Moventas as an employer

Moventas is a wind energy expert with 40 years of experience in the industry.

Our mission is to provide more access to clean energy for the future generations. That is what motivates us at Moventas to work hard each and every day. We employ top talent who enable us to live our mission as a company; lowering the cost of energy in wind power generation.

We are committed in providing a working environment that fosters learning and development. We are devoted to invest not only in clean energy but also in your career! Would you like to be part of our Moventas team, and work towards a greener future? Explore our employer stories and send your application on our careers page.

The largest subscription newspaper in Finland and in the Nordic countries, Helsingin Sanomat, released an article about Moventas in its annex ‘Innovation’. The article was published in September 18th, and the original release can be read here (in Finnish).

Translation: Anna Gustafsson/ 21.9.2019

The growing wind power industry is creating new jobs

Text by Tuomas I. Lehtonen
Photos by Mikko Kuparinen

A visit to Moventas headquarters, in Etelä-Keljo district in Jyväskylä, is an eye-opening experience. It is only when you look at a 34-tonne and 4.5-megawatt wind turbine gearbox that you understand what kind of business this is. The design, manufacture, transportation, installation, and maintenance of the products require advanced expertise.

– Designing and manufacturing these products requires extreme precision and on the other hand, also the ability to manufacture gigantic products. The challenging production process must also be scalable to serial production level. The production process has to be subjected to an approval by an external rating agency, and we must also require a rating for the final product. Only a few companies can operate in a similar industrial level, says Jyrki Virtanen, Technology Director at Moventas.

Talent boost needed

Although Moventas employs more than 500 people on four continents, it is small in its branch of business. The company competes against global giants by making the most of its innovativeness and flexibility. The technical advantage over competitors is achieved through the solid professionalism of the employees.

Professional competence is required in production, research, product development, as well as in design. Moventas employs, for example, mechanical engineering experts, physicists, mathematicians, electrical and automation engineers, and IT experts. Many of them have entered the company already during their studies. Each year, Moventas employs around 50 summer workers, trainees, and thesis workers.

Thesis as part of the work

Principal metallurgist Kaisu Soivio and research engineer Oula Paattakainen are a great example of theyoung professionals at Moventas. Soivio graduated with a degree in Materials Technology from the Tampere University of Technology in 2008, and Paattakainen with a master’s degree in Science from the University of Jyväskylä in 2019. After his graduation, Soivio worked as a researcher and in component development. The work includes, for example, developing new alloys, material solutions, and processing methods as well as internal consulting for procurement and quality management.

Soivio also participates in international research projects as a representative of Moventas. She is also working on her doctoral thesis on improving gear wheel performance and reliability. She is collecting the research material through her work at Moventas.

– Doctoral research is part of my job, so I can use working hours to advance my research. It helps me greatly that I can do telework 1-2 days a week. In my work, I am particularly motivated by complex products, substantial investment in product development that Moventas has done and the opportunity to work with multidisciplinary people around the world, Soivio sums up.

Responsibility and support

Paattakainen, on the other hand, began as a summer intern at Moventas after graduating in 2015. He continued to work part-time while studying for a master’s degree and did his master’s thesis work for Moventas. In Paattakainen’s view, majoring in applied physics fits extremely well with his career in .

– Already during my studies at the university, I was able to land on assignments that fit my education perfectly. For example, I implemented automation and control logic for a quick shaft bearing tester.

Paattakainen graduated with a master’s degree in the Spring and immediately got a permanent job as a research engineer with the Moventas verification team. The work includes designing tests for prototypes, instructing test drive measurements, and analysing and reporting test results.

Paattakainen also executes some tests himself. For example, he travels doing field measurements at wind farms across Europe. Older power plants are not equipped with lifts, so sometimes he must climb up to 100 meters using sheer muscle strength. Views from this open office space, however, are worth the effort.

– At work, I get to do things that interest me and promote climate-friendly energy production. It’s excellent that besides over the desk designing you can put on overalls and work with your hands. Another critical factor is the good and supportive atmosphere of the work community.

Managers at Moventas are eager to hand responsibility to us experts, but offer support whenever needed, says Paattakainen.