Asking the questions

According to Ann-Charlott Nyberg, she is the one who asks the “stupid” questions – in order to inspire others to find solutions. She is Head of Technical Product Development at the Finnish ceramics plant in Ekenäs.

“I lost my way and ended up here – and stayed.” When it comes to her career, Ann-Charlott Nyberg doesn’t mince words. The Head of Technical Product Development at the ceramics plant in Ekenäs has an engineering degree in geology and mining. Graduates of these courses usually end up in a mine or in tunnel construction, she explains.

Instead of going underground, the Finnish native was drawn to sanitary ceramics. She joined the ceramics plant in 2003 as a product manager. The plan was to stay for six months. This has now turned into 20 years.

While it sounds clichéd, I still learn something new every day, even after 20 years.

Illogical behaviour

Mineral materials play an important role in both ceramics production and geology. While the disciplines don’t seem that far apart, the fields are actually very different. Despite the tremendous progress in slip development, the raw material used in ceramics still behaves illogically from time to time, she explains. In practice, that means solving problems by the metre. “While it sounds clichéd, I still learn something new every day, even after 20 years.” This knowledge is willingly passed on within the company: “Nobody hoards their know-how here.”

“Stupid” questions as inspiration

In her everyday work, the product developer likes to be close to the project. “My role is to remove obstacles in the path of the engineers in my team so they can do their job,” she explains. And adds with a smile: “I ask the stupid questions. I tell myself that I’m inspiring my team to find solutions.”