Conversation with Helen Blomqvist new President at Sandvik Coromant

Article By: Kathryn Gerardino-Elagio

Sandvik Coromant has announced Helen Blomqvist as its new President, succeeding Nadine Crauwels. As president, Helen will be responsible for enhancing Sandvik Coromant's leading position in manufacturing tools and machining solutions and sharing the knowledge that drives the manufacturing industry forward. Helen will report to the newly appointed President of Sandvik Machining Solutions, Nadine Crauwels, and will be a member of the Sandvik Machining Solutions Management Team. She starts her new position on 1 December 2020.

To get some insights, International Metalworking News for Asia(IMNA) asked Helen Blomqvist about her focus, objectives, opportunities for growth in Asia, and developments in manufacturing.

IMNA: As the new President of Sandvik Coromant, what areas do you see as requiring more focus, and what are you bringing to the company that will ensure you meet these objectives?

Sandvik Coromant has successfully served customers all over the world with premium tools and solutions for over 77 years. As our customers are facing a more digital environment and production moves towards autonomous factories, integrating big data and software applications to optimize machining is essential. One of our priorities is keeping our customers ahead of the competition and ready for what lies ahead. This means continuous researching, testing and implementing of cutting-edge technology and solutions. We will expand our offering by digitizing machining knowledge into machining solutions with sensor embedded tools, machining utilization optimisation and process monitoring. While focusing on digital solutions, we will also continue to invest in developing high quality tooling and production methods for maximizing productivity.

I have over 17 years’ experience working at Sandvik Coromant mainly within Product Management & R&D and sales. With my strong background within our company and a deep customer focus.  I aim to lead Sandvik Coromant to continue helping our customers, from the world’s industrial giants to family-owned machine shops, achieving new levels of progress and productivity.

IMNA: In your new position, how can you help the company evolve and be in a stronger position in today's fluid economy? Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth in Asia?

I have a strong passion and commitment to Sandvik Coromant and I am very honoured to get the opportunity to lead this great company. Having worked in different parts of our company, I believe in the importance of cross-functional working. With over 7,600 employees all over the world, it is only when we are combining our skills and leveraging on our combined knowledge that we can provide the ultimate customer experience.

Our presence in Asia is very important to us. We have sales, production, R&D and distribution centres in Asia and value the good customer collaborations we have. I see potential in growing our presence in all of Asia and we are constantly investing and developing our presence to better serve our Asian customers and partners.

IMNA: What developments in manufacturing do you expect in the machining solutions industry?

To stay competitive, manufacturers need to rely more on digitized processes and less manual interaction. To meet the new requirements, we need to continue to drive the development and digitalization of the manufacturing industry. For example, we have a unique venture with Microsoft, combining Sandvik Coromant's expertise in machining with Microsoft’s technical solutions. The collaboration will seek to link up parts of the production chain to create solutions for the next generation of manufacturing.

I would also like to highlight the area of sustainability. It is an area that is very important to Sandvik Coromant and to many of our customers. We can see that sustainability is driving the development of new materials and the importance it has when attracting new talents to join our company. A younger generation have higher demands on the manufacturing industry and as a company, we must show our efforts within this area and lead the path of sustainable development. We have set clear targets for 2030, such as being more than 90 per cent circular and halving our carbon dioxide (CO2) impact.

IMNA: What threats, if any, do you see in 2021 and beyond?

It is important to monitor how COVID-19 is affecting us now and in the future. Even if we have seen gradual recovery in several markets, there is still uncertainty about what the long-term effects will be until we have put the pandemic firmly behind us.

Part of global industrial engineering group Sandvik, Sandvik Coromant is at the forefront of manufacturing tools, machining solutions and knowledge that drive industry standards and innovations demanded by the metalworking industry now and into the next industrial era. Educational support, extensive R&D investment and strong customer partnerships ensure the development of machining technologies that change, lead and drive the future of manufacturing. Sandvik Coromant owns over 3100 patents worldwide, employs over 7,600 staff, and is represented in 150 countries.

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