer such a model.”
In his work role, he has been free to develop operations to his liking. He also feels that this benefits not only the team leader, but the entire staff.
According to Sutinen, OC-System has offered stable jobs for many people.
“There have been good years and bad. Even so, the company’s threshold to lay off or terminate employees has always been high. Employees are considered at every stage. This company brings food to the table for quite a number of households, so you should always remember to be grateful for the job you have.”
“My view of the future is reservedly positive, considering the way things are going in the world right now,” Sutinen sums up.