Meet Members of the ANDRITZ Recovery Boiler Sales Team

The ANDRITZ recovery boiler product group has performed in excellent fashion over recent years with the sales team securing a high percentage of the market across the globe. But who are they, where do they work, and what makes them so special?

ANDRITZ's expert team mastering recovery boiler solutions.

The recovery boiler is without a doubt one of the most impressive parts of a pulp mill. Not only do they dominate mill skylines in terms of sheer size, they also carry out vital work in terms of sustainability, including chemical recovery and energy generation. ANDRITZ supplies new recovery boilers across the complete range of capacities, from 500 tds/day up to the world’s largest at 15,000 tds/d, with each one complying to identical requirements when it comes to safety, performance, efficiency and emissions. As part of ANDRITZ recovery boiler offering, the sales teams are also experts in knowledge of ANDRITZ lifecycle services which ensure maximum lifetimes of recovery boilers at the same time as maintaining a low cost of ownership of the recovery boiler.

The sales team for new recovery boilers at ANDRITZ has a global spread, with dedicated teams in Finland, Sweden, Brazil, China, India, Japan and the US. The sales team is growing as ANDRITZ applies its policy of recruiting the brightest of young talents in the industry.

The individual team members are well versed in all of the technicalities of recovery boilers as well as the project execution. One main reason for successful recover boiler sales is the ONE ANDRITZ concept, which promotes close cooperation between the different teams within the Group. These teams work on site with the customer and with other ANDRITZ experts to meet customer requirements on each project.

The basic focus of the sales team is on how to bring the best value to customers by supplying tailor-made recovery boilers, which means that each member of the team has to have deep knowledge when it comes to boiler design and function. Mikko Kontula, Sales Manager, ANDRITZ Recovery Boilers, says, “This is definitely not a normal sales position. Due to the deeply technical nature of recovery boilers, along with the latest technology being applied, we find ourselves acting more like consultants to our customers, collaborating with them on their specific needs, and making sure we always keep within the budget required.”

ANDRITZ recovery boilers have some unique design features which set them apart from the competition. These include advanced modelling tools for selection of durable superheater materials, unique furnace floor structure or significant differences in the design of heating surfaces. There is also a number of new innovative technologies being applied to ANDRITZ recovery boilers based on robotics, image analysis, big data and artificial intelligence.

MEET THREE MEMBERS OF THE RECOVERY BOILER SALES TEAM BASED IN FINLAND

Elina Suomalainen

Sales Manager

Recovery Boiler Product Group, holds a Master of Science in Energy Engineering and has been at ANDRITZ for 6 years.

SPECTRUM: What do you see as important to your customers?
Suomalainen: Our customers seem to value the deep technical knowledge our sales team has. We want to ensure the solutions we offer are exactly what customers need and which support their future targets, that is why tight co-operation and discussions with customers are vital during the sales phase.

What will the recovery boiler market look like 10 years from now?
There will be a lot more focus on digitalization, even more so than now, as this is one of the key features for efficiency, performance and low operational costs. Also, alongside this, sustainability will be just as important as it is now, if not more. We must be very aware across the board that the supply chain, including all sub suppliers, have the same approach to protecting the environment as we at ANDRITZ do.

A sales moment to remember?
I have a lot of good sales moments to remember, even the ones we don’t get. I really like working with people from different backgrounds and cultures, getting to know them and developing trust.

A surprising fact about you?
Olympic weightlifting! I really like to try out new sports, and for the last two years I have been taking an Olympic weightlifting course.

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Mikko Kontula

Sales Manager, Recovery Boiler Product Group, also holds a Master of Science in Energy Engineering and has been at ANDRITZ for 15 years, 10 of them in recovery boiler sales.

SPECTRUM: What do you see as important to your customers?
Kontula: In sales phase it is vital to get good overall understanding - technical and commercial - of customer needs, and then further develop the offered concept together. Working together is vital to get a better understanding of customers’ needs. Customers really value and appreciate our deep technology knowledge, they often give us positive feedback on how quickly we can get back to them, even when the most complicated questions are asked.

What will the recovery boiler market look like 10 years from now?
I would assume that autonomous and digital solutions will play a much bigger role than they do now, we are already seeing a major ramp up of orders and interest in this area. Digitization in the recovery boiler used to be a ‘nice-to-have’. We are now seeing that regularly turning into a ‘must have’. Also, there is a lot of work being done at ANDRITZ on the CircleToZero initiative, so I can see all sorts of new products emerging from pulp mills in the next years, including e-fuels, advanced biofuels and other products derived from CO₂emissions from the recovery boiler and other side streams.

A sales moment to remember:
All the successful sales projects are moments to remember.

A surprising fact about you:
I am an extremely keen fly fisherman.

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Kari Liukko

Sales Director, Recovery Boiler Product Group is a Doctor in Forestry by education and has been working at ANDRITZ for 4 years.

SPECTRUM: What do you see as important to your customers?
Liukko: To understand their business, challenges and decision-making criteria of the investment. We also know our customers appreciate a professional and easy-to-deal with kind of ANDRITZ sales team.

What will the recovery boiler market look like 10 years from now?
The forest products industry is an exciting place to work and will be even more exciting in the future. There has been a huge mind shift in the last decade which will carry on into the next decade, as the industries we are working in offer solutions for many global issues. The recovery boiler is right in the middle of this. Also, there will be a much greater demand of operation and decision-making support by new, smart technologies due to lean organizations and digital expertise in customer organizations.

A sales moment to remember:
The first virtual handshake with a customer during COVID-pandemic in 2020.

A surprising fact about you:
I served breakfast to Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, in 1988.

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Circle To Zero - towards zero emissions and zero waste

CircleToZero is an initiative to provide future-proof solutions for our customers to reach their zero emissions and zero waste targets to produce their pulp and paper products.CircleToZero combines the development of new technologies, the implementation of digital solutions, and the utilization of side streams with the target to create financial value while lessening their environmental footprint towards zero.