INFOMagazine for customers, employees and other stakeholders www.aholatransport.comNo. 1 2017

In this issue:

Three decadeswith Aholap. 18

Meet ourcustomers:Elgiganten p. 16-17

A tightschedulein Naantalip. 12-14

Grimaldi and Aholagrows togetherp. 6-7

On the road:Nothing is impossiblep. 8-9

New brand - new beginningp. 4-5

2 3INFO INFO

For many years, Ahola Transport has been compiling important rules and other practi-cal information in a guide used by both its own and its contractors’ drivers. This year, the guide received an update. “The guide was updated along with our brand, but providing guidance for our drivers has always been important to us, seeing as they are the ones who most often visit our customers,” explains Birgitta Hatt, Quality Manager and head of environmental affairs at Ahola Transport. The Driver’s Guide aids the drivers with loading, unloading and everything in between. The guide includes, for instance, a summary of national legislation the driv-ers need to follow as well as advice on eco-friendly driving techniques and ethical work principles.

Everything from load securing to ethics

The illustrated guide details how to commu-nicate with forklift drivers at the terminals and how the cargo should be secured. Birgitta Hatt emphasises the guide’s impor-tance as a tool. “It is very informative and steers our driv-ers in their everyday work,” she says. Ahola’s vision and long-standing goal of be-ing the most efficient, reliable and environ-mentally friendly company in its markets is a common theme throughout the guide. The goal is also supported by Ahola Transport’s values and guiding principles: full responsi-bility and openness, which are summed up

in the ‘Ahola Way’. “Quality and environmental issues have been top priorities at Ahola since the early 2000s, following an environmental certifica-tion in 2002 and quality certification in 2004, although our work in these areas started much earlier,” Hatt says. The overall aim of the guide is to ensure that Ahola Transport can work with custom-ers, partners and society as a whole in a har-monised, consistent and sustainable way. The guide is a tool leading Ahola from one successful delivery to another. The results are measured through Ahola Transport’s own IT systems and the Green Wheels Index.

Drivers put to the test

A new feature is that all vehicles shall have electronic access to the guide. All drivers must now also pass an exam to demonstrate their skills and their views on eco-friendly and quality-conscious driving. After completing the exam, the drivers must commit to following the guidelines in their everyday tasks. In charge of the project at Ahola Transport was Caj Björkskog. “You can take the exam on any computer or mobile device, or on the in-vehicle com-puter,” says Björkskog. The project started out with the need to

improve the quality of transports to a spe-cific customer. “It is impossible to assemble all our drivers in one place for briefings or trainings, so we decided to create an app and make it avail-able for everyone,” Björkskog explains. Within just a year, the number of noncon-formities dropped from dozens to only a few. Since then the work has continued. “Now it’s time for the next step. All our regular drivers will have completed the exam before the end of the year,” Björkskog says.

Facts speak for themselves

The results can be compiled to give Ahola statistics and facts on the drivers’ awareness of optimal working procedures. The data can then be presented to current and potential customers as a way of proving that Ahola Transport conducts its deliveries efficiently, safely, sustainably, successfully and in an environmentally friendly manner. Having a detailed guide for Ahola’s drivers has earned the company praise from cus-tomers and partners alike. “The feedback from our customers and partners has been overwhelmingly positive, as it demonstrates to them that we take these issues seriously,” Birgitta Hatt says.

Ahola Transport’s Driver’s Guide has been updated, con-verted into digital format and will form the basis of an exam taken by all the drivers. The guide is an important tool for ensuring efficient, safe, eco-friendly and ethical deliveries.

New Driver’s Guide takes quality to the next level

Paper and digitalisation go hand in hand

Drivers can rely on the Driver’s Guide in all situations.

Following a hiatus of a few years, we have once again begun to publish our magazine Ahola Info. Now called AT-Info, it will appear twice a year and is directed at our customers, shareholders, other partners and last, but by no means least, our employees. Our inten-tion is, considering our background as a family enterprise that val-ues open communication, to be able to provide all our readers with an interesting and informative magazine.

Our aim is to a have a single magazine for sharing Ahola Group’s current events, which will also cover general industry news and in-clude features on current issues, trends and our outlook on the fu-ture. The magazine will contain articles about customers, suppliers, partners, Ahola’s operations and services as well as our employees, who, in line with our family business spirit, are presented in a more personal way.

We want to highlight the importance of openness and trust in our business by offering a single magazine to our customers, employees and other stakeholders alike. We wish to share the same things with our customers and partners as with our personnel, and vice versa. Simply put, we want to provide an interesting read to all our stake-holders, both in printed and digital form.

Digital transformation is a key issue for virtually all sectors these days, and logistics is no exception – far from it. The logistics industry may have fallen behind in terms of digital advancements to some Hans Ahola

extent, but it is beginning to catch up. Ahola Transport has long sought to be at the forefront of this development, and is now look-ing to take digitalisation in logistics to the next level.

We have initiated an extensive digitalisation project to advance our dynamic logistics model, which will generate savings for both our customers and Ahola Transport, conserve society’s resources and reduce the environmental impact of our transports. The project is expected to yield considerable benefits when the digital system is fully implemented. Some of the services and projects involved in this initiative are featured in this issue, and we have more advance-ments in store for you in the next one.

Ahola Transport’s ambition is to be at the forefront of change in the often traditional logistics business. Digitalisation will enable many advantages and naturally also lead to new and unique services and products for our customers.

If you have any questions or ideas about our business, communica-tions or magazine, please get in touch – after all, Ahola is all about openness.

Wishing you many pleasant and informative moments with our new and improved AT-Info.

In this issue:

Paper and digitalisation go hand in hand

New Driver’s Guide takes quality to the next level

Moving forward with a new brand

Continued renewal

Modernised fleet increases visibility

Family companies – growing together

A crucial link

Focus on cargo and customers

Special Transport continues to grow

Growth in turnover despite challenging year

Ahola Transport then and now & investor news

The hub - always efficient

One evening in Naantali

Goods tracking goes online

Quality comes first for Elgiganten

Thirty years at Ahola

From eggs to electronics

Greener transports with new computers

More efficient customer service

It happens at Ahola...

A love of fishing

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4-5

5

6

3

8-9 16-17

10

10 19

20

2112-13

14

15 24

11

22–23

18

5

7

4 INFO 5INFO

Ahola Transport’s brand and logo go back a long way. The first version of the logo appeared in the 1980s but it received a makeover in the 1990s. That is when the well-known ‘AT’ logo surfaced, combining the ‘A’ for Ahola and ‘T’ for Transport. Since then, Ahola Transport’s logo and brand have become a familiar sight on Nordic and Baltic roads, and increasingly so through the years as the company expanded, grew its vehicle fleet and heightened its presence.

Classic lives on

The idea of modernising the classic logo came about during the strategy process in autumn 2015. The management team began discussing possibilities and the work continued in 2016. “The goal of the new brand was to revitalise and modernise our visual identity,” says CEO Hans Ahola. The modernisation was also the next vital step after Ahola Transport’s 60-year anniversary and the company’s listing on the stock exchange in 2015. The management team floated around several ideas, which they then took to the advertising agency Creamedia in Kokkola. “The old logo, of course, has its charms but it needed modernising. Using the ‘AT’ symbol was a given from the very beginning,” says Mats Aurén, Creamedia’s Art Director.

Longstanding collaboration

At Creamedia, Mats Aurén was in charge of the modernisation process. Aurén was already involved at the very beginning when Ahola Transport and Hans Ahola began drafting the first logo models nearly 30 years ago. “There were many twists and turns and

countless meetings. At one point we thought about working simply with the ‘AT’ logo and leaving out ‘Ahola Transport’,” says Hans Ahola about the work in 2016. Mats Aurén confirms that the work was expansive. The new logo was designed to be used on Ahola’s vehicles, press materials, signs and other printed and digital material. The logo of Ahola Transport’s subsidiary

AT Special Transport was also to be given an overhaul simultaneously with the modernisation of parent company Ahola Transport’s logo. The most visible place for the logo, on Ahola Transport’s vehicles, required the most thought. They opted for a modern, eco-friendly and cost-effective solution. “Even then, we had several alternatives.

“The letters ‘AT’ also stand for ‘Always There’, a slogan that expresses that we will always

be there for the customer. ‘Always There’ also conveys a focus on customers, which

creates the foundation for our co-operation.”

We finally came up with a practical solution with a white background,” says Aurén. Environmental issues – a key aspect of Ahola Transport’s strategy – were also considered as this meant the cabs of the trucks did not need to be repainted. “There was a lot to consider. It was quite a process, but our collaboration with Ahola Transport went smoothly. This is a clear

benefit resulting from our 30-year partnership. We know each other and know what we want,” says Aurén.

Autumn launch

At the beginning of September 2016, Ahola Transport’s new logo was launched with an open house at the company’s head office in Kokkola and shortly thereafter at the company’s reloading centre in Naantali. The new logo highlights, in a number of ways, Ahola Transport’s mission and strategy. “The Ahola Transport wheel has been around for a long time and

symbolises how Ahola Transport is headed forward,” says Hans Ahola. The symbolism does not end there. The Ahola Transport logo can also be associated with the @ symbol, and thus with digitalisation – something that Ahola Transport has elected to have an active role in since the 1990s. The logo includes both the ‘A’ for Ahola and ‘T’ for Transport.

“The letters ‘AT’ also stand for ‘Always There’, a slogan that expresses that we will always be there for the customer. ‘Always There’ also conveys a focus on customers, which creates the foundation for our co-operation,” says Hans Ahola. The slogan ‘Always There’ holds a central role in Ahola Transport’s mission and strategy. ‘Always There’ also suggests that Ahola Transport, thanks to its dynamic logistics concept, is not limited by fixed routes; its fleet of vehicles can go wherever the customers’ goods flows are. Following the modernisation of the brand, the slogan is international and mainly used in English. Earlier, the slogan was in use in four languages: ‘Alltid Tillgänglig‘ in Swedish, ‘Aina Tavoitettavissa‘ in Finnish ‘Alati Tabatau‘ in Estonian and ‘Always There‘ in English. ‘Always There’ is also about a basic attitude that should be second nature to everyone at Ahola as a result of strategy work called the ‘Ahola Way’.

