“I CHOSE THE FUTURE”
During her time at Tervakoski Films Group, Oksana Podolets has developed into a passionate process-streamlining professional. She is grateful for the way she has been welcomed both as a graduate at the turn of the millennium, as well as when she, along with her children, had to flee the war from Ukraine to Slovakia more than two decades later.
Oksana Podolets, Integrated Management System (IMS) manager at Tervakoski Films Group, was born in Lutsk, Ukraine. Her family soon moved to the smaller town of Kamin-Kashyrskyi, 120 km northwest of Lutsk, to be close to Oksana’s grandparents. Oksana was always puzzled as to how her parents could leave the big and exciting city of Lutsk, and so after finishing school, she chose to move back and study at the same university her parents had once attended. “I was lucky enough to be able to combine two passions of mine, English and mathematics, as the university in Lutsk offered a new line of applied linguistics. English had been a passion of mine since my school days, probably because of my fantastic English teacher who helped me not only to understand the grammatical aspects of the language, but also the benefits that English could offer me in the future.”
A TASTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Sure enough, Oksana’s language skills soon came in handy. In 1999, Terichem, which was later to become Tervakoski Films Group, opened its production unit in Lutsk and was actively looking for young, multilingual people to join the company. At the time, Terichem was one of few international companies in Lutsk, and young Oksana, eager to broaden her horizons, jumped at the chance.
“Ukraine was not very modern or open-minded in the 1990s, so I was thrilled to join a company with Slovakian and Finnish investors”, Oksana recalls and continues with a laugh: “But I must admit, at the beginning, I was afraid of what I was getting myself into. I knew nothing about production and I knew absolutely nothing about polypropylene.”
Oksana soon realised that she had nothing to worry about. Her more experienced colleagues never doubted her and gave her all the support she needed to become acquainted with the production process. One particular memory she has from the early days is when she was translating Slovak instructions for use at the Ukrainian factory. “This was a time-consuming but excellent way for me to get to know both the production and the Slovak language. At the same time, I set up an internal vocabulary to keep track of our processes in Slovak, Ukrainian and English”. After a brief period as a production shift leader, where she functioned as a link between the production management and the operators, Oksana found her place in the company; the quality department.
SECURING QUALITY AND DURABILITY ACROSS BORDERS
Over time, her role has evolved and since 2018, Oksana has worked as Integrated Management System (IMS) manager at group level. Including all management systems (health, safety, quality and environmental) under one umbrella ensures that processes are uniform in the factories in Slovakia and Ukraine. In addition to being more practical, this harmonization ensures durable and high-quality products produced under safe conditions. As part of the development work, Oksana is cooperating with the Svit-based R&D team to transfer customer requirements all the way to the production in Lutsk. While the R&D team analyses the requirements and creates specifications for how to incorporate them, Oksana and her IMS team integrate these specifications into the necessary control plans, documents and working instructions.
“I enjoy my work, it’s a never-ending learning process. New requirements, especially from the demanding automotive segment mean we must keep challenging and developing the way we work. I have spent a lot of time in production in Lutsk, and now also in Svit, to follow how new requirements are being executed and to find out if we can streamline the processes even further.”
A NEW WELCOME UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES
On February 24, 2022, the world was shocked to see the escalation of the war in Ukraine. To ensure the safety of its personnel, Tervakoski Films Group temporarily shut down the factory in Lutsk. As soon as women and children from some of the families had been evacuated to Slovakia, the remaining colleagues wished to get back to work. Only nine days after the invasion began, the factory was up and running and production has run smoothly ever since.
”My male colleagues, including my husband who needed to stay in Lutsk, wanted to get back to work. It was better for them to keep themselves occupied, rather than sitting at home worrying about a situation that no one had any control over.”
Together with her two children, Oksana chose to go to Svit where she could continue working. She has been overwhelmed by the way her Slovakian colleagues have supported them, and after having volunteered at the Red Cross organisation in Poprad to help fellow Ukrainians, she considers herself and her children very lucky.
“I have seen and heard a lot of hardships that my fellow Ukrainians have had to endure. This makes me even more grateful for Tervakoski Films Group. My colleagues have taken such good care of us and have supported us to an extent that is difficult to even describe.”
The months in Svit have gone smoothly both when it comes to work and personal life. The pandemic had already taught everyone that you can do almost anything from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Oksana works just as efficiently as she did in Lutsk, and her daughter, 14, has been able to continue with her school studies remotely.
“But my son who is only four years old is missing his father, so we are planning to return home soon.”
CHOOSING THE FUTURE
Early on in her career at Tervakoski Films Group, Oksana left the company, only to return two years later. “I chose the future”, she says about the decision to come back — a decision she has never regretted.
“I’m so proud of being a part of Tervakoski Films Group. This wonderful group of people over three countries is astonishing, and they are the most reliable colleagues you can ever imagine. I’ll never be afraid to take on new challenges, as I know I have support from everyone around me. The people I work with are my greatest motivation, and together, I’m sure we will keep developing products of even higher durability in the future”.