2025.04.12

Member interview: Montagegruppen Oxelösund

Montagegruppen is a local specialist in Oxelösund within mechanical assembly, mainly gates, gates and steel structures, with comprehensive promises from sales and installation to service and spare parts. We have asked Magnus Lönnmo, who is the operations manager at Montagegruppen, a few questions.

Tell us about Montagegruppen and your role in the company.

I am the majority owner and head of operations. For a few years now, I have brought in a partner with more operational responsibility who also works with sales. This is so that I can be out in the business and supervise and coach the staff, but also take on special assignments where there is a lack of the skills and experience I possess. I have still worked in the industry since 1996.

What made you want to join the Port Group, and how do you think membership can contribute to your business?

Just because we are a slightly smaller player, we have no less responsibility to stay up to date and work safely according to current regulations. Being part of the Port Group gives us a safe way to get information about all the news that affects the industry, and access to relevant regulations and training. We hope and believe that membership in the Port Group will save us time and unnecessary mistakes, as we will have an easily accessible knowledge bank. Then of course it also feels good to be part of an organization that works daily to make our everyday work safer.

What are the biggest challenges and opportunities you see in the door industry right now?

The fluctuations in the economy and the economy are of course a challenge that is constantly lurking in the background. With the pandemic as proof, we know how quickly a fluctuation can occur, and how it can affect material prices and deliveries in particular. We choose to focus on what we can influence instead, and our brand that guarantees experience and quality gives us the opportunity to be involved in larger projects, which is of course a great opportunity for us. 

Competence supply is a crucial issue for the door industry. What competence challenges do you see ahead, and how do you work within the Montagegruppen to attract and retain the right competence in a rapidly changing industry?

Since there is no specific training that provides the broad skills needed to become a door fitter, we always need to work on knowledge transfer within the organization so that our fitters can become independent in their work. This is of course both an advantage and a disadvantage, as the time and finances must be available for that, but at the same time there are many different backgrounds that can include previous work experience. So the challenge is that it becomes quite expensive to hire new staff, and difficult to plan the time needed for learning on the job. Then it becomes extra important for us that the staff wants to stay for a longer period of time. We try to get everyone together once a week to get the team together, and a few times a year we come up with something extra fun. Of course, we have market-based salaries and are affiliated with a collective agreement. But I really agree. If it were easier to find competent staff, we could also expand the business.