In the autumn, Ahola Transport ushered in a new era when its first vehicles equipped with the new logo heading off onto Nordic and Baltic roads. The new logo is the result of fruitful co-operation.

Ahola Transport has already introduced the logo and brand at each level of the organisation. The logo will become even more familiar to the industry and the public through investments in a modernised fleet of trucks.

Moving forward with a new brand

Art Director Mats Aurén from Creamedia has worked with Ahola Transport for almost 30 years and has been responsible for the modernisation of the company’s brand and logo both in 2016 and in the 1990s.

With barely a year behind it, Ahola Transport’s new logo has already received a lot of positive feedback. CEO Hans Ahola is pleased. “We are extremely happy with the new logo and everyone I’ve talked to thinks it looks great. Ahola Transport benefits from the increased visibility and everything looks nice and clean with the white background.” There is only one drawback to the new logo. “The trailers quickly become dirty but that just motivates us to wash them more often,” Hans Ahola says with a smile.

Continuous investments

The new logo will soon be an even more familiar sight on Nordic and Baltic roads. In

the autumn, Ahola Transport modernised its fleet of vehicles with more than 100 new trailers and dozens of new combination vehicles, all equipped with the new logo. The new tractor units were also outfitted with the new logo as will the majority of the fleet once Ahola Transport continues to modernise its vehicles to meet its strategy of maintaining a new and modern fleet. “We will continue our investments in line with market development,” says Hans Ahola. According to Nils Ahola, Unit Manager for Fleet & Resources, Ahola will invest in dozens of new vehicles this year alone. “We are very pleased; the logo is practical as it is easy to tape onto the vehicles,” he says.

Benefitting customers and environment

A modern and efficient fleet is essential in order to maintain high-quality transport operations. The environment also benefits from newer trucks with lower fuel consumption and more effective cleaning of exhaust fumes. Ahola Transport’s contractors’ vehicles have also received new logos. An important part of Ahola Transport’s concept is coordinating investments in new vehicles with contractors. Through the collaboration, the contractors have access to new and modern vehicles under competitive terms while Ahola Transport can ensure a uniform fleet of vehicles optimised for the needs of the market. This benefits both customers and the environment.

Modernised fleet increases visibility

Nils Ahola, Fleet and Transport Resource Manager, is very happy with the new logo.

In the illustration above, the grey colour makes the ‘A’ and ‘T’ of Ahola’s logo stand out.

Continued renewalAhola Transport’s logo makeover involves the entire company, from small forms to long combination vehicles. The process will take some time as the old logo has to be replaced in countless locations.

Completely renewing a company's material does not happen overnight. The vehicles are, of course, the most visible aspect, but the logo will also appear on everything from signs to clothing and visitor passes to promotional gifts. Much of it has already been updated. “We are working non-stop to ensure that our entire material will comply with our logo and graphical manual,” CEO Hans Ahola says. Workwear is also in the process of being replaced. Signs at the various units in Finland, Sweden and Estonia have also been

renewed. Although the new logo has only been in existence since autumn 2016, Ahola Transport’s visibility is already increasing. “Absolutely, especially as we have become more active in social media at the same time. It’s all connected,” says Hans Ahola. The public can see the logo on Ahola’s website, Facebook and Instagram, in advertising and, naturally, on roads everywhere from Norway to Finland and Estonia to Slovakia.

Ahola Transport’s new logois most prominent on itsfleet of vehicles.

6 INFO 7INFO

Since the ferry operator Finnlink was established in 1989, Ahola Transport has used its ferries almost daily. Today, the route is operated by the Grimaldi Group through Finnlines, and the part nership with Ahola Transport is stronger than ever.

Family companies – growing together

“Ahola Transport is one of our key partners and we will always support the partnership to allow it to grow even stronger, just as we have since the very first Finnlink ferry was launched more than 20 years ago,” says CEO of Finnlines, Emanuele Grimaldi. As of 2006 Finnlink, and its managing company Finnlines, has been a part of the shipping company Grimaldi Group. Since 2016, Grimaldi Group has owned Finnlines in its entirety and has upped its investments in the routes to and from Finland. Although Finnlink is just one of dozens of ferry lines that Grimaldi operates through Finnlines in northern Europe and through several companies in the Mediterranean, the route between Naantali in Finland and Kapellskär in Sweden holds a strong position in the Grimaldi Group. “Finnlink is one of our key routes and the company will continue investing in it in order to meet market needs and demands and

improve on-board services for our guests,” says Emanuele Grimaldi.

Ahola at the top

Emanuele Grimaldi is happy that Finnlink has such a large and loyal client as Ahola. Today, Ahola Transport is Finnlink’s single largest customer and has been one of the largest since the very beginning in 1989. CEO Hans Ahola has always had a good relationship with Finnlink and its owners. “Hans Ahola has put his trust in Finnlink since day one. We will always be thankful for this trust and hope that we never let him down,” says Emanuele Grimaldi. The close collaboration is maintained through regular meetings. Emanuele Grimaldi and Hans Ahola meet to discuss the future several times a year and Ahola Transport’s representatives are invited to the annual Grimaldi conference in Italy. “A continuous and open dialogue is crucial for keeping tabs on the co-operation and developing operations in a stable manner,” says Grimaldi. Antonio Raimo, Line Manager for Finnlink, sees the partnership with Ahola as unique and productive. “We understand one another and continue to build up our longstanding relationship. With a customer like Ahola, co-operation is always easy,” he says. Raimo takes care of operative communications with Ahola and Ahola’s Purchasing Director Ole Nyblom. Raimo and Nyblom meet three to four times a year and hold regular phone conferences.

Shared family company spirit

Another explanation for why Ahola and Grimaldi have such a strong relationship is, of course, the family company spirit. Both Ahola Transport and the Grimaldi Group are family companies with long histories. “Ahola is one of the few companies that has made it big while remaining

a family company, just like Grimaldi. I am sure that this has contributed to a better understanding between the two companies. Family businesses have a unique perspective, it’s like the company becomes part of the family,” says Raimo. Emanuele Grimaldi agrees that the companies think alike. “I think that we have a similar approach to entrepreneurship, as well as a mutual understanding of each other’s needs.” Grimaldi is quick to add, however, that it takes more than just a family company spirit. “You also need to be backed by a good organisation. This applies to Grimaldi as well. You can’t run a company with 120 vessels without a skilled organization,” he points out. He sees this same element in Ahola. The company has developed its expertise in line with its growth.

Promising future

Antonio Raimo is certain that Ahola and Finnlink will continue developing together. “We rely a great deal on Ahola’s feedback from the market, both in terms of strategic planning and future investments. We have a close collaboration and constantly work to fortify it. We also strive to improve continuously.” According to Raimo, it has always been Finnlink’s policy to work towards long-term solutions. “We don’t try to make an extra euro at the risk of losing ten euros,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. Antonio Raimo also believes that the markets are currently stabilising, something that favours both Finnlink and Ahola. “We’ve had some tough years since I took over at Finnlink in 2012. The markets have narrowed but we have fought to maintain the same level of service as before – and succeeded. Lately, the situation has improved slightly. This gives us the opportunity to plan future investments,” he concludes.

Finnlines

Grimaldi Group

• Owns around 20 vessels on routes in the Baltic and North Sea.

• Owns the shipping operators Finnlink, Nordölink, Hansalink & TransRussiaExpress.

• Fully owned by Grimaldi Group.

• Established in 1947 by brothers Guido, Luigi, Mario, Aldo and Ugo Grimaldi.

• Fully owned by the Grimaldi family, managed by Guido’s sons Gianluca and Emanuele Grimaldi and brother-in-law Diego Pacella.

• Made up of eight shipping companies, transporting both freight and passengers, in addition to several subsidiaries in the terminal and logistics sector.

• Employs more than 13,000 people

• Each week the Group’s 120 vessels call at more than 110 ports in Europe, Africa and America.

Ahola Transport’s CEO Hans Ahola and Finnlines’ CEO Emanuele Grimaldi have a good working relationship and meet regularly to discuss current business issues.

Our partner

For Ahola Transport, goods traffic on wheels also involves a fair amount of transport on ships. Without ferry operators like Finnlink, the journey between Finland and Sweden would be long.

A crucial link

When it comes to truck traffic, we immediately think ‘roads’, but for a logistics company that operates throughout the Nordic countries, there is another key link besides the road network. “We transport a lot of goods between Swe-den and Finland on a weekly basis and this takes place on ferries. Our job is about opti-mising the vehicle turnover on the ferries,” says the transport planner, who has been in charge of shipping company contacts at Ahola Transport. In that work Finnlink is a key partner for Ahola. “Our co-operation with Finnlink is great. Their personnel is always willing to help and does its best to ensure that things go off without a hitch,” he says.

Ahola’s vehicles are a common sight in the harbours of Naantali and Kapellskär, both morning and evening, as well as summer and vinter.

Finnlink – an essential partner

In every fruitful partnership, both participants are important to one another. The same applies to Finnlink and Ahola. Ahola is Finnlink’s single largest customer and its trucks weekly fill up several thousand lane metres on Finnlink’s ferries. In addition to Finnlink, Ahola Transport uses other shipping companies between Sweden and Finland when necessary. “The type of goods, timetable and available capacity are the important factors when selecting a ferry,” he explains. But at the other shipping companies, freight competes with passengers and their vehicles. “Finnlink is specialised in freight and they

can offer us a lot of room. Besides, Finnlink is our primary carrier for transporting hazardous goods. Without Finnlink we wouldn’t be able to meet all of our custo-mers’ needs. That is very important,” he says. Finnlink’s ferries depart twice a day in each direction. Ahola naturally adapts its transports to this, but particularly on weekdays, a third ferry and a later departure from Sweden would be ideal. Finnlink’s owners Grimaldi Group understand the dilemma and are working to meet all of their needs, but they must, obviously, adjust to total demand in order to guarantee the profitability of the line.

