The people behind the windscreens

From the depths of our archives, we found a Laitilan Sanomat article from February 2004 in which Tomi Salonen shared his first impressions of Finn Lamex—at the time, he had been working at Finn Lamex for just six months. Back then, the main aspects of the job were only beginning to unfold, and there was still much to learn.

Now, more than two decades later, we asked Tomi for his thoughts on windshield bending, the work community, and his career at Finn Lamex.

Tomi Salonen has worked at Finn Lamex for 22 years. For the past 11 yars, he has served as a prototype glass bender, being responsible for the development of new products from the very beginning.

Continuous learning

We asked Tomi whether he feels he has now mastered all there is to know about windscreen bending, or if there’s still more to learn.

“I’m still learning new things all the time,” Tomi says. “Each product is unique and different in its own way, so new challenges keep appearing. But I’ve learned to recognize what works best in each situation.”

As a prototype bender, Tomi also has a unique perspective on how products are created:

“Prototype bending develops your skills in a different way because the product is built from scratch. I’ve learned a lot about what kind of tools are needed to achieve the desired outcome. At the same time, you get to understand the characteristics of different bending furnaces better.”

An ideal work atmosphere

In 2004, Tomi described the work atmosphere as good and the working environment as almost ideal. He also had no regrets about changing jobs. Over 20 years later, he still speaks highly of the environment at Finn Lamex:

“Of course, I can only speak for my own department, but we have a really great team spirit. Collaboration also goes smoothly with, for example, the maintenance team, and everything product-related has gone well.”

At Finn Lamex, we believe that a pleasant work environment supports both employee wellbeing and company success. Tomi has seen this in practice:

“Satisfied employees improve the productivity of the entire company.”

We offer our staff a wide range of employee benefits, including an annual sports and culture benefit, access to selected local events, a performance-based bonus system, comprehensive insurance and occupational healthcare, and daily breakfast.

“It’s always nice to come to work because of the good team spirit and a can-do attitude.”

Any downsides to the job?

Back in the early 2000s, Tomi encouraged journalists to return in three years to ask again if he had found anything negative about his work. Three years have now turned into two decades—so we finally asked: has he found anything bad?

“Not really. The job is very varied, and you never know exactly what kind of day you’ll have. There are often problems to solve, especially with new products, so it never gets boring.”

A career at Finn Lamex

Finn Lamex has ambitious growth plans and aims to double its production capacity by the end of 2027. This means we will soon need many new professionals.

So we asked our long-time expert: what would he like to say to new employees or those considering a career at Finn Lamex?

“There’s a lot to learn, and every day is different. Even if the work feels challenging at first, don’t get discouraged—we’ll provide thorough onboarding and guidance.”

“There are many different products, but over time, you’ll learn to remember them well. And since there’s always something new to learn, it keeps you motivated.”

Source

Heilä, Arja-Liisa. 2004. Lasintaivuttaja on tarkka mies. Laitilan Sanomat.

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