She leads the construction of the new factory!

Ulrika Hagman has taken on the role of project manager for the expansion of SunPine. Her assignment: build a new factory and increase diesel production by 50,000 cubic meters.

– It is a challenging and exciting mission.

It's not exactly a soft start. Starting her work at SunPine with the responsibility of leading the project to build a second production line for raw tall oil diesel at SunPine's factory area on Haraholmen in Piteå. An investment of SEK 250 million is to be realized and put into use in 2020. Ulrika Hagman has already started the work:

– The first step is to put together a team that will jointly procure an engineering firm. Our goal is to have an engineering firm selected before the summer holidays, so it's a tight schedule.

– In August we intend to begin work on the factory design and the goal is to make a sharp 3D model that we can then build from. We want to achieve that quality immediately.

This is not a small “first project”, how do you view the assignment?

– It is a huge project. We are going to prepare for the future and build a second factory. And we are going to build it to be able to operate it as two lines. The new line will be energy-optimized from the start. Of course, we are building the new one based on the lessons we have learned over the years in operating our first factory. So it is an even more developed factory that we are building now.

For those curious, what did you do before SunPine?

– I have worked at Scania and in the mining industry. I have worked a lot with large mining machines, among other things, and as a consultant. I am very much impressed by my time at Scania with their developed thinking around “lean” production.

What is the biggest challenge you see with your current assignment at SunPine?

– One of the big ones, practically speaking, is that it will be built during ongoing production, we have to plan and take safety and logistics into account so that we don't disrupt production.

– Another challenge for us is that we follow the structure and form that the entire SunPine is building. We have to create the same standards and procedures, so it all comes together as one. There are also investments underway in the existing facility that must be phased in.

– And of course we land good agreements with the companies we procure from.

For the curious who asks, what is your impression of SunPine?

– Before I started, I probably didn't know much. But now I'm fascinated by how we refine a residual product – pine oil – into several good products. It's exciting. And I didn't know that the forest industry is so innovative, Hagman concludes.