Since February I’ve been a full-time employee of ABB’s HVDC company. It has been an amazing learning experience and everyday there’s something new. Like with all my ”projects”, and everything that I engage myself in, I give 110 %. Sometimes it is frustrating, because things don’t always turn out the way you expect. But being firm in what you want, is always the best step forward.

What I found fascinating about HVDC and ABB during my working periods while studying, was that not many people knew about Sweden actually still having great industry, even less so a high technology frontier like HVDC-technology. Because that is what it is. I truly believe HVDC is a thing for the future.

I remember my first time spent in Ludvika. This was by the department who assembles the thyristor and IGBT valves. There was a man there named Glenn. He had been working at ABB (ASEA) for all his life, and he shared many stories with me. History is a subject warm to my heart, I read a lot of historical books, both fiction and non-fiction… so in a way it is natural that I searched for a read of the history of the company at which I spend my days.

So when Percy Barnevik, entreprenaur and long time industry leader and manager of ABB had his memoirs published in the middle of October, I just had to read it. It is a great read, where you learn not only of ASEA, the fusion with bbc, and the hard times due to the acquisition of ce (Combustion Engineering, US), but also about Barnevik himself, his thoughts about life and the people he met. I’m only half way through yet. But I’m learning the story from the man who sat in the very centre.