Many success factors

Ahola’s dynamic logistics also poses a challenge, as meticulous planning is required to adapt everything to coincide with ferry timetables. “The work is very systematic, but it has to be to guarantee that we stay on top of timetables and prioritisation,” he says. Moreover, communication with transport management and, by extension, with both the drivers and customers, has to work. Ac-cording to him, the work is about keeping tabs on the numbers, with the goal of con-tinuously optimising traffic, but without the collaboration with Finnlink, the work would not run smoothly. Right now, Ahola and Finnlink are working on integrating their electronic booking sys-tems. For him, this is a positive sign. “It says something about our partnership. We really wish to invest in it.”

8 INFO 9INFO

It is 8.30 in the morning and one of Aho-la Transport’s brand new 60-tonne com-bination vehicles rolls into Vimmerby in Sweden’s Småland. The driver and his Scania have driven southward through the night from the ferry from Finland through a windy, snow-covered Sweden. His cargo consists of 40 tonnes of aluminium billets from near Mikkeli in Finland. Half the cargo needs to be delivered at a foundry in Vimmerby. “I last drove to this factory a couple years ago,” says Långström. He is into his second week of work. Ten days ago his journey began in Naantali, Finland. Since then, he has driven back and forth between Sweden and Finland many times. In Finland, he has loaded and un-loaded cargo in Hyvinkää, Hämeenlinna and Lahti. In Sweden, his destinations have in-cluded both small and large towns.“I took a load down to Ystad. It’s quite a long distance but fairly convenient because I can get there in one driving shift and get back during the next one,” Långström says.

Freedom with responsibility

Each day, hundreds of truck drivers from Ahola Transport take goods to factories, shops, warehouses and consumers across the Nordic countries and the Baltics. Kent Långström is one of around 700 people that daily see to it that the cargo arrives at its destination: safely, efficiently and ecologi-cally. “There is freedom, but also responsibility. We get to visit new places and meet new people. Sure, we sometimes end up driving to the same places over and over again, but sometimes the locations vary a lot. Some days, we load and unload cargo at ten sepa-rate locations,” says Långström. Långström has worked at Ahola Transport’s subsidiary AT Cargo for ten years. He used to run his own transport company and has sat

behind the wheels of trucks, excavators and other heavy vehicles for close to 30 years. “It’s challenging but rewarding. The good thing about this job is that other people can tell you how to do it but, in the end, you get to decide. Obviously, 99 per cent is about following the plan, but there’s always some-thing you can improve on,” he explains.

Always on the road

Långström drives one of Ahola Transport’s newest and largest combination vehicles, a 490-horse-power Scania R 490 with a total length of 25 metres and weighing 60 tonnes. Both the size and weight meet Swedish and Finnish limitations, but, due to the numerous loading and unloading locations each week,

from large distribution centres to small fac-tories in the country, the driver is faced with many challenges on the way. “Of course there can be problems with height and turning, but challenges are fun,” says Långström. Ahola Transport’s dynamic logistics con-cept makes the trips even more interesting. Långström appreciates the concept’s effi-

ciency. “Sitting on ferries, I’ve listened to col-leagues from other companies complain about nothing happening and about unload-ing somewhere but having nothing to trans-port back. I like having something to do the whole time. Why sit and twiddle my thumbs waiting for the next load?” he says.

More enjoyable in the country

After unloading the first lot of aluminium ingots in Vimmerby, Långström continues to the municipal energy company to deliver some vacuum cleaner parts. Långström con-tinues on from Vimmerby towards the small community of Tenhult, less than two hours away, to drop off the remaining aluminium

ingots. “These areas are a little reminiscent of western Finland and I always enjoy driving in the country” says Långström a resident of Korsnäs, south of Vaasa in western Finland. The stopover in Tenhult takes longer than expected because it’s lunchtime for the fac-tory’s forklift driver. “Loading and unloading used to be more

flexible. Companies would just leave the keys in the forklift for us drivers. Now, we have to adjust to different working hours at various factories and shops,” Långström explains. Even though a lot was better in the ‘good old days’, there are many modern things that make drivers’ work easier. The trucks have many devices: systems warning against speeding and crossing lanes, alco locks and many other gadgets to make deliveries safer and make the drivers’ work simpler. “Today’s trucks are also much more com-fortable than ten years ago. My current one is the best I’ve ever had,” Långström says.

Stressful driving times

The working hours of truck drivers are also much more pleasant these days. “When I started ten years ago, our work-ing weeks were sometimes as long as 70 hours. Now we’re down to 30–40 hours,” he explains.

Dynamic logistics at Ahola Transport requires both good planning and modernIT solutions, but in the end, it is the truck driverswho ensure that thingsgo according to plan. Kent Långström is one of them.

On the road

Focus on cargo and customers

“I like having something to do the whole time. Why sit

and twiddle my thumbs wait-ing for the next load?”

The drivers suffer from another type of stress, however. The strict driving times re-quire meticulous planning. “Sometimes you’re on your way to a fac-tory to unload cargo and actually see the chimney in the distance, but have to stop and rest for 45 minutes because of the time limits.” Modern legislation states that drivers can drive 4.5 hours in one stretch, after which they have to take a 45-minute break. They can work 15 hours a day and 6 days a week. “The tachograph counts down and lets you know how long a break you need to take, but it’s still mentally stressful,” says Långström. Even though the goal of the legislation is to make employment conditions fair, it is dif-ficult to integrate it with other factors. “Rest areas are getting rarer and there are fewer all-night diners along the way,” Långström points out. He had to plan the driving times from Finland to Vimmerby very carefully. In the evening he still needs to pick up goods from a large Nordic central warehouse near Jönköping, after which he will drive up to catch the ferry to Finland, spending most of the night driving northward along the E4. This is why he has to rest at the central

warehouse during the day, before he starts loading in the evening. In the morning the ferry departs from Kapellskär.

Help is always near

Besides the small details, also larger as-pects of the industry have changed during Långström’s career. An increasing number of trucks from Eastern Europe are becoming a common sight on Nordic roads. “It is a problem because the vehicles are often in pretty scary shape,” says Långström. Still, all in all, Långström is happy with how things are today. “Ahola is a great employer. They offer flex-ible work shifts and out on the road help is always available from traffic control. We’ve heard stories about other companies. That’s never been the case at Ahola; they always do their best.”

Nothing is impossible

A positive attitude and co-operation can solve most problems. Långström knows many examples of this, often fond memo-ries from his career. He remembers par-ticularly well a trip to Norway less than ten years ago. “I came to Norway the day before May 17th, intending to unload a boat and some road salt but when I got there the personnel at the loading places had taken the day off for Norway’s national day celebrations.” But Långström didn’t give up. He was able to unload the boat, but the salt was another matter entirely. He eventually gave up and stopped at a petrol station to wait out the holiday. “But it turns out that the guy at the petrol station knew someone who worked at the road administration. He made call after call and finally succeeded.”

Långström was able to continue his jour-ney. Instead of having to wait in Norway, he could drive back to Finland, load up in Oulu and get quickly back to Norway, this time to Stavanger. “It was a long week. I probably drove 6,000 kilometres in seven days, which made me a little sore all over,” he recalls.

Flexibility and efficiency

Långström has many such stories tucked away and all of them share something that applies to Ahola Transport: flexibility. Chal-lenges are meant to be overcome and, of-ten, success results from everyone in the chain, from the drivers to transport manage-ment and sales to customers, doing their best, together, to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. Flexibility and a will to succeed are always there, even now as Långström returns to Finland. When the Scania drives off the fer-ry in Naantali in the evening, a three-hour journey to the Tampere area still lies ahead. Part of the cargo will be unloaded there at night. Långström can then enjoy a week off work, but the Scania is not so lucky. The very next day it will continue on its way with a new driver behind the wheel. Efficiency is what matters when it comes to dynamic logistics.

The highways in Sweden and the ferry to Finland are familiar places for Kent Långström.

No matter what the weather conditions are, the journey continues in Finland.

10 INFO

Special Transport continues to grow

Growth in turnover despite challenging year

Ahola Transport’s subsidi-ary AT Special Transport has a very positive year behind it, thanks, in part, to its new initiatives in Europe. It is look-ing forward to more success in 2017.

Despite the many ups and downs on the markets in 2016, Ahola Transport succeeded in increasing its turnover and delivered an operating profit of EUR 1.3 million.

AT Special Transport’s result included added growth of some 15 per cent and profits of around EUR 6 million in 2016. The company has seen growth in both project and special transports, mostly in machine transports in Finland, but also in the project segment. “The added growth means that we have reached our goal of achieving annual growth in turnover,” says Managing Director Jonas Ahola. In addition, Special Transport has formed new contacts and found new partners in Central Europe. Several transports both to and from Central Europe have expanded the company’s geographical market, a develop-ment the company is keen to continue. “We will continue improving our services to make them more comprehensive. We meet the needs of our customers, no mat-ter where a delivery is headed,” says Ahola.

A year of renewal

As for the entire Group, 2016 has been a year of renewal also for AT Special Trans-port. At the same time as Ahola Transport received a new visual identity, AT Special Transport’s logo also received a makeover. In addition to the new logo, AT Special Transport also invested in new tractor units and, for the heavier transports, the company invested in a four-axle tractor unit. The fleet of trailers also received an overhaul and was expanded with new combinations of trailers and central axle trailers. The investments of-fer increased flexibility in putting together different vehicle combinations, depending on the need. “Our goal is to always have a modern and efficient fleet and the recent investments are a step in this direction,” says Ahola. AT Special Transport is expecting increased growth in 2017, in part thanks to the invest-ments, both in project and machine trans-ports. “We will continue to grow through our ac-tive efforts to find new clients and challeng-es. We will especially focus on implement-ing larger full-scope projects ,” says Ahola.

2016 was a turbulent year with a large variation in earnings quarter to quarter. The logistics markets were troubled by strong volatility and Ahola Transport also met with some challenges. The year got off to a weak start. “The summer proved to be unusually quiet and, during the holiday period, we faced more challenges than usual with ferry con-nections when ferry operators reduced their capacity more than expected,” says CEO Hans Ahola. However, the situation quickly improved hand in hand with larger transport volumes and improved balance in the flow of goods between Nordic and Baltic countries. The transport company’s annual revenue came to EUR 95.3 million. This amounted to an increase of some 1.6 per cent compared with EUR 93.8 million a year earlier. The op-erating profit amounted to EUR 1.3 million compared with EUR 1.6 million in 2015.

