Christian dared to take on the challenge as project manager in China

The production plant in China will be Scania's third industrial hub and complements the Group's current production in Europe and Latin America. Scania Oskarshamn has a central role in the China project, including training and education for employees.

Since the summer of 2022, Christian has been working on the project and has previously visited China twice.

- During one of the occasions, I visited the area where we now live to get a picture of life in China. It wasn't an easy decision to move here with the whole family, he says.

At the same time, it was a chance in life to do something completely unique after 24 years of employment. The journey at Scania Oskarshamn started at the turn of the millennium, when Christian started at IB-line (Dashboard Line). After a few years, he became a teamleader and his next choice took him to engineering and production technology. His interest in leadership and developing in that role led him to become a Group manager in production technology. After that, he became Project manager in the China project. The assignment involved building a process and implementing equipment in the new factory, as well as building an organization that can manage and develop the process after handover.

- It has been very instructive and stimulating to be involved in building a new technology organization from scratch, says Christian, whose new position is project manager for cab assembly in Asia.

The factory in China will be a production facility with a high degree of automation.

- It's a great feeling that my team has designed everything from the first line to the complete layout of the Assembly's process equipment. Now we get an answer to whether our drawings work in practice. At the same time, I want to pay tribute to everyone in Oskarshamn who helped with training, says Christian.

Christian and his family have had a good start in China. They live in the port city of Nantong with just over 2.4 million inhabitants and the children have started school.

- It's gone well and they're studying in English. My wife is also very happy. There are about 30 "Scania families" living in our area, including employees from Oskarshamn, Södertälje and Brazil.

How do you experience life in China?
- It feels safe and people are very friendly and want to help. China is the third country in the world in terms of security. They are at the forefront of technological development, for example, it is easy to order food and pay via apps. Going out to eat is affordable and there is plenty to do in your free time. It is also cheap to travel within China, in the family we have the goal of visiting the Great Wall of China, among other things, Christian concludes.