| FACTS ABOUT BENGT | |
|---|---|
| Started in Wärtsilä: | In 1989 as a Service Engineer |
| Position now: | Field Service Manager |
| Country of Residence: | USA |
| Nationality: | Finnish |
| Education: | Ålands seaman’s school (vocational), Marine engineering school (Polytechnic) |
What is your typical day like?
“As a Field Service Manager I manage a relatively small specialized machining team. I work together with our sales teams in preparing offers, coordinate and follow on-going machining jobs and plan the use of our service resources, including training and vacations. I am also responsible for all services tools for Wärtsilä in North America”.
How did you end up working in engineering?
“When I was young I mostly dreamed of becoming a sailor or maybe a chief engineer onboard some ship one day – like my father. I was always fascinated by mechanical things. How they worked and what made them work. Maybe that's why.“
How did your career start at Wärtsilä?
“I joined Wärtsilä as a Service Engineer. After only six months I was asked to travel to the US to be part of one of Wärtsilä’s first and largest gas engine projects at the time. My work was over in 30 days, as scheduled, but then I was asked to stay working with the local Wärtsilä North Americas Field Service commissioning team. Those 30 days first turned into 9 months, then another full year. While working in the States during the early 1990’s, I found my companion in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. Today, 21 years later, she is my wife. I am a US citizen and currently living in Houston, Texas. Many things happen in life.”
What have been the most exciting things about working for Wärtsilä?
“At Wärtsilä I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with very good people and witnessed some unbelievable efforts from our teams throughout the years. It still amazes me how we during the mid 1990’s built a floating power plant for the Jamaican utility, transported the completed barge from Brownsville, Texas, to Old Harbour in Jamaica and within only five working days after having arrived in the country had moored the power plant, connected the land ramp, fuel hoses, cooling water systems, air systems, high voltage cables, fuelled the barge, made all the safety checks and by the end of the fifth day we generated full power into the local grid. Talk about plug and play. This was an 80 megawatt plant.”
“Each of the individual service jobs has brought with them a new learning experience. All the valuable experiences give me the right to say - been there, done that. Now as a manager, all the prior work experience is worth its weight in gold.”
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