Lifelong learning and continuous development
At Aeronautics, we have approximately 7,000 employees including 1,000 consultants. Many of them are engineers, and one of them is Tove Frennberg, Materials and Process Engineer, in Aeronautics' General Engineering department within the Gripen business unit.
Who are you?
"My name is Tove, I'm 32 years old, and I'm a materials and process engineer specialising in surface finishing, paints, and lacquers."
What did you study and why?
"I didn't expect to become an engineer - both my parents are, but it wasn't something I thought suited me. I took a supplementary course at Linköping University, and when I saw what the engineering programmes offered, I realised that you work a lot with problem solving, which I'm passionate about. I'm also passionate about animals and nature, and have my own horse, so I chose to study Technical Biology, which is a broad and comprehensive programme. My Master's involved biotechnology and production, and I took some extra courses on materials engineering that I felt were fun."
I realised that you work a lot with problem solving, which I'm passionate about
What is unique about your job?
"In my section, we ensure that the materials we use in Gripen correspond to the requirements we have; that they are of the right quality. If there are defects in the materials we use in Production, we run tests on a sample to see how we can fix and solve the issues.
We review error results from delivery inspections to determine whether a material meets the requirements and is of the right quality. We review the test results from the finishing baths and recommend actions. In addition, we qualify new materials and processes with a focus on environmental friendliness and sustainability, which takes several years.
We qualify all the constituent components on the aircraft, write standards on how the material can be used in production, and then review process cards that describe how to paint and perform surface finishing on the aircraft components. This is a broad outline of what we do. But no two days are the same."
I'm also passionate about lifelong learning and continuous development, which I feel are encouraged here
Why did you choose Saab as your employer?
"I started at Saab as a consultant but soon realised that I enjoyed the work environment and that it was a place I wanted to be. Partly because the tasks are so varied and that no two days are the same, but also because we have a wonderful sense of community in our team. It is evident that diversity is important and that everyone has equal worth - it permeates my workday. I'm also passionate about lifelong learning and continuous development, which I feel are encouraged here."