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SUSTAINABLE ORGANISATION

SMALL SCALE BUSINESS, LARGE SCALE WISE

The best business decisions are made by people who live close to the market, which is why Addtech is fully entrepreneur-oriented so that our companies can focus on their business and develop their operations in a sustainable direction.

Entrepreneurial spirit and a small-scale approach are part of Addtech’s DNA. We have a highly decentralised organisation in which the subsidiaries have great freedom to act independently. There is room here for the entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility and efficiency of the small company. At the same time, each company bears considerable responsibility for meeting high expectations in terms of earnings growth and profitability, and for pursuing its operations in accordance with our Code of Conduct.

Addtech’s success is based on a clear organisational structure, clear targets and our core values. The organisation is flat and decentralised. Our unique model is both large-scale and small-scale to foster optimal conditions.

“We’re not really that complicated. The guiding principle is that life should be easy for our companies, not for us at the head office,” says Malin Enarson, CFO at Addtech. We are working hard on our Group-wide culture, through which simplicity runs like a common thread.

A continuous close and constructive dialogue is maintained between the Group and the companies. The Group guides in matters relating to acquisitions, business development, accounting, financing, IT and data security and issues of sustainability. Addtech demands as little as possible from the companies with regard to reporting or other central directives. Instead, development plans are prepared in which the companies set targets for the future, particularly for sales and margins, but also those in which activities are also specified to advance our positions in important areas, including growth, profitability, digitalisation and sustainability. This is how the companies experience responsibility, as well as freedom, which is one of Addtech’s four core values.

Ultimately, our employees are those who make the difference. Our culture is largely built on the fundamental idea that if our employees grow, the business will also grow. Accordingly, the objective is to have the most satisfied employees in the industry. To achieve this, we offer individual development opportunities in an organisation that fosters diversity and equality.

One of our prioritised sustainability targets is to increase the proportion of women within Addtech. We believe the best teams are diverse in nature, with an even gender distribution playing an important part. Gender equal teams are often innovative and high-performing, while also optimally combining different perspectives and experiences.

“Although preconceived notions about women and technology probably prevailed in the past – I no longer perceive this to be a problem,” says Helena Benjamin, external sales representative at Stigab in Stockholm. “I have worked in the technology industry for 25 years and I feel that attitudes are gradually shifting in the right direction. My sales role at Stigab mainly involves project management, in which I act as a liaison between customers and suppliers. So, in addition to certain technical expertise, it is important to be able to build relationships, engender trust and drive projects forward.”

Stigab is part of the Components business area and offers components and customised solutions in areas such as joysticks, switches, sensors and EMC shields, as well as thermal materials. We have more than 3,000 products in stock and a product range including more than a million variants.

“Getting more women into the Addtech Group is certainly a challenge. But I feel the Group’s commitment to the issue is genuine and that there is a great desire for more mixed teams, to safeguard the appropriate expertise throughout the organisation. For example, I am part of the Group-wide AddQ network, which was set up to get more women to choose the sales profession as a career path within Addtech’s subsidiaries. As an external sales representative, I can hopefully inspire other women in the Group to dare take the step into a really exciting position,” says Helena.

”The Group’s commitment to the issue of gender equality is genuine”

Carolin Burlin, Recab

Addtech’s Sustainable Organisation focus area envisions having 40 percent women in leading positions by 2030. Although we still have a long way to go, our ambition is definitely to achieve this target. One woman holding a leading position within Addtech is Carolin Burlin, Managing Director of Recab, which is part of the Automation business area. Recab currently has about 35 employees in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and offers products and solutions in areas such as industrial automation.

“Recab works with many of the current hot buzzwords in the technical industry: AI, Industry 4.0, Machine Learning and Embedded Computers.

You absolutely do not have to be a technical nerd to hold a leading position in the technology industry,” says Carolin. We must improve at highlighting female role models interested in technology. Of course technology is a broad concept encompassing an infinite number of products, solutions and tasks.

Recab is well on its way to achieving the vision of 40 percent women in leading positions. According to Carolin, 33 percent of the company’s management are currently women.

“For us, having the right skills and commitment within the company is crucial,” says Caroline. As the Managing Director of an Addtech subsidiary, I am absolutely certain that Group management’s support in pursuing the issue of gender equality is genuine. We must improve further in creating mixed workplaces at which women and men can contribute together to developing sustainable products and technical solutions.

Addtech analyzes its sustainability work in accordance with the UN’s global goals. Most of our subsidiaries already hold advanced positions in this process, simply because sustainable solutions and products generate business value. For us, reducing our climate footprint is a particularly important area. The ambition is to be able to offer high-tech solutions and products that last a long time and have a minimal impact on the environment.

Compotech works purposefully to mitigate its adverse climate effects in terms of, for example, emissions related to goods transports. The company is part of the Components business area and has suppliers and customers around the world.

