Andrei Krés started out by taking a summer job as a roller in Grums and is today CFO of Billerud
When Andrei Krés’ family left their home in Estonia to start a new life in Sweden, they arrived in Grums, on the northern shore of Lake Vänern. The dominant employer in the region was Billerud, whose Gruvön paper mill provided work for fully 1,150 people. It was therefore only natural that Andrei would find his first job there, working as a roller in the production department during the summer.
That was back in 2005 and today, 18 years later, Andrei Krés is the CFO at Billerud with ultimate responsibility for the company’s finances. Andrei and his colleagues are responsible for ensuring that the Billerud Group companies have the finances they need to continue their operations.
“It’s not all that surprising that I chose Billerud. Grums is a small mill town, and it was common knowledge that Gruvön was a good place to work; a solid workplace with a shift system where you had the chance to arrange long periods of time off,” says Andrei.
The company changed during his summer job years
In autumn 2007, Andrei moved to Lund to study economics at the university there, but he kept on coming back to work at Gruvön every summer. Over the years, he became fully familiar with the business and was there as a trainee when the merger to form the new company – Billerud – was completed in 2012.
“It was clear to me that the company was changing every year. It must have been in the summer of 2006 or 2007 that I really noticed how the attitude had become much more future-oriented with greater customer focus. The mill started receiving more and more visits from customers, and we started making new and exciting products such as FibreForm,” he recalls.
The employer has a major responsibility
Every summer, Billerud takes on around 400 temporary staff in total, most of whom are placed in jobs out in the mills. In Andrei’s opinion, the employer must plan thoroughly and provide a good introduction if the summer temps and trainees are to enjoy working at the company and maintain their motivation.
“Speaking for myself, I received a really warm welcome and always felt comfortable and appreciated. I was also given more and more demanding challenges, which allowed me to learn new things and expand my skill base,” says Andrei.