Name: Antti Hassinen
Job title/position and company's name: Technical Support and Product Development Manager, Exel Composites Plc.
Education: Master of Philosophy (University of Eastern Finland, Chemistry), Doctor of Chemistry, University of Ghent

1

What was your dream job as a child? What led you to your school of choice?

During upper and high school, I became strongly interested in chemistry and through this I ended up studying chemistry at the University of Joensuu. During my master’s studies, I found that I was particularly interested in making real products and services for consumers. I aimed to pursue a career in industry after the a master’s degree but my lack of work experience made it difficult to get the first job in industry. After 6months of applying different jobs in Finland and Europe, I found myself in Belgium; I received my PhD in chemistry from the University of Ghent and during these years I used my time to build also a better network and connections to industry. We moved from Belgium back to Finland in 2013 and at that time I was able to start my career in the industry with Exel Composites Plc.
2

What does your company do/manufacture? What kind of innovations is your company working on?

Exel Composites Plc designs, manufactures and markets fiber-reinforced plastic products (= composites) and solutions for demanding industrial applications - our product range is very wide - we manufacture profile, pipe and laminate products for the energy and electrical industries, to the construction and paper industries and to the sports and maintenance industries. I started my career in the product development team as a project manager for our machine industry segment and I am currently the product development and technical support manager for the business unit of Finland. I work especially with solutions for the construction and electrical industries. Composites makes possible to design and manufacture cutting edge innovative solutions - they can for example replace conventional steel base elevator ropes with composite ones like in the case of KONE Ultrarope.
3

What are you most excited about at your job?

In product development and technical support, I can make an impact from the customer interface to our internal functions - I work with our sales, production, customer service and purchasing department on a daily basis, and this versatility makes every workday interesting. However, the most inspiring of all in my work is to get to know and develop new products and applications, many of which represent something that has not been seen before in the industry and are indeed industry-leading technology products.

Antti´s career in timeline

High school. Chemistry, biology, physics and english were my favorites.
University of Joensuu. Department of Chemistry. Summer jobs as a university researcher. Master’s degree 2008. The first trip to the big world (Chile 2002) opened up the enthusiasm for traveling and seeing something new.
University of Ghent, Belgium. Collaboration with IBM and Philips. Doctor of Chemistry 2013. “Daddy” since 2011.
Return to Finland in 2013 and employment with Exel Composites Plc. Adapting from the university world to industry. Buying your first own house in Joensuu. “Father ^ 2” from 2015 onwards.
Project Manager, machine industry segment. The journey to the composite industry has begun.
Product Development and Technical Support Manager 2016. With hard work and passion pushing my career onwards.