Management concerns, and the future of aluminium: CEO of Hydro Aluminium Eivind Reiten shares his thoughts on the accelerating pace of development, and the internal and external demands on a market-oriented company.
The worlds car industry must react ever more quickly to technical changes and market demand. In turn, supplier companies must react equally fast. The increasingly important soft part of management often proves to be the most demanding, says Eivind Reiten, and is at the same time the least visible. One tends to reward visible traits: a manager can give wonderful presentations, hold brilliant lectures and make good business decisions.
However, being able to give feedback, motivate colleagues and give good advice in demanding situations is vital many people are undernourished when it comes to feedback. A manager must be visible throughout a company. Since flexibility and rapid change are characteristic of the company, it becomes even more important to motivate ones employees, not least through sharing information.
A crossroads of information
When it comes to sharing information, experience feedback is also an important issue, Reiten adds. At Hydro we have internal systems in each of the business divisions. Today employees show less loyalty to an individual company, so to be competitive, we have to be able to provide the best people a workplace they like to be in and a reward for staying including material rewards.
We have a matrix organisation with extensive co-operation across boundaries. A lot of information is exchanged, and it is impossible to monopolise information. This, and recognising staff who are good at being team players in a large team, gives us a less vulnerable organisation.
In the aluminium industry in particular, other requirements are important beyond just primary aluminium. A company must develop managers who are flexible in outlook.
Extended environmental concept
The automotive industry is the strongest force behind the growth in the global consumption of aluminium, since the weight reduction it makes possible reduces emissions from cars and aluminium can be melted down and reused.
Hydro concerned itself from the beginning with traditional environmental work emissions and pollution. Then the company started to map aluminiums environmental properties, creating an environmental account for its use in cars. Reiten explains, A lighter car has lower fuel consumption but aluminium takes a lot of energy to manufacture.
So we must achieve full understanding of the entire cycle, a cradle to grave perspective. This means we must have systems for taking care of the scrap left over from making aluminium products such as vehicles, ships and aircraft. Europe has ample capacity for recycling various types of scrap. By melting down and reusing aluminium, the industry gains sustainability in an extended environmental concept.