Orthex Oy and Valon kone Company Visit

We went to company visit as a part of our Skills 4.0 project. In the morning we visited the Orthex Oy first. We learned a lot of new things about plastic production. We were splitted in two groups. The first group went to Orthex factory. We were shown different machines and robots which made different plastic products. We all had safetyvests and we had to be careful, because a lot of forklifts and various machines were working in the factory. We learned a lot new information there. In the factory, there was also packing plants and the area where all the transports leave to the stores and customers. The second place where we went in Orthex was an office room. There we were told more about the production in Orthex. We heard for example: Orthex is going to reduce oil-based plastic by adding wood fiber to their plastic products. They also make recyclable plastic products. About 20% of their products are bio-based. The most important skills needed in the job in the future are team work and language skills and flexibility and ability to learn new things all the time. The Orthex Oy was really interesting and amazing experience. A lot of us were wondering about that would go there to summer job. All in the all the Orthex visit was really nice and nice variation to normal school day.

After Orthex Oy we went back to school to eat lunch. After that we went to Valon Kone Oy. It produces peeling mashines for forest industry. First we went to a meeting room and we were told about Valon kone company. After being told what the company does at this establishment, and having a light snack and being told about the safety protocols they had, they took us on a tour in the factory. During the tour they showed us around the factory and showed us step by step, how the assembly line works. They showed us how their production was mainly automated and done by robots, but they still had a few jobs which were done by humans, like the actual assembly and testing. They had robots for everything, even welding and organizing. Even though a lot of the jobs are done by robots, the company still employs almost 70 locals. They are a private company owned by an investor from the USA. In the future, after a vocational education the most important skills needed in the job in the company are language skills, team work skills and ability to learn new things. In the end, the tour around Valon Kone Oy was a nice eye opening experience.

Emilia Kantola, Jenni Katas, Aleksi Hakkarainen ja Pihla Lonka 9A,

Mäntynummen yhtenäiskoulu 2020.