Jaakko Salo, an engineer (BEng) who has worked with measurement solutions for the sawmill industry for thirteen years, moved to Finnos in 2021. His career at Finnos began as R&D manager, with the main task of developing the board scanner product. Since 2023 he has been responsible for the development of the Finnos Board Scanner in the role of product manager.
Knowledge of the wood industry combined with technical expertise has given him a good foundation for his current role, in which Jaakko is responsible for innovating measurement solutions for the sawmill industry.
Jaakko's working days begin with the development team's daily meeting, where current matters and customer projects are reviewed. After that, a typical working day consists of advancing projects, programming work and guiding the development team.
"My work combines planning, monitoring and hands-on doing. I have been involved in developing the board scanner from the very beginning. In practice, I am responsible for its development, its functionality and customer satisfaction. Working closely at the customer interface is an important part of my role," Jaakko says.
As in all knowledge work, the ability to prioritise is important in Jaakko's role too. Finnos currently has projects in Finland, in the other Nordic countries and in America, so there is no shortage of matters that need attention and pushing forward.
"You have to know how to prioritise tasks so that the development and project teams focus on what is essential," Jaakko says.
Jaakko names variety and independence as the best aspects of his work. He also likes the fact that the results of development work are concrete and directly visible in the customer's production.
When asked whether any particular moment from his career at Finnos so far stands out, Jaakko answers quickly: the completion of the board scanner product and its first delivery to a customer.
"We started from nothing, and in the end there was a working, measuring device at the sawmill. It was a big achievement for the whole team."
In Jaakko's view, Finnos stands out from other players in the field through its special expertise.
"Finnos is a Finnish company that develops measurement and software solutions for the sawmill industry in a way that is unique worldwide."
Jaakko is also happy with the Finnos work community. The atmosphere is open and conversational, which supports development work and decision-making. Cooperation with other departments, such as sales and marketing, is close and important so that customer needs can be met effectively.
The goal of the development team led by Jaakko is to ensure that the Finnos Board Scanner stays at the cutting edge of development and that customers can be offered new solutions according to their wishes.
"Integrating the data from Finnos' various scanners is one of the most important development directions for the future. When a customer has several Finnos scanners in use, we can analyse and measure the sawmill process as a whole even better, from the log to the finished board. Combining this data offers the customer a broader view of the production process, which in turn enables more effective control and optimisation. The goal is to help the customer maximise the value of the raw material and improve the profitability of production," Jaakko says.
Developing new solutions and the concrete effects of product development work motivate Jaakko. He finds his work especially rewarding when the innovations achieved by the development team are put into practice and bring real benefit to customers.
"The customer is at the centre of the work. Customer satisfaction is built by responding to the customer's needs, for example with new solutions and good product support," Jaakko sums up.
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