”Our customers can choose the most climatesmart mode of transport”

Alexander Lindblom, Compotech

“With the help of a carbon dioxide emissions tool, we have produced data that our sales people use right from the quotation stage in the dialogue with the customer,” says Alexander Lindblom, Product Manager Lighting Control at Compotech. The data allows us to quantify different scenarios and compare the extent of the carbon dioxide emissions incurred by air, road, rail or maritime transports. Customers take a highly positive view of this as it allows them to see and choose the most climate-friendly mode of transportation. That means not only what is most affordable – but what minimises carbon emissions.

Alexander believes that customers focus far more on sustainability today, and impose greater demands than previously, which he welcomes.

For Compotech, there has been potential for improvement precisely in terms of the company’s climate impact regarding CO2 emissions related to transport. An aspect for which it is now possible to have a strategy.

“When we convince the customer to choose to import a product from Asia by ship and truck instead of air, we are able to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents by up to 95 percent. In our calculation example, a 200 kg and 2 m3 transport from Shanghai to Solna, this entails a climate-smart saving of approximately 2.7 tonnes of CO2e. Compotech’s vision is to achieve net-zero CO2 future emissions and has identified that close cooperation and joint initiatives with customers as highly significant in attaining this.

“We can now see that many of our customers are ready to make this transition to more climate-efficient transport alternatives,” Alexander concludes.

Åsa Skarbrandt, Business Unit Manager Energy Products

”Our decentralised model enhances the commitment and entrepreneurship of our employees”

I joined Addtech in 2006. The corporate culture is characterised by an openness to new ideas, short decision paths and substantial personal responsibility and freedom. Much is down to the individual. If you are passionate about something that could benefit your department, your company or the Group as a whole, you are afforded considerable opportunities to make it a reality.
It is important not to underestimate the relevance of the corporate culture to Addtech’s success. I believe our greatest strength lies in the decentralised manner in which we run the operations. This fosters commitment and entrepreneurship among our employees and is a prerequisite for being able to develop and grow at the pace we seek. We value entrepreneurship greatly as it enhances companies’ agility and responsiveness in taking advantage of all the business opportunities embodied in a shifting market and the world beyond.
Within the Group, a key bearer of this culture is the Addtech Academy. All employees have an opportunity to develop here and to immerse themselves in the corporate culture.
This is particularly relevant to our capacity for integrating newly acquired subsidiaries and for quickly acquainting their employees with Addtech’s Group-wide “spirit”.

Christian Goding, Business Area Controller Power Solutions

”We are experts in adapting to change”

I joined the Addtech Group from the very beginning and have progressed from working with uncomplicated office tasks to working as a controller. Although Addtech is now a relatively large listed company, for me it feels like working for a small, family-owned company. We never lose sight of the individual here, we are unpretentious and help one another to succeed. Our core values – simplicity, efficiency, change, and responsibility and freedom – reflect the environment here very well. We discuss our core values extensively and their significance for the daily operations to create the best conditions for employees, helping them perform optimally.
Much of Addtech’s corporate culture builds on an adaptability to change. If our decentralised structure did not have such independent and strong subsidiaries, for example, it would have been much more difficult for them to deal with the 2019 cyber attack or the ongoing pandemic as well as they have. In a changing world, it is important that the subsidiaries have the responsibility – but also the freedom to act alone. They must be able to act as independently as possible in everyday life and to make the decisions necessary in developing the operations in a positive direction.

Holly Meehan, Finance Manager Craig & Derricott Ltd

”Everyone at Addtech has been so helpful”

I perceive the corporate culture at Addtech as a crucial success factor. It really encourages each employee to act independently, efficiently and to not complicate matters. At the same time, there is a strong desire in day-to-day operations to lift ones sights, enabling us at Craig & Derricott to contribute to the long-term sustainability goals set by the Group.
My career at Addtech began in 2015 when, as an 18-year-old, I became a business administration intern at the subsidiary Craig & Derricott. My professional path since then has been fantastic, and today I am the Finance Manager at Craig & Derricott. This would not have been possible had I not received the invaluable support of the Parent Company in Sweden. The people at Addtech have helped me greatly, constantly pushing me to develop, both in my professional role and personally. A finely tuned balance between responsibility and freedom is applied, as well as the positive fundamental attitude that all challenges can be solved.

Kevin Nunkoosingh, Application and Development Engineer Compotech

An inspiring atmosphere that brings out the best in the individual”

I have worked at Addtech subsidiary Compotech since 2018. Back then, I had the opportunity to join the team of engineers working with a wide range of modern technologies: from the design of hardware to embedded software. And I really love it! The corporate culture here at Compotech, and within Addtech in general, brings out the best in each employee. I feel that management affords me significant trust and I am encouraged to develop myself, fostering perfect conditions for both personal and professional growth. My more experienced colleagues ensure that we slightly newer employees gradually become familiar with the successful corporate culture. At the same time, we are able to introduce new ideas and knowledge.
Right from the start, I wanted to help develop and improve the cooperation between the Group’s subsidiaries. I then got to be involved in creating a system on Yammer that we call Addtech Open Engineering. It is a digital platform for jointly developing and improving technical solutions and products for customers within the Group. This creates new opportunities for the subsidiaries to help each other broaden their offerings. As a relative newcomer to Addtech, it feels amazing to have had the chance to be involved in developing and starting up the platform.

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