The development of PRO24 was the culmination of Ulf Borg’s long career

To Ulf Borg At the age of 57, he was offered another chance to turn over a new leaf in his professional life. Borg seized the opportunity, and he has never regretted that decision. Protect’s As a division head, he was able to pursue his passion for development, PRO24 system or so. In early May, a new chapter in my life began after “Uffen” retired to enjoy his well-earned retirement. —At Protect, I began my third career, which has been truly interesting and rewarding. Based on my experience, I encourage others to seize this opportunity at a stage in life when mortgages are usually paid off and the children have found their own places. Over the course of a long career, all sorts of burdens accumulate, and leaving even that behind felt like a relief, he says. Borg, who studied information technology and majored in control engineering in Otaniemi, has had an impressive career. He wrote his master’s thesis at Outokumpu in Espoo, where he began working as an employee after completing his military service. “We supplied automation systems mainly to the mining and metal industries in Finland and abroad.” In 1986, an opportunity arose to return to my hometown, and I transferred to Outokumpu’s Kokkola plant as an automation engineer. Most of my work involved developing automation for the power plant.

Borg’s second career was sparked by personnel changes at the power plant, which led to Paavo Monni, who had made a name for himself as the Outokumpu Group’s energy director, asking Borg if he would like to take over the energy side. -It took him 20 years in the post. Outokumpu, and later IVO and Fortum, had seen many different kinds of leadership. I have always liked development and construction. That’s why the two steam boiler projects I led are particularly memorable. Over the course of two decades, Borg became a well-known and well-liked figure in the Kokkola power industry. Among other things, he was instrumental in setting up the KIP Association, which promotes cooperation between companies in the region. -Every company in the KIP region benefits from smart cooperation. It makes it much easier for an individual company to invest when it is surrounded by an efficient and effective community. The years 2006-2010 were a period of particularly enthusiastic development in the KIP region. Hopefully, businesses in the region will find the same sense of purpose and working together today. Fortum invested heavily in safety, and Mr Borg laughs that he was able to establish such a safety link within the company that it sparked a whole new interest in safety issues in him. In that situation, the opportunity that opened up at Protect in the spring of 2009 was more than a good fit. Protect made the right decision to make a strong use of digitalisation in the development of safety,” says Ulf Borg.

-The development of the PRO24 system has been a huge success. And to be involved at 57 in creating something completely new in an industry that has traditionally been quite conservative. At Protect, we have safety experts from a wide range of industries, but customers also play a very important role in the development process,” says Borg, emphasising the importance of customer input. He stresses the importance of a long-term and planned approach to developing a safety culture. Safety starts with an attitude, and attitudes cannot be changed overnight. PRO24 has convinced a wide range of customers, including many top Finnish brands, that PRO24’s safety development is the best way to improve safety. – The functionality of PRO24’s individual tools, its comprehensive range and its usability are the things that set us apart from our competitors. The continuous development of the system ensures that Protect will continue to be a sought-after partner in the future. What greetings does Borg send to its customers and its extensive network of partners? -It has been very rewarding to work together to solve sometimes very challenging issues. I have had the opportunity to work in a very good working environment and with nice people. And then those pension plans? -No big plans. Life goes on, and now I have more time for family, grandchildren and cottages.