Strong response to turbulent market

Transport volumes were more stable during the autumn, but, nevertheless, lower than expected. “Even though the Nordic countries experi-enced slight growth, total transport volumes fell due to a lower volume of goods on the Baltic markets,” says Hans Ahola. The autumn also proved to be a let-down and the transport company had to scale down its outlook for the year as a whole. As a response to the turbulent market situation, Ahola decided on an ambitious develop-ment programme during the fourth quarter.

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Helge Ahola establishes the transport business in 1955. Ten years later, oil transports for oil companies Neste and Union start up, co-operations which will continue for more than 30 years. Helge Ahola’s son, Hans Ahola, begins working as a gravel truck driver in 1972 and six years later becomes his father’s partner in the company. Transports outside Finland begin in 1973. In 1981, the company’s first workshop is built and brothers Lars, Nils and Rolf Ahola begin working at the company.

A family-owned publicly listed logistics company, which has provided transport services for more than 60 years.

Annual turnover of close to EUR 100 mil-lion.

Employs approximately 700 people.

Main area of operations: the Nordics, Baltics and CEE countries (Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia).

Tailors services to customers’ actual transport and logistics needs, and based on its online concept and dynamic logis-tics principle.

Operates according to the company’s core values: full responsibility, openness and respect for the individual.

Committed to the mission “More effec-tive, reliable and environmentally friend-ly transport and logistics solutions”.

Has had certified management systems for many years for quality management (ISO 9001), the environment (ISO 14001) and occupational health and safety (OH-SAS 18001).

In the late 1980s, the company decides to focus on its own direct transports for customers, cutting out intermediate stor-age and reloading. The online concept is born.

In 1991, Ahola Transport’s Swedish com-pany is established in Umeå.

The company experiences strong growth between 1992 and 1996. In 1996, a deci-sion is made to develop a data system for planning and optimising transports. The online concept is developed further.

In 2004, operations start up in the Baltics. A new load optimisation centre is built in Naantali. Finland.

In 2008, a load optimisation centre is built in Nykvarn, Sweden.

Ahola Transport then and now

After transferring to the Finnish Nasdaq First North from Sweden’s Aktietorget, Ahola Transport has been publicly listed on Nas-daq for just over a year. On 30 March 2016, Ahola Transport was listed on the Nasdaq First North stock exchange in Helsinki. The company’s Managing Director and CEO, Hans Ahola, welcomed Finnish, Swedish and other interested shareholders to a com-pany that has been profitable almost every year since its inception in 1955. Oyj Ahola Transport Abp was the first company of the year to be listed on Nasdaq Helsinki 2016 and received a warm welcome from Presi-dent Henrik Husman. The decision to transfer from Aktietorget in Sweden to Nasdaq First North in Finland was made in order to cater to shareholders’ interests. Trading in Sweden had proven to be complicated for Finnish investors, while trading in Finland is simple, also for Swedish investors.

In November 2016, Ahola Transport took part in the Sijoitus Invest investment fair in Helsinki. As a newly listed company on the Nasdaq First North stock exchange, Ahola Transport was invited to participate in a panel discussion with other publicly listed limited companies. Managing Director and CEO, Hans Ahola, discussed Ahola Transport’s unique position both in the Nordic transport industry and on

Ahola Transport’s second Annual General Meeting as a listed public company was held on 7 April in Kokkola, Finland. Chairman of the Board, Martti Vähäkangas, used the opportunity to review the financial year 2016. The result and financial state-ments were presented by the Managing Director and CEO Hans Ahola. The financial statements and annual report for 2016 were adopted and the Board members and Man-aging Director were granted discharge from

A year on Nasdaq

The first years Ahola develops and grows Ahola Transport today

Ahola active at investment fair

Second general meeting as listed company

the Finnish stock exchange. In the autumn, Ahola Transport will again participate in the investment fair but with a much larger presence than in 2016. This year’s Sijoitus Invest fair will take place be-tween 29 and 30 November. The fair brings together both active shareholders and fu-ture investors. Around 90 per cent of the approximately 5,000 annual attendees are private investors.

liability for the financial year 2016. A distri-bution of dividends of EUR 0.0144 per share for series A shares and EUR 0.10 per share for series B shares was approved. The entire Board of Directors was reelected as follows: Martti Vähäkangas (Chairman), Anette Björkman, Nils Ahola, Lars Ahola and Ida Saavalainen. Lars Ahola, Nils Ahola, Niclas Blomqvist and Matti Sundberg were elected to the Nomination Committee.

Nils, Rolf, Lars and Hans Ahola in front of trucks, past and present.

This was a result of the strategy meetings in the autumn and received strong support from the management. The strategic pro-gramme will continue in 2017 with the goal of getting back to increasing profits. “The focus is on increasing the efficiency of the company through a higher degree of automatisation, structural changes, a clarifi-cation of the profit responsibility and getting the full benefit from digitalisation through-out the transport process,” says Hans Ahola. As part of the development programme, co-operation negotiations were held before the end of the year. The savings impact will equal 15 work-years, but the result for 2016 is stilled weighed down by one-time costs of the co-operation negotiations and by the costs resulting from the new graphical iden-tity and brand reboot in the autumn.

Positive outlook for 2017

During 2017, the focus will be on the gradual implementation of all the parts of the devel-opment programme. As a result of this, the end-of-year result can be expected to reflect the more significant impacts. “The markets are sending out more positive signals for 2017. We will continue our active sales work and benefit from the impacts of the efficiency improvement programme and the renewed organisation and management during the year”, says Hans Ahola. Ahola Transport hopes that the efficiency improvement programme will also result in more efficient working methods and even better customer services.

Ahola Transport’s turnover continues to grow. The company’s performance has clearly improved over the years.

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Ahola Transport’s oldest and largest load optimisation centre is located in Naantali, Finland. Every day, as many as 60 vehicles are reloaded with hundreds of tonnes of goods, but this is just a fraction of what happens at the centre.

Ahola Transport’s load optimisation centre has more than one nickname. In addition to ‘reloading centre’, Ahola’s Naantali unit is also known as ‘hub’ or ‘link’. The centre in Naantali is the beating heart and key link in the logistics chain that Ahola puts together on a daily basis in the Nordic countries. “I couldn’t imagine Ahola Transport without this unit. This is where it all happens and in terms of our clients, goods flows and vici-nity to the harbour in Naantali, the location is ideal,” says Åke Nyblom, Site Manager for the Naantali unit. The unit’s operations run seven days a week in three shifts. Four shift managers and ten forklift drivers work to steer the operations in the 6,000-square-metre relo-ading warehouse. “We work hard to get the goods and trucks as close to one another as possible, even be-fore reloading starts. A forklift may drive as much as 15 kilometres inside the warehouse in an evening,” says Nyblom.

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Working 6 am–11 pm

Reloading in Naantali is all about optimi-sation. The loads in the vehicles are opti-mised in terms of weight, size, destination and timetables. The goal is for the loads and vehicles to travel as few kilometres as possible to and from the customers. The centre’s success rate is 99.5 per cent. This means that just 0.5 per cent of the work fails to reach the aim. Making this all the more impressive is that, in one year, 135,000 tonnes of cargo and 32,000 deli-veries are registered at the centre. “In reality, the handled cargo may be even double that because we often move the entire cargo to ensure that everything is placed optimally,” says Nyblom. An ordinary day at the centre starts at seven in the morning. That is when the first forklift drivers arrive to reload the first stream of trucks on their way to and from the ferries from Sweden. A hectic day

starts as early as six am. Work continues un-til eleven o’clock at night. Mid-way through the week is the most hectic period because that is when most clients want deliveries to be made to shops and factories.

More than just a warehouse

Reloading and optimising the cargo loads is obviously the most visible part of Ahola Transport’s Naantali operations, but a lot happens at the office too. Fifteen people work in sales, customs clearance, vehicle maintenance and quality assurance. In ad-dition, Naantali is the home of two of Ahola Transport’s subsidiaries with a total of 15 ve-hicles and 21 drivers. “I think it’s important that everything is located under one roof. This is where all the functions intersect and where the vehicles start off from,” says Nyblom. Quality, which is a top priority for Ahola Transport, is assessed in a very concrete manner in Naantali. Antti Jokela is in charge of inspections. “I inspect around 3–5 trucks each eve-ning, which makes 250–300 annually. It’s important for everything to run smoothly,” Jokela says. He checks the condition of the trucks, their equipment, cargo securing and documenta-tion, as well as the drivers’ workwear and awareness of Ahola’s Driver’s Guide and the ‘Ahola Way’ policy, with a focus on safety, efficiency and environmental friendliness. “The inspections demonstrate for our

On the left: From the office, the shift managers monitor the work in the reloading warehouse to guarantee the most efficient and optimal loading possible.

clients that we work intensively on opera-tional quality and they give us important in-formation on any possible problems for our operations,” says Jokela.

Service includes customs clearance

Each month, around 500 customs matters are taken care of in Naantali. The customs services are required for deliveries made to and from countries outside the EU. “We keep tabs on all the vehicles and make sure that the papers are in order and that none of the trucks get stuck at the border,” says Edel Kuronen. Kuronen is from Norway. This is an advan-tage as 95 per cent of the customs matters at Ahola Transport involve her native coun-try. The customs services are important as small customers in particular rarely have an organisation to take care of customs clea-rance for their deliveries. “We do most of it here because almost everything can be taken care of electroni-cally and we are directly connected to the customs authorities,” says Kuronen.

Maintaining the fleet

Naantali is also where the administra-tion and maintenance services for Ahola Transport’s vehicle fleet are carried out. In-cluding the various subcontractors, around 1,000 trucks and vehicle combinations and 6,000 wheels carry Ahola Transport’s cargo every year.

Responsibility for getting the new combina-tion vehicles rolling and their maintenance, inspection, registration and insurance also lies in Naantali. The unit also offers contrac-tors assistance in administration and finan-cing. “In addition, we provide on-road support round the clock. With so many trucks on the road, something happens every day. Then we have to start coordinating a solution im-mediately,” says Mikko Lähteenmäki. Lähteenmäki works as a Fleet Maintenance Coordinator and has a variety of different tasks.

