Jaakko Salo is motivated by the tangible results of product development in customers' production

A combination of expertise in the wood industry and technical skills has provided Jaakko with a solid foundation for his current role, where he is responsible for innovating measurement solutions for the sawmill industry.

Jaakko’s workdays start with a daily development team meeting, where current matters and customer projects are reviewed. After that, a typical workday consists of advancing projects, programming work, and guiding the development team.

– My job combines planning, monitoring, and hands-on work. I have been involved in developing the board scanner from the very beginning. Essentially, I am responsible for its development, functionality, and customer satisfaction. Working closely with customers is an important part of my role, Jaakko explains.

Like all knowledge-based work, Jaakko's role requires strong prioritization skills. Finnos currently has projects in Finland, other Nordic countries, and the United States, meaning there are plenty of matters requiring attention and progress.

– You need to know how to prioritize tasks so that the development and project teams can focus on the essentials, Jaakko says.

Jaakko highlights versatility and independence as the best aspects of his job. He also appreciates that the results of development work are tangible and directly visible in customer production.

When asked about a particularly memorable moment in his career at Finnos so far, Jaakko immediately recalls the completion of the board scanner product and its first delivery to a customer.

– We started from scratch, and eventually, there was a fully functional measuring device at the sawmill. It was a significant achievement for the whole team.

Jaakko believes that Finnos stands out from other players in the industry with its specialized expertise.

– Finnos is a Finnish company that develops measurement and software solutions for the sawmill industry in a way that is unique in globally.

Jaakko is also satisfied with the work community at Finnos. The atmosphere is open and conversational, which supports development work and decision-making. Close collaboration with different departments, such as sales and marketing, is essential to effectively meet customer needs.

Aiming for even better solutions for customers

The goal of Jaakko’s development team is to ensure that the Finnos Board Scanner remains at the forefront of innovation and that customers are provided with new solutions tailored to their needs.

– One of the significant future development directions is the deeper integration of data from various Finnos scanners. When a customer uses multiple Finnos scanners, we can analyze and measure the entire sawmill process from logs to finished boards more effectively. Combining this data provides a broader view of the production process, enabling more efficient control and optimization. The goal is to help customers maximize the value of raw materials and improve production profitability, Jaakko explains.

Developing new solutions and seeing the concrete impact of product development work motivates Jaakko. He finds his job particularly rewarding when the innovations created by the development team are implemented and bring real benefits to customers.

– The customer is at the center of our work. Customer satisfaction is achieved by meeting their needs with new solutions and excellent product support, Jaakko summarizes.