Teemu Tiittanen from Lappeenranta is responsible for the pre-treatment of raw material and the hot oil plant at the biorefinery. He is particularly responsible for their production, instructions and process development. His tasks also include project coordination and downtime planning. Teemu is also a trustee for senior members of staff.
"At the moment, I am most busy with the autumn maintenance shutdown. Shutdowns are always a big effort - planning before the shutdown, then running down production, carrying out the shutdown work and finally running production back up again," Teemu says.
There are usually so many moving parts in a shutdown that some things could always have gone better. "Fortunately, downtime is well reported in our company, and the next time we'll be wiser again."
The biofuel industry is meaningful - new learnings every day
After three years working at a biorefinery Teemu finds the biofuel industry a very meaningful and rewarding job.
"My previous studies support my work, but you still learn something new every day. The increasing demand for biofuels guarantees a future for those working in the sector. In addition, the growing demand for biofuels ensures a growth pressure in UPM Biofuels. It's inspiring to work in a place that is investing in the future.
"There have been challenges too, and they have been a source of knowledge for myself and others. Very rewarding are the moments when a solution is found to the challenges of the process.
"I can think of several individual process challenges, and usually these have been good learning experiences for both myself and the staff on duty. We have a habit of reporting any process problems, which has helped to spread the learning to others and thus the knowledge is available for future reference."
Summer jobs at Kaukas mill integrate
The Kaukas mill integrate is a familiar place for Lappeenranta residents through their summer jobs. Teemu spent summers as a day foreman in the recovery department at the Kaukas pulp mill and as a foreman in the electrical automation maintenance department at the Kaukas paper mill.
He also studied for a degree in energy engineering at LUT University in his home region.
"At work I have developed my general petrochemical skills in particular. In addition, I have developed a lot in project implementation, among other things. As a process engineer you need to have a fairly broad range of skills to succeed in the job.”
Co-workers are a very important part of the job
Teemu considers the working atmosphere at the refinery to be very good. The biorefinery has a small team and there is close cooperation between the different teams. There have been difficulties in the recent past, such as a strike and downtime caused by a fire but, despite everything, they have moved forward and learned from the past.
"Co-workers are a very important part of the workplace. Without good colleagues, no one can enjoy any job. I would especially like to thank my own team, the operations engineering team of Kari, Sami and JP, who are always there to help with anything.”
The recipe for coping at work
The recipe for coping at work is clear to Teemu: you can cope at work when you have a suitable counterbalance to work in your free time.
"My passion in recent years has been playing golf, and I also run the Kaukaan Lyly golf club which has events four or five times each summer."
For fitness Teemu plays ice hockey in the winter, football in the summer and enjoys padel tennis, jogging and going to the gym all year round. At home he keeps busy with his six-year-old Nova Scotia Retriever dog and his wife.
"For me, it's all about work-life balance. It has to be in balance or else one or the other starts to suffer. You shouldn't spend your free time thinking about work, which is why it's important to have hobbies that can take your mind off things."
