When the job is truly a journey

Jannie Kalmar, a Production Planner, is a seasoned Eltwinner. With us for almost five years, she thought her story would begin in Denmark - but it actually started with our production team in Poland. A truly international journey. While a student in 2018, Jannie contacted Eltwin with a CV outlining her competencies and professional interests in the hopes of finding an internship. With a strong profile and promise to support our logistics team, we offered Jannie an internship at our large production facility in Poland. There, she would have the opportunity to get up close and personal with our high-volume production line - and build relationships with our international colleagues.

“I grew five years in six months! While we had the challenge of not sharing a common language, my Polish colleagues were all my age - and we found common ground in focusing on production optimization and value stream mapping. Of course, with some help from Google translate,” says Jannie.

At the end of her internship, Eltwin asked Jannie to present her experiences in Poland to the management - and was offered a student job with the Quality department in Denmark.

“Value chain management always caught my interest because it’s about constantly improving. And when I started at Eltwin, it was a small, growing company where if you wanted to change something, you could carry the ball and see it through. I really enjoyed that.”

In her role as Student Assistant, Jannie was in the Quality department with a focus on continuous improvement projects. And many of the tasks she was responsible for then, she still oversees today.

“At the time, there was a new law on risk assessments in the chemical area. I defined processes around this and gained a lot of goodwill from my colleagues, and still work on this today.”

When a colleague in the Production Planning team went on maternity leave, Jannie was asked to take over - based on her drive, performance, and excellent work thus far. Fast-forward to today, and she is now one of four Production Planners.

“We’re the link between purchasing, sales, and production. In a role like this, communication can be a challenge - but I have great colleagues that make it possible to perform efficiently and get the job done.”

And the best part of her role? “I get the chance to connect with everyone in the company. If I don’t know someone, it’s because they’ve just been hired. Plus, I still get to check in with the team in Poland once a week and keep good contact.”

On top of her many responsibilities as a Production Planner, Jannie is also part of Eltwin’s Work Environment Group - the team focused on ensuring health and safety in the workplace. From Crossfit training on Tuesdays to group runs on Thursdays, Jannie and the team stick together - on and off the clock.

As for Jannie’s future at Eltwin? Her ambition will certainly define her next move. “I always strive to challenge myself. When a task isn’t challenging me anymore, I search for new ones. Whatever is happening at the company that is exciting and new, I want to be a part of it.”

And she certainly will be!