Lena Allzén
Lena has had a long and exciting career at Munters, but it almost ended before it truly began. When she joined as a mechanical and energy engineer in August 1990, she quickly found herself facing an unexpected challenge.
Moral dilemma
“My dad worked in the defense industry and, as a young pacifist, I often had serious discussions with him about it. One of my first projects at Munters involved installing systems in underground military bases. I lost some sleep over it before realizing that the caverns needed dehumidification for one reason: to protect material and equipment from corrosion. In the end, I made peace with that.”
Early on in her career, Lena worked on several industry projects, including one with ABB, a global technology company specializing in electrification, automation, robotics, and motion solutions. At the time, ABB produced electrical underwater cables in need of Munters expertise in climate control.
“The paper isolation layers of the cables needed to be really dry, so we used multi-stage dehumidification.”
Never a dull moment
The wide variety of customers is what has kept Lena at the company for 34 years – from installing dehumidifiers on bridges to prevent corrosion to ensuring moisture doesn’t seep into chocolate during production.
"I have always been interested in working with technology that supports people in their everyday lives. The variety of customers and their systems have kept me busy and taught me a lot. I’ve never had a dull moment at Munters."
In the early 2000s, Lena and her team started promoting a new product called DesiCool. DesiCool can both cool and heat a facility without using refrigerants or chillers.
“It helped us reach far and deep into our society,” Lena recalls. “Stores, offices, concert halls, opera houses and museums were just some of the customers that used our technology. Suddenly, Munters was everywhere.”
The importance of mastering social skills
During her time at Munters, Lena has worn many hats. She started as a project leader, but after reorganization, was promoted to manager of the project department. She has also worked as a salesperson, in technical support and as the manager of customer support for MEAS, the Swedish sales organization located at the head office in Stockholm.
“What I learned was that it isn’t enough to know our product; you need to understand the customer and their processes to come up with the right solutions. That is why it’s so important to have cross-functional teams and share our different perspectives. Working together makes us so much stronger.”
Looking ahead, Lena stresses the importance of investing in social skills as much as technical skills. “We need both to be successful.”
This becomes even more critical as the company develops larger systems.
“I hope we can invest more in the people who interact with our customers, as their role is becoming increasingly important,” she says. “Munters is a global company that truly makes a difference, and we are already a key player in the green transformation for many of our customers. To take this to the next level, customer focus is key.”
