And we’re off! This summer, production began at Proton Engineering’s
new subsidiary in Klaipeda. CEO Marcus Malveholm and site manager Tomas Kocius are excited.
“This is a historic venture which allows us to benefit from the industry’s continuing trend towards internationalisation. The plan is to expand rapidly,” says Marcus Malveholm.
Our subsidiary in Lithuania is a strategically important part of Proton Engineering’s ambitious future ventures.
“It’s our way of being able to meet our customers’ expectations of high quality at competitive prices. We need to be more cost-effective when it comes to our labour-intensive products and processes, i.e. production that requires manual effort,” explains Marcus Malveholm.
This mainly applies to assembly, and so it is this stage of production that is now being moved from Skillingaryd to Lithuania.
For customers, Proton Engineering’s presence in Lithuania means even greater closeness and flexibility.
“Logistically speaking, Klaip eda is the heart of Lithuania. Klaipe da is the country’s largest seaport, enabling efficient maritime transport between Sweden and Lithuania. The location is also strategically excellent for land transport. To the south, there is easy access to Germany and Central Europe, to the east there are excellent connections to Russia and Belarus, and to the north we can reach Latvia, Estonia and Finland,” says Tomas Kocius, backed by Marcus Malveholm:
“Klaip eda’s logistical location is equivalent to the ‘Southern Swedish Cross’ in Värnamo.” Proton Engineering will have a new international presence which will benefit our customers.
For Proton Engineering, the subsidiary will allow us to grow organically and expand with new customers.
“Through our international strategy and new geographical location, we can attract
customers in new markets, in Europe and to the east. We have a few interesting
relationships which we hope to develop, both existing and new customers who require our skills and whose demand for geographical proximity we will now be able to meet,” says Marcus Malveholm.
He emphasises the fact that Lithuania is part of Proton Engineering’s expansion strategy and is a way of bolstering development in Skillingaryd:
“By moving the manual and labourintensive parts of our production process to
Klaip eda, we can free up capacity and resources in Skillingaryd. Power that we can use for our continued automation and standardisation efforts.”
Klaip eda is a flourishing economic zone undergoing major growth. The area has a strong industrial tradition, not just in shipbuilding, but also in pulp and paper production. The starting point is a generously sized industrial premises that have been refurbished and fitted out with ergonomic industrial lighting from Proton Lighting.
“Proton Engineering in Klaip eda will be known for offering good terms of employment and a good work environment. We’ll invest a lot in being an attractive place to work that can attract the best employees.
The workforce is relatively skilled in Klaipe da, although in Lithuania, just as in Sweden, there is tough competition for staff,” says Tomas Kocius, who is himself a
mechanical engineer with a background in the printing industry.
The first employees were in place in May, and production was getting off to a soft start in the early summer. The ambition is for production to be run in until the autumn,
by which time assembly of a majority of products will have been moved out of Skillingaryd.
“We’re starting by moving less complex high-volume production, and will then switch to higher complexity, followed by products in smaller ranges,” explains Tomas
Kocius.
Tomas Kocius and Marcus Malveholm make no secret of their plans for rapid expansion.
The target is for just over 20 employees by year’s end. There is also the potential to
double the size of the production area as the company grows. Investments in production equipment will be made, and assembly could be expanded with additional processes.
“Our international position will now give us more insight into market conditions and
expectations, which is beneficial in terms of continued cost rationalisation and procurement in the long run,” says Marcus Malveholm, who calls the venture historic:
“For us at Proton Engineering, this is a whole new era in which we can play an active part in the continued globalisation of the manufacturing industry. This venture gives us fantastic opportunities to develop our company culture so it becomes more international and inclusive. Working for us will mean new, exciting opportunities. Language, communication and acceptance of cultural differences will be more important. It also opens up the possibility of job exchanges across the various companies and the chance to operate on an international level. We’re now taking another step towards the Dream Factory.”