Dynamic to the coreThe hectic nature of operations at the load optimisation centre in Naantali is the result of a number of factors. It obviously stems from Ahola Transport’s niche and its concept of dynamic logistics. The cargo never lies around waiting at the client’s warehouse or at some terminal; at Ahola Transport the various retail chains’ and industries’ warehouses roll on wheels, namely Ahola Transport’s wheels. This means that the loads must move as quickly as possible from point A to point B and with as few stops along the way as possible. This is where Naantali comes into the picture. In order to deliver loads from perhaps ten different customers to a single location, as

efficiently and cost-efficiently as possible, they are reloaded onto a single truck in Naantali. Reloading is efficient. In just 10–15 minutes, the forklifts can load Ahola Trans-port’s trucks as optimally as possible, tak-ing into account the latest information on schedules, load sizes, ferry capacities and customers’ wishes. The need – or in Ahola Transport’s case, the opportunity – to further optimise reloading can lead to decisions that are carried out mere minutes later in the re-loading warehouse. Both the customers’ goods and Ahola Transport’s vehicles travel as few kilometres and as efficiently, safely and eco-conscious-ly as possible.

Customs clearance for the various cargo to and from countries outside the EU is managed from Naantali. Edel Kuronen checks that everything is in order for cargo to and from Norway.

Work in Naantali takes place almost round the clock. In the evening, dozens of trucks pull in for load optimisa-tion while the quality controller inspects the vehicles and checks the drivers’ knowledge of Ahola Transport’s values and policy.

“I rarely get to focus on one thing, but that’s what makes it interesting,” he says. The truck drivers are responsible for the in-spections and maintenance of their vehicles but they still require vehicle administration and monitoring from Naantali. Maintenance is performed on the trucks every 50,000 ki-lometres, which means every few months or so. “The drivers are given specific instructions on what they need to do. Ahola Transport has been involved in the industry so long that we have good contacts and are well-prepared, but there’s always something new and unexpected around the corner,” says Lähteenmäki.

Heart of logistics

As the heart of Ahola Transport’s logis-tics, the Naantali load optimisation centre has grown in time with the company. The current hub’s predecessor started up in Uusikaupunki in the 1990s but moved to Na-antali three years later. Even there, operations were on a small scale to begin with and reloading took place outside while the personnel were housed in barracks. In 2004, the current warehouse was built and 13 years later it plays a fun-damental role in Ahola Transport’s logistics. “There’s a lot going on all the time. No two days at the hub are alike,” says Åke Nyblom.

On the right: Åke Nyblom, Site Manager, in Naantali.

The hub - always efficient

“I rarely get to focus on one thing, but that’s what makes

it interesting.”

Our unit

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Quarter past seven is a magical time at the load optimisation centre in Naantali for several reasons. The Finnlink shipping com-pany’s ferry from Kapellskär in Sweden has only just berthed in Naantali harbour. The same applies to Tallink’s ferry in Turku, com-ing over from Stockholm. Viking Lines’ ship from Stockholm to Turku will dock in half an hour. Dozens of trucks are to be reloaded before they continue their journeys to vari-ous destinations mostly in Finland. Several trucks are additionally waiting to travel across to Sweden on the three ship-ping companies’ ferries. Viking Line will de-part in just under two hours, Tallink in one hour and Finnlink at ten-thirty. The Naantali hub is starting to buzz with activity.

Hectic hours

Even though many different tasks are car-ried out at Ahola Transport’s logistics hub in Naantali, a large part of the day is spent pre-paring for the evening’s rush hour. “During the day we work on maintenance and warehouse inventory. A lot has to be done to ensure that the evening’s loading goes as smoothly as possible,” says Rickhard Karjalainen. Karjalainen is one of four shift managers at the Naantali loading centre responsible for ensuring that things run as efficiently as possible. They stay in contact with the trucks on their way in, guide the truck drivers in the warehouse and sort out the cargo docu-mentation. “When you look at it from an outsider’s perspective, it probably looks a lot harder than it is,” Karjalainen says. Granted, there is a lot that needs to go

smoothly. Simultaneously, at the most eight trucks are loaded in the warehouse and two outside. Everything has to be coordinated to minimise reloading times, fill the trucks op-timally and send them off according to the tight schedules.

“No two days are alike. The best part of the job is when everything falls into place,” Karjalainen says.

Ready for anything

Even though the hub’s personnel prepare for the evening’s loading during the day, it is not until late in the evening that everything starts taking shape. “After around five o’clock is when we begin to find out what the evening is going to look like. Then we just keep going until eleven at night,” says Karjalainen. Every evening something surprising comes up and the tiniest change can impact the entire loading process. Instructions on load-ing may be flawed, a customer’s wishes may have changed or a timetable has been pushed forward. “Even if just a single vehicle breaks down, a lot can change. We need to constantly keep abreast of the situation,” says Karjalainen. Ahola can achieve this in the minutest detail and in real time thanks to its smart transport system. The online system tracks all of the vehicles in real time and facilitates

the planning of reloading and transports. Of-ten it is possible, at short notice, to come up with a even better way to reload the cargo or a faster way to get the cargo to the cus-tomer. That happens every night.

Down to the smallest detail

The success of the loading depends on me-ticulous planning in a number of ways. The majority of Ahola Transport’s vehicles are connected by computer to both the trans-port control office in Kokkola and the load-ing centre, which makes things a lot easier. In Naantali, they know exactly when each vehicle is coming in. “The drivers also know ahead of time what needs to be loaded on and off. They arrive with the required documentation and the of-fice gives the driver the documentation they need to take with them. If there is room in the warehouse, the driver can drive in to a designated spot immediately. Otherwise, the driver receives an electronic device with a map. It shows when and where the driver has to go when a spot opens up,” says Åke Nyblom, Site Manager at Naantali. Every bit of cargo in the warehouse has been labelled with an orange consignment note, which shows where it is going and is easily visible from the forklift driver’s cab. They are all located optimally in the ware-house. “The whole of the Nordics is divided into zones, according to which we have divided up the warehouse,” says Nyblom. The cargo is grouped according to statisti-cal data on which load is usually headed to which part of the Nordics. “We always try to get the truck and goods as close to one another as possible. This means less moving of the cargo and the driver is able to start planning how the cargo will be placed in the truck,” says Nyblom. The work is monitored and directed from the office using cameras. Everything is op-timised, and the timetables of the trucks, ferries and customers are compared. Load-ing can take as little as a few minutes. On average, a delivery is loaded onto the truck in around 15 minutes. “There’s a lot of juggling timetables,” says Nyblom.

It is quarter past seven on a weekday evening. The busiest time at the load optimisation centre in Naantali is about to start. During the following three hours dozens of trucks from both directions will begin rolling in to be reloaded, heading onto Finnish roads or taking a ferry to Sweden.

One evening in Naantali

Karjalainen is one of four shift managers at the load opti-misation centre in Naantali. The work day is often hectic but also interesting and rewarding.

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Last winter, a new era in customer service was set in motion at Ahola Transport. After an initial test period, customers will be able to keep track of their goods in real time through the online AT-Live service.

Mini portrait

Name: Nils Ahola

Family: Married to Karola since 1983. We have 5 children, of whom 4 are married, and 8 grandchildren.

Where are you from and where do you live now? Born in Kokkola and I still live here.

Place of work and position: I work at Ahola Transport and I am re-sponsible for Fleet & Transport resources

What do you like doing in your spare time? Spending time with the family at our summer cottage.

Your favourite food and drink? Baked salmon and lemon soda water.

What makes you happy? Waking up refreshed and rested.

What makes you angry? Insincerity

Your dream holiday: Beach holiday

What was your first job? My first job was at Thylin Transport in Kokkola in the summer of 1982 (summer job).

Any special memories from your working life? My first trip to Murmansk in 1985 when I crossed the border on my own at the Raja-Jooseppi border checkpoint.

What is going on right now in your job? Ahola Transport’s Driver’s Guide. E-learning for our contractors and drivers.

How do you envision Ahola in 5 to 10 years? As a safe, secure, pleasant and modern workplace with a focus on quality and en-vironmental friendliness in our transport operations.

Goods tracking goes online

“As far as we know, we are the only ones to offer a service of this kind. Traditional systems are based on time stamps that let the customer know in text format where the goods have travelled over a specific period. We wanted to create something entirely unique, hence the visually appealing solu-tion that is AT-Live,” says Joakim Asplund, Project Manager for Ahola Transport’s new customer initiative. Testing began with a few select custom-ers in December. During 2017, the system will be launched in full after the customers’ feedback has been reviewed. “Thanks to AT-Live’s user-friendliness we are certain that the service will prove to be important for our customers. The logic is simple. A customer booking a transport with us receives access to delivery tracking through email or text message and can then forward the link to everyone who needs it,” says Asplund. AT-Live includes an online map service, which shows the route of the customer’s cargo and its current location, information on the cargo and its expected arrival time. Earlier, this information was passed on by

contact persons. Now it is available on a computer, tablet and smartphone. “Traditionally, our customer service has let the customer know the location of the truck and confirmed the arrival time over the phone. This option is still available, of course, although AT-Live is a big step for-ward in customer service,” says Asplund. Ahola has, of course, taken data protection and security into account. The system does not show precise addresses and during the test period, Ahola has continuously included improvements suggested by the customers. Although the development has come a long way, Ahola Transport wishes to improve the service even further. Asplund sees immense development potential. “For example, we could incorporate a logic that would allow customers to access the service immediately once their booking is registered in our system. This would allow the information to be updated as the han-dling of the order progresses.” During 2017, more exact arrival time estimates will be added to AT-Live, with driving and rest times updated in real time.

“When you look at it from an outsider’s perspective, it

probably looks a lot harder than it is.”

Joakim Asplund is in charge of establishing AT-Live and sees immense potential in the new service.

