Heikki Myllymäki: From the welding shop to design responsibilities

Name: Heikki Myllymäki,

Title:  Chief Design Engineer

Education: I graduated as a mechanical engineer from the automation department of the Tampere School of Economics and Technology in 1999.

How long have you been working at Kopar:
Over 26 years. First a couple of summers as a summer worker and then at the turn of the millennium I started working full time. Still on that path.

How you spend your free time: I live in the countryside with my family of three children. Evenings and weekends are often spent doing yard and garden work, repairing and maintaining all kinds of vehicles and machinery, and working in the woods.

Heikki Myllymäki, has seen Kopar's growth up close. His journey to Kopar began back in 1997 with a summer job. Over the course of almost 30 years, he has been involved in many of the things that have been produced and designed by Kopar. The independence, diversity and strong team spirit of the work has kept him in the house full time since 1999.

For the first summer he worked in a welding shop and as a sheet metal worker, learning the basics of metalworking by cutting, folding and welding sheets. In the second summer, his duties continued in the assembly and installation of the Tracklayer rail element transfer system, where he became familiar with the mechanical and hydraulic systems.

”It was a really instructive time. I got to make parts for conveyors and other equipment, and it gave me a hands-on understanding of how the equipment really works,” says Heikki.

After graduation, the road led directly to Kopar for a permanent job. The first big project was Ekokem's 3-burner line in Riihimäki, where Heikki worked as an installer. Soon after, he moved to the office and started to manage production projects from design to delivery, with responsibility for procurement, work phases, assembly and dispatch. ”Basically, I got the pictures from the designer and pulled the whole process through production. It was quite a school for a young designer,” he recalls.

In the early 2000s, Heikki was also responsible for the procurement and manufacture of Metso's screening modules - a total of more than 600 units delivered. The projects grew over the years, and in 2008 he became Production Manager of the Parkano unit. ”With a staff of 70 people at best and several units in Finland and Estonia, the scope of tasks was wide. I was responsible for production and occupational health and safety in Parkano,” Heikki says.

In 2015, Heikki also took over the role of Production Manager of the Kopar Group. He was responsible for the production of Kopar Baltik (Estonia) and Elmomet Oy (Lehtimäki) as well as the group's occupational health and safety activities. ”The responsibilities grew considerably: the different units had to be welded together and ensure that production ran seamlessly. At the same time, the focus shifted more strongly to our own products and their development,” Heikki says.

”It was a big and instructive phase. I learned a lot about managing the big picture and how collaboration between different departments builds the success of the whole company.”

In 2019, Heikki moved to production planning and soon after to the design team. His first own project as lead designer was a significant one: supplying conveyor equipment for a copper smelter in Indonesia.

Since then, projects have accumulated in different parts of the world: in Finland, the Nordic countries, Europe and Asia.

”Now my focus is on conveyors and mechanical equipment. I'm involved in design and development, and I'm often called upon for projects that require this particular skill set. In the Philippines, for example, I was able to go on site to measure and design how to fit the equipment into an old plant. It was a great feeling when the equipment was delivered and installed successfully,” says Heikki.

As a long-time resident, Heikki has seen a lot of different times. “In some ways, Kopar is like a juniper branch that refuses to snap, no matter how much you bend it. When you've run out of ways, you use them and always come back with your head held high,” says Heikki with a smile.

He says Kopar has always been a fair and caring workplace. ”There are good benefits and a feeling that people care. It shows in everyday life and the way things are done. It's nice to work when you know that your employer stands behind your employees,” he says.

A long career has also taught me to value colleagues and teamwork. ”We've always had a like-minded team here, whether it's in production or design. That pattern of working together has remained throughout the years. The team is the force that keeps things together,” Heikki says.