Choose your career path at Svitzer

Your career at Svitzer is exactly that, your career. As our team spans across the globe, we want to highlight the many different pathways in which a career at Svitzer can take and the dedicated colleagues who have carved their way.

There is no set program or journey, it’s a mix of opportunities and choice, and can be defined by you, your ambition and dedication. Your leader is there to guide the way, support your goals and if you look for the opportunities, there is no telling where your career will take you. We reached out to various colleagues from Americas, Europe, Australia and AMEA, and each person took the time to talk about their very different experiences.

Today, we introduce Peter Hermansson, Cluster Technical Manager for Scandinavia.

“I always knew I wanted to work with tugs, as I find them fascinating and interesting,” said Peter Hermansson, who started working at the Swedish company, Röda Bolaget, in 1991. The company was acquired by Svitzer in 1995 and he has stayed with the company ever since, marking his 30th anniversary last month, in September 2021.

For Peter, it has been a long journey within the company, with vast experience working in very different roles. His career pathway started out in the salvage department, doing salvage of vessels and wreck recovery offshore, as well as some offshore jobs in Norway and Canada. After working with salvage for 10 years, Peter was offered to join the onshore organisation and started as a controller in operations, where he worked the nightshift for a year, before stepping in as temporary operational manager for another year.

Then, in 2006, Peter joined the technical department as a Technical Superintendent, a role he held up until last year when he applied for his current position as Technical Manager overseeing Scandinavia and Germany.

“The different perspectives have kept it interesting throughout all these years and one of the reasons why I am still here after 30 years,” remarked Peter. He considers his experiences from the different corners of the business a big asset, because they give a much better understanding of different problems and how to settle them, along with an ability to translate what is going on.

Peter grew up around tugboats and he visited the office in Gothenburg for the first time when he was just a few months old. His mother worked in the finance department of Röda Bolaget before it was acquired by Svitzer. When he turned 13, he started helping out maintaining the tugboats every summer.

Peter’s career has progressed quite naturally, and he has been fortunate to be promoted by his managers. Erik Mainkvist, European Technical Manager, encouraged Peter to apply for his current position. Peter expressed that he is happy for the switch to technical, as he truly enjoys discussing with technical specialists from around the world and the knowledge sharing that leads to improved technical solutions.

What has kept Peter engaged throughout his time with Svitzer is the tugboats. “Cut to the bone, I find them fascinating; I am a technical guy, and the technic never stops fascinating me. The new-builds are interesting and the constant problem-solving is what keeps it interesting.”

“The different roles have definitely complemented each other; I think that is the best thing about working in different departments within the same company. You get positioned for a much more profound understanding of the business when moving around. Of course, most people have a fair idea of what is going on in the different corners of the business but there is a huge benefit in getting first-hand knowledge.”

All along the way, throughout his various roles and experiences within the industry—from when he was just a few months old, to the summers of his teenage years and still to this day— Peter has always been working out of the Gothenburg office. Peter smiles, “I know my way to work by now.”