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Learning from one another

Ahola Transport also highly values the strong collaboration with Elgiganten. “We learn a lot and develop continuously because of clients like them. They place de-mands on implementation and follow-up, and take us the next step forward,” says Jonas Anderssén, Key Account Manager at Ahola Transport. Anderssén has managed the Elgiganten ac-count since 2016. Even though he was not involved in the process when Ahola was suddenly handed overall responsibility for transports to Finland, he knows the story well. “In the beginning it was pretty chaotic, but in line with the Ahola spirit, we said we’d get it done and today Elgiganten is an ex-tremely important client,” Anderssén says. Just as Elgiganten hoped, their shared jour-ney has been paved with strong commit-ment from Ahola. “When you work together, new issues come up that need solving and that is where I think we are on the same page as Elgiganten. We like to think on our feet and fix problems as they come up,” says Jonas Anderssén.

Flexibility for the client

Anderssén believes that the Ahola concept is appealing to clients like Elgiganten, espe-cially as the company’s transports are very seasonal and vary quite a bit due to sales campaigns. “We have extremely short communication channels and a simple organisation. The cli-ent has a single contact person for the entire set up. This results in a good relationship, which helps solve most problems. We can always tailor solutions to meet the custom-er’s demands. Ours is not a rigid organisa-tion that the customer has to adapt to. We adapt to the customer,” says Anderssén. In addition to Ahola’s simple, straightfor-ward communications channels, the trans-port concept itself is the ace up their sleeve, according to Anderssén. “We have less goods handling and don’t use fixed routes. Our concept makes us more flexible than our competitors.”

This flexibility also appeals to Elgiganten. “Ahola does a great job,” says Jimmy Olofsson.

Work bears fruit

Besides good feedback, Ahola has also re-ceived concrete evidence of its achieve-ments. In 2016, Ahola Transport was ranked second among Elgiganten’s ten Nordic transport companies. Ahola was praised for its impressive management of the entire lo-gistics chain ‘all the way down to the nuts and bolts’. “We intend to be number one in 2017. We’ve already started working towards that goal,” says Anderssén.

Improvement is in the interest of both partners and they have held shared devel-opment discussions during the winter to reach this goal. Jimmy Olofsson values the commitment displayed in Ahola’s desire for continuous improvement. “Already at the tendering stage, com-mitment was extremely important. What I thought we needed was a medium-sized family-owned company that could offer us great commitment and that is exactly what Ahola is about,” says Olofsson.

Meeting demand

Jonas Anderssén highlights that Ahola wants to give its all, especially as Elgiganten and Ahola have a very productive partnership. “Ahola and Elgiganten share similar moral and ethical views, something that is gaining in importance throughout the industry. For a long time, it was all about price, but now, the environment, quality and values have become a thing,” he says. As a retailer, Elgiganten is well-positioned to meet this demand and Ahola is more than happy to follow suit. “This is a major issue in Sweden but not so much in Finland yet. In Sweden, ‘fair trans-ports’ are a big thing among transport indus-try interest organisations, for example. They lobby in municipalities and the state,” says Anderssén.

Bright future

Although both Elgiganten and Ahola have come a long way in developing fair, high-quality transports, both partners are looking forward to continuing this development. “We are now at a phase in which every-thing is rolling along nicely and we have gotten to know one another. It’s now about fine-tuning and getting the last operative parts working impeccably,” says Anderssén. Jimmy Olofsson seconds this. “We are continuing to work according to our chosen policy and hope that the fruitful co-operation with Ahola continues. The next step is an increased focus on the environ-ment.” Long-term work has been carried out to fill the trucks as optimally as possible in order to minimise their environmental im-pact. Next in line is measuring the precise environmental impacts of the logistics, all the way from the factory to the consumer, for products ranging from memory cards to refrigerators. Consumers are looking for more respon-sibility from the retail segment, which is something that Elgiganten is willing to and capable of delivering, also when it comes to its transport companies. Jimmy Olofsson points out Elgiganten’s well-known slogan ‘It’s stupid to pay too much’, but adds that for Elgiganten it is just as much about it be-ing ‘stupid to pay too little’. Quality always comes first.

Elgiganten’s distribution centre• Sees 1.1 million m3 of goods pass through each year.

• The stock turnover rate of the 107,000 m2 warehouse is approximately three weeks.

• Annually, 22,500 trucks and containers and 2,500 railway cars are unloaded at the cen-tre.

• Cargo is sent out annually in 17,000 trucks from 60 loading docks to almost 400 shops throughout the Nordic countries, including the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland.

• The distribution centre has been expanded three times since it started up in 1997.

• Employs between 370 and 700 people in three shifts, 24/7, six days a week.

Out in the distribution centre’s warehouses, the take on Ahola is also positive. Jimmy Olofsson values Ahola’s flexibility.

Elgiganten’s distribution centre. Photo: Elgiganten

150 forklifts take care of distribu-tion at the central warehouse. Senior Logistics Manager JimmyOlofsson oversees activities.

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In order to work for the electronics giant Elgiganten, a trans-port company must meet a large number of criteria concern-ing working conditions, the environment and safety. In 2015, Ahola Transport passed the test and now ranks high among the consumer electronics retailer´s partners.

Quality comes firstfor Elgiganten

“We are extremely pleased. Put simply, our partnership with Ahola has been one of the better ones,” says Jimmy Olofsson, Senior Logistics Manager at Elgiganten Logistik Ab, the logistics company of Elgiganten. The current agreement with Ahola Trans-port became a reality in May 2015 and for now extends until 2018. Ahola is responsi-ble for transports from Elgiganten’s distribu-tion centre in Torsvik, south of Jönköping, Sweden, to around forty shops and home delivery warehouses in Finland. Every day, 15 Ahola Transport trucks are loaded at the 107,000-square-metre warehouse complex in southern Sweden. “In terms of volumes, Finland accounts for 17–18 per cent of our deliveries, so Ahola is definitely one of our biggest transport com-panies,” says Olofsson.

Social responsibility at the forefront

When Elgiganten signed the agreement on transports to Finland, it was a huge change. “Ever since we built this centre in 1997 and moved the Oslo warehouse here, we had collaborated with the same transport company. We handed over all of our logis-tics operations to them but, after a while, our demands changed and we wanted more control,” says Olofsson. In 2014, Elgiganten and Olofsson began seeking a new operating model. Olofsson had left his position as Site Manager for the Torsvik distribution centre to focus on logis-tics. “When we sent out requests for tenders to a total of 90 companies throughout the Nordic countries, we established a number

of criteria that we wished them to meet.” Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) be-came a key criterion in our search for a new transport company. “Above all we want the drivers to be prop-erly paid according to Nordic regulations and have a good working environment. We didn’t want to contribute to the pay dumping that was already underway,” says Olofsson.

Harder than expected

Elgiganten did not imagine that it would be so difficult to meet its requirement, but in fact it meant that many companies were automatically out of the running. In addi-tion, Elgiganten had a long list of criteria on the environment and safety, and the driv-ers would have to be able to communicate in a Nordic language or English. Twenty-six companies made the cut but many were ex-cluded after negotiations.

“The companies didn’t really believe our pay requirements. Back then many of them thought that the price of transports was the most important thing, but to us that came second,” Olofsson explains. Despite the setbacks, Elgiganten stuck to its guns. Responsibility had to be an integral aspect of all the operations. Ahola and one another company were still in the running for transports to Finland.

“We saw entirely eye-to-eye with both companies and decided to spread out the risks by having more than one company take care of transports in each country, but a week before deliveries were set to start, it turned out that the other company had made a mistake in its calculations,” says Olofsson.

Tough start – strong future

With just a few days to go, they were left without a solution for around half of the transport needs for Finland. “We called Ahola and told them we had a little challenge for them, a positive one,” says Olofsson. A meeting was called at Ahola and the next morning a decision had been made. Ahola took over responsibility for all transports to Finland. “The fact that they managed that im-pressed us to no end, but it can’t have been easy,” says Olofsson. Since then, Ahola and Elgiganten have achieved continuous development through their mutually beneficial co-operation. “Our partnership has continued to develop, the dialogue has been excellent and Ahola has been incredibly flexible. It’s working wonderfully,” says Olofsson. Development remains important, however. Representatives of the companies meet at least twice a year and have monthly phone conferences. “We bring each other up to date on cur-rent matters but also focus on the future. It is incredibly important for us to change and improve,” says Olofsson.

“Put simply, our partnership with Ahola has been one of

the better ones.”

“The next step is an increased focus on the environment.”

Our customer

19INFO

Ahlviks Åkeri is a third generation family-owned company that has a great deal in common with Ahola Transport. The company was founded in 1954, around the same time as Ahola. The two companies also share a similar set of values. “This is more a way of life than a job,” says Björn Ahlvik, who represents the third gen-eration of his family business. In recent years, Björn has begun preparing to take over the daily operations from his father, Alf. “It was Ingmar, my grandfather, who founded the company. He started off de-livering eggs from local poultry farmers,” Ahlvik explains. Since those days, the company has grown considerably.

Growing together

Founder Ingmar Ahlvik ran the business by himself until the 1970s, when his son Alf took over. “Back then we only had one truck and then one day my grandfather gave my father the keys to it and told him to take over,” Björn Ahlvik says. Björn joined the company in 2001. Since then, he and his father Alf have been run-ning the company together and driving one of the company’s eleven vehicles. Ahlvik’s growth spurt came more recent-ly: In 2005 they had four trucks, and three years later the number had tripled. “The economy was booming, everything was running smoothly and freight volumes were going up – it felt natural to invest,” Ahlvik explains.

One of the key factors driving growth was the partnership with Ahola Transport.

Making life easier

The co-operation with Ahola started deve-loping slowly in the mid-1990s, with Ahlviks Åkeri at first only handling occasional deli-veries for Ahola. “We did our first runs with Ahola’s colours on our trucks in 1998,” Ahlvik remembers. Nowadays seven of Ahlvik’s eleven trucks are under contract with Ahola, mostly haul-ing electronics to and from Sweden. What started out with grandfather Ingmar deliv-ering eggs has evolved into a whole fleet carrying electronics. Having the majority of its vehicles driving for Ahola Transport benefited Ahlviks Åkeri in a number of ways. Administration is much simpler these days. “Ahola takes care of most of it from their office in Kokkola and our co-operation is run-ning smoothly. We are spared from having to search for goods to transport and doing the paperwork from sales and administra-tion. It is definitely easier to have our trucks driving for Ahola,” Ahlvik says. The companies also benefit from their over 20-year long partnership. “We’ve known each other personally ever since the beginning,” explains Ahlvik.

Firm foundation despite challenges

Despite the smooth co-operation with Ahola Transport, Björn Ahlvik is quick to admit that the transport industry is facing many chal-lenges. It is difficult to stay profitable, but

even the regulations could use some im-provement. “There should be a bit more leeway in terms of driving hours. Drivers should be able to choose to drive a bit more one day and a little less the next. As it stands the system just creates stress,” he says. Huge fines await those who drive even a few minutes over the limits. “An extra minute behind the wheel doesn’t make you a road hazard, the regulations are too rigid. Even taxi drivers and doctors are allowed to work overtime,” Ahlvik says. He feels there is a disproportionate focus on driving times, particularly in Finland and Sweden. “We should follow Norway’s lead and fo-cus more on the condition of the vehicles. That would actually improve road safety.”

Good personnel situation

Ahlvik’s recent experiences show that find-ing skilled workers is, however, not a prob-lem right now. “There are lot of skilled drivers out there. Last summer, we posted an ad on Facebook looking for a substitute driver with the pos-sibility of permanent employment and got hundreds of names on the list,” he says. Another trend Ahlvik encourages is hiring more women truck drivers. “Among our staff of almost 20 people we have one woman. She’s our best eco-friendly driver and I would gladly hire more women. What matters is having a genuine interest in the transport industry,” Ahlvik concludes.

The mid-nineties saw the beginning of a mutually beneficial co-operation between two family-owned companies, Ahola Transport and Ahlviks Åkeri in Pedersöre. Today, more than twenty years later, it is still going strong.

From eggs to electronics

Björn Ahlvik is a trained mechanic but has been working for his family’s company since the early 2000s.

18 INFO

Torvald Snellman’s career as a driver at Ahola Transport began on a Sunday evening in 1986. Today, he is a Transport Planner Specialist, but he still keeps his experience from his driving days up his sleeve.

Thirty years at Ahola

For the first 14 years, Torvald Snellman worked as a driver. Today, he is a Transport Planner Specialist.

“In 1986 I stopped in at the office one Sun-day evening. I remember it like yesterday. My wife was playing volleyball and I took the car for a spin. When I saw that the office was all lit up, I decided to pop in.” This is Torvald Snellman’s account of how an evening visit led to his 30-year career at Ahola Transport. Around a week earlier, Hans Ahola, who had taken over the com-pany from his father, had asked Snellman if he wanted to start driving a truck for Ahola. Snellman had previous experience from a company that his father and Helge Ahola had established together. The ques-tion was raised again that Sunday evening at the office. “That was the start of my 14 years as an Ahola truck driver,” says Snellman.

Witnessing major growth

He spent the first few years driving domesti-cally to Lapland but, at the end of the 1980s, Ahola began focusing more on cross-border transports. Today, Snellman has worked for Ahola for almost half of the company’s exis-tence and has been there to witness most of the company’s growth. “The truck I began driving in the 1980s was number seven in the fleet. Today, Ahola has around 400 trucks flying its colours,” he says. The company’s growth took off in the 1980s when it began working with other transport

companies. Snellman advanced quickly and in the 1990s began driving oversize loads for the predecessor to today’s AT Special Transport. Snellman was basically the only driver there with that kind of experience. “It was great when I got to plan most of it myself. The longest piece of cargo I trans-ported was a smoke stack measuring 55 metres in length,” he says.

From driver to transport planner

In 2001, Snellman felt it was time for a change of pace and took over responsibili-ty for reloading in Kokkola, but after three months he received a new offer. “I was offered the position of Transport Planner Specialist and that really piqued my interest.” The job started the following day but de-spite the sudden change of course, Snellman quickly learned the ropes of his new job.

“A lot of the practical aspects were familiar to me from when I was a driver. Not every-one had that experience. Additionally I nev-er missed being out on the road like many people say they do. I namely still got to stay in touch with all my friends out on the road,” he says.

Valuable contacts

Snellman quickly realised that he had a lot to offer as a transport planner. “I have always been a people person.” Using his lengthy experience, Snellman has been able to maintain and form contacts with customers, drivers and other partners. “As a transport planner, I’ve had the chance to create a whole new type of co-operation

and when that brings results, it feels really great,” he says. Over the years, Snellman has grown with Ahola Transport and Ahola Transport has grown with him. These days, Snellman is happy with the path he chose, which has included a stint as an OHS representative, internal development work at Ahola and projects at Ahola’s former workshop, which is now the company Limetec. “Ahola is headed in the right direction, the people here are great to work with and the company has huge potential to succeed, despite the challenges presented by the economy. No matter how many good deci-sions we make, in just a few weeks’ time something can happen outside the company that changes everything. It was different ten years ago,” he explains.

Drivers matter

There are lot of challenges, but also many ways to solve them. Snellman highlights the importance of personal interaction, some-thing that we are at risk of losing in today’s society. “If everything happens online we can’t make the most of our drivers, for example, and even though it may sound illogical, it’s better not to instruct the drivers too much. Being able to solve things on my own was one of the things I most prided myself on as a driver,” he recalls. In the end, the driver is an important link in the transport chain. This is something that Snellman acknowledges and, thanks to his past, he is able to view the work from both perspectives. “When I get an order on the computer screen I can visualise the goods in front of me because I’ve seen and handled them as a driver.” This makes Snellman extremely useful in his role as a transport planner and allows him to achieve smooth communications with Ahola’s drivers each and every day.

Torvald SnellmanTitle: Transport Planner SpecialistBorn: 1963Family: Wife Annika and 4 adult childrenLives in: Kållby, Finland.Education: University of hard knocksHobbies: Singing in a choir, working with two friendship congregations in Russia, island life in the summer.

“The longest piece of cargo I transported was a smoke

stack measuring 55 metres in length.”

Our subcontractor

Mini portrait

Name: Birgitta Hatt

Family: My husband Jan, my daughter Camilla and son-in-law Frank and their three children Fred, Meja and Eddie, my son Björn and daughter-in-law Therese and their two children Colin and Casper.

Where are you from and where do you live now? I was born in Jakobstad and have lived in Pedersöre for 30 years.

Place of work and position: I work at Ahola Transport’s office in Kok-kola as Quality Manager.

What do you like doing in your spare time? Spending time with my five grandchild-ren.

Your favourite food and drink? Homemade food and water

What makes you happy? People

What makes you angry? Injustice

Your dream holiday: My dream holiday consists of sunny weather, warmth, good food and quality time with the whole fa-mily.

What was your first job? Oy Wiik & Höglund Ab (later KHW Plast)

Any special memories from your wor-king life? A difficult question, because there are so many.

What is going on right now in your job? New versions of the environmental and quality management standards.

How do you envision Ahola in 5 to 10 years?Describing your vision of the company’s future is never easy, but based on my role, my vision is that we will have im-plemented the Ahola Way throughout the company.

21INFO20 INFO

After this considerable investment, Ahola now has a single computer system for its entire fleet, continuing the company’s efforts for greener transports and increased traffic safety. The computer system teaches drivers to optimise their driving habits, resulting in lower fuel consumption, less strain on the environment and safer driving. Earlier, around half of Ahola Transport’s vehicle fleet and contractors had the full system, which features online cargo tracking and analysis of the driver’s performance. Now both these systems have been integrated into an additional 150 vehicles.

Monitoring improves performance

The system takes several factors into account to help drivers modify their driving habits according to load size and weather conditions in real time. The drivers are shown the data on a computer or mobile device in the truck. The system then monitors how well the driver adjusts his or her driving habits to the situation at hand and generates an index based on the measurements. “The system not only measures and reports fuel consumption, but also accounts for driving habits that directly influence fuel-efficiency and emissions,” explains Quality Manager Birgitta Hatt. The index has already been in use at Ahola Transport and is called Green Wheels. To score high on the Green Wheels Index, a driver needs to maintain an optimal speed,

At the end of last year, Ahola purchased 150 additional computer systems for its vehi-cles. These systems will assist the drivers and encourage safe and eco-friendly driving.

Greener transports with new computers

Ahola Transport now has comprehensive computer systems for both goods tracking and driving analysis for practically its entire fleet.

The supplier Benemen and Ahola Transport’s project group worked with the new communications solution during 2016. At the end of the year the first part could be adopted. The development continues this year.

avoid idling and make maximum use of the vehicle’s momentum, meaning that the driver needs to avoid sudden heavy breaking and drive proactively. “This investment will raise the Green Wheels Index for our entire fleet,” Birgitta Hatt says. Environmental issues are a top priority for Ahola Transport. Ahola minimises the environmental effects of its transports through a continuous modernisation of its vehicle fleet, with dozens of vehicles being replaced with newer and more eco-friendly models every year. “Continuously lowering the emissions of

our vehicles is a key purchasing criteria,” says Hans Ahola, CEO at the Ahola Group.

Going digital

The 150 new vehicle systems were delivered by Vehco, a Swedish company producing communications system for the logistics industry and a long-standing partner of Ahola Transport. “Ahola Transport is one of our key customers and we are thrilled with all the possibilities resulting from having Vehco implemented throughout the vehicle fleet. Ahola is always at the forefront and has even inspired us to develop an index for economical driving in our system,” says Johan Stråkander, Marketing Manager at Vehco Group. According to Hans Ahola, Ahola Transport’s computer investment also represents an important step in the company’s efforts to increase efficiency through digital logistics services.

Satisfied customers and suppliers. From the left: Project Manager Joakim Asplund from Ahola Transport and Andreas Östlund and Magnus Gunnergård from Vehco.

In December, Ahola Transport introduced its new communications system. The goal is to offer every customer the best service as quickly as possible.

More efficientcustomer service

The renewal was initially based on a need to modernise the telephone system but soon Ahola wanted to take the process one step further. An exhaustive review was car-ried out. Phone usage was analysed and a solution slowly formed. In December, the Benedesk system was implemented. “The benefits of the system are its good manageability, advanced connections and the possibility of integrating various services into the same system,” says Janne Tuikka who coordinated the solution. The improvements in call handling became obvious very quickly. Customers are more likely to directly reach the right contact per-son in terms of language and expertise, for instance. It cuts out unnecessary waiting and middle men. The system forwards calls both to mobile phones and computers; tra-ditional landlines are no longer required. 98 per cent of calls arriving at the switchboard are now answered immediately. “Reporting is an important part of the new system, allowing Ahola to raise its customer service to a whole new level,” says Tuikka. During 2017, the development process will continue with an integration of the system with other communications channels such as email, chat and social media. The goal is also to integrate the system with calendars and other data systems within Ahola so that customer services can link calls directly to information on a customer’s cargo, among other things.

Laura Ruokoja works as a receptionist at Ahola’s head office in Kokkola. Thanks to the new system her work is now easier.

Hannu Putkonen

Driver, AT CargoNaantali, Finland

“Spring! Winter is not an easy time of year in my profession, and spring means it is finally over. Spring is nice with the snow melting away, the birds returning and nature coming back to life.”

Hendrik Peiel

Site Manager, Ahola TransportTallinn, Estonia

“My favourite season is spring, especially late spring when you can feel it get warmer and brighter every day. Even people seem more cheerful and motivated, as if waiting for a fresh start.”

Stefan Karlsson

Salesperson, Ahola TransportHelsingborg, Sweden

“My favourite time of year is early sum-mer, when the trees and flowers blossom in brilliant colours. Combined with clear blue skies, sunshine and just the right amount of warmth it is just wonderful. It gives me en-ergy and a sense of well-being.”

23INFO

Torvald Snellman Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Transport Planner Specialist 30 yearsGunnel Åsmus-Ylikorpi Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Transport Administrator 25 yearsJean Gustafsson AT Cargo, Naantali, Driver 15 yearsPetri Sjöblom AT Cargo, Naantali, Driver 15 yearsDaniel Ingerström Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Process Owner 15 yearsPeter Nylund AT Special Transport, Kokkola, Vehicle and Permit Manager 15 years Paul Storhannus AT Cargo, Naantali, Driver 10 yearsÜlar Vist AT Cargo, Naantali, Driver 10 yearsMarie Ahlö Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Quality Controller 10 yearsJohan Aspegrén Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Sales Analyst 10 yearsJoakim Asplund Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Process Owner 10 yearsMarkus Holmström Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Transport Seller 10 yearsJanne Härmälä Ahola Transport, Naantali, Sales Manager 10 yearsEdel Kuronen Ahola Transport, Naantali, Customs Clearance 10 yearsMikko Lähteenmäki Ahola Transport, Naantali, Fleet Services & Maintenance/ Drivers’ Team Leader 10 years Anders Sabel Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Transport Planner Specialist 10 yearsJonas Ahola AT Special Transport, Kokkola, Director 10 years Sonja Lindgren Ahola Transport, Kokkola, Info Desk 10 years

In December, Ahola Transport honoured 18 of the company’s long-standing employees. The recipients are listed below in order by years served at Ahola Transport and its sub-sidiaries.

Recognition for long-serving employees

Tip:Visit www.aholatransport.com for interesting facts and figures about Ahola Transport’s history and current business

as well as about the transport industry, past and present. The “Did you know?” box features facts, such as:

Ahola Transport’s trucks drive a distance equal to 1,000 times around the world every year.

What is your favourite season? What is your favourite season?

Monica Björkskog

Transport Administrator, Ahola TransportKokkola, Finland

“Summer, obviously, because it’s warm and people are more relaxed. The lifestyle is completely different in summer.”

Barry Johansson

Forklift driver, Ahola TransportNykvarn, Sweden

“Summer is the best, no doubt about it! In winter my forklift skids on the ice all the time, and shoveling snow is such a chore at home. Summer is much more relaxing.”

Benny Sundqvist

Team Leader, AT Special TransportKokkola, Finland

“For me it is spring. It’s bright and sunny and starting to get warmer. Summer is nice too, but can get a bit stressful. In spring, everyth-ing is still running smoothly as a matter of routine.”

22 INFO

Ahola’s certificates renewed

Ahola Transport has had certified environ-mental and quality management systems in place since the early 2000s. Late last year both the systems were due for recertifica-tion, which is required every three years in order to guarantee continuous development and improvement. For the environmental management system this includes an audit of how the company has managed to reduce its environmental impacts. The company’s ISO 9001 quality manage-ment system and ISO 14001 environmental management system were successfully re-certified. Ahola Transport also passed its an-nual audit to maintain its OHSAS 18001 cer-tification for occupational health and safety. The audit and recertification was conducted by Det Norske Veritas. Environmental and Quality Manager Birgitta Hatt is pleased: “The certificates demonstrate for our cus-tomers and partners that our operations, monitoring and reporting are conducted in a systematic manner.” Ahola Transport has had an environmental certificate since 2002, a quality certificate since 2004 and an occupational health and safety certificate since 2011.

In September 2016, two of Ahola Transport’s new vehicles had a prominent role in the Strongman Champions League competition in Kokkola. One of the events for the under 90 and 105 kilogramme weight classes was pulling two of Ahola Transport’s brand new trucks. Ahola Transport also took the opportunity to unveil its new logo at the event.

The recognitions were awarded at Ahola’s traditional Christmas happening, followed by a performance by the company choir.

Johan Aspegrén was one of many employees honoured. Here interviewed by Hans Ahola (left).

ISO 14001: An environmental management certificate aimed at reducing environmental impacts.ISO 9001: A quality management certificate aimed at ensuring and improving operation-al quality for the benefit of customers and stakeholdersOHSAS 18001: An occupational health and safety certificate aimed at ensuring a safe and healthy workplace.

New group organisation

It happens at Ahola...

Ahola’s new vehicles featured at Strongman competition

Nils AholaUnit ManagerFleet & Resources

Jimmy AholaUnit ManagerFinland

Markus CorinUnit ManagerSweden, Denmark and Central & Eastern Europe

Thomas AholaUnit ManagerBaltic Countries

Markus KäldUnit ManagerNorthen Finland/Sweden & Norway

Magnus AholaUnit ManagerMainline

Stefan KaptensCFO

Ole NyblomDirectorPurchase

Jonas AholaManaging DirectorAT Special Transport

Mika SorvistoManaging DirectorAttracs

Nils AholaUnit ManagerFleet & Resources

Hans AholaCEO

My hobby...

A love of fishingFive years ago, Kalle Björkskog rediscovered a childhood hobby of his. Today he has a passion for fishing, which counteracts the effects of his hectic work.

Publisher: Oyj Ahola Transport Abp, PB 550, FI-67701 KokkolaEditor-in-Chief: Hans AholaEditor: Christoffer HolmLayout: Juuso SavolainenPhotos: Juuso Savolainen, Christoffer Holm, Ahola Transport’s image archiveTranslation: Traduct OyPrint: Forsberg Oy

Kalle Björkskog has worked in sales practi-cally all of his career. He joined Ahola Trans-port in 2008 and has felt right at home. His work in international sales is interesting and allows him to frequently meet new people. Even so the work can sometimes be stressful, which five years ago rekindled Björkskog’s interest in a childhood hobby. “I used to go fishing a lot with my dad as a child, although sometimes a bit reluctantly. My grandfather was a professional fisher-man, but I was never that interested,” he recalls.

Back on the ice

Around 2012 things changed. Björkskog moved back to his childhood hometown of Larsmo outside Jakobstad, Finland, and built himself a house by a lake. At the same time, his interest in fishing was reawakened. “I was surprised by all the memories it brought back. I bought some fishing equip-ment just to give it a try after the move.” The start may have been sudden, but to-day fishing has become an important part of Björkskog’s life. The calm of the lake is pleasant after a busy day at work. “Fishing is the complete opposite of my working life. They feel like two different worlds,” he says. His main interest so far has been ice fishing with a net. In winter, you do not have to check the nets for catch as often as in sum-mer, because the cold keeps the fish alive longer. Björkskog is unsure why precisely net fishing in winter became his thing. “There is just something special about it. It’s not actually the catch that’s important, even though we do eat a lot of fish at home with my wife and I give the rest to friends and family,” he says.

Nature, tranquility and excitement

The main thing that draws him out on the frozen lake all winter long, no matter how cold or late it is, is the excitement of drilling a hole in the ice, reeling in the net and see-ing what he’s caught. “Out on the ice you get time alone with your thoughts. That’s part of it too. Some-times the stars come out and there is this peculiar calm. Hearing the ice creaking, it brings me back to when I was there as a boy,” he recounts. Before, Björkskog had to grab the chance to go fishing whenever work allowed it, but since December he has been a part-time pensioner, opening up more time for his hobby. “I now have two extra days off a week. Earlier I had to go out late at night with a headlamp. That might seem crazy to some people,” he says. But safety always comes first for Björkskog, and he has learned a great deal about both ice and ice fishing over the years. One risk is that the nets, which are sometimes as large as 60 by 3 metres, freeze and get stuck. “That happens on occasion and it’s not fun, but the most important thing is to ensure you don’t go through the ice yourself and to remember the self-rescue ice claws. Many people with more experience than me have fallen through the ice,” Björkskog says.

Hoping for zander

Fishing during winter can be hard work, but Björkskog is inspired to keep going every time he finds his favourite kinds of fish, zander or burbot, in the net. Usually he gets between 15 to 20 kilograms of fish a week. “Mostly it’s bream or ide that I’m not re-

ally fond of, so I leave them out for some white-tailed eagles to eat. I see them now and again from my living room window,” he says. Fishing is a diverse activity, and with his retirement coming up Björkskog is now con-sidering expanding his hobby and taking up fishing even during summer. “That’s what I’ll do. Fishing has become a passion for me.”

Kalle’s favourite fish to catch are zander and burbot. Photo: Private

Five years ago, Kalle Björkskog rediscovered a hobby from decades ago. Now fishing has become his passion.

INFO

Kalle BjörkskogTitle: SalespersonBorn: 1954Family: Wife, 6 children and 25 grandchildrenLives in: Larsmo, FinlandEducation: Started working at fifteen.

Magazine for customers, employees and other stakeholders