A lot can happen in 40 years
Community
Published on 27 February 2023
On February 1st 2023, Bodil Egsgaard marked her 40-year work anniversary at Vestas. To celebrate, she talked us through her journey so far.
Bodil Egsgaard is from Tarm, a small town in West Jutland, Denmark. She started working for Vestas in 1983 and is currently working as a Logistic System Specialist in Ringkøbing.
Vestas runs in the familiy
Working for Vestas has been a longstanding family tradition for Bodil. Both of her parents had worked for the company in her hometown, with her father in Service and her mother in the Blade Factory in Lem. Two of Bodil’s siblings are currently working for Vestas, and her third sibling – a younger sister – had worked for Vestas for 30 years before leaving in 2021.
A lot can happen in 40 years
Bodil’s working experience first began in 1983 as an office assistant in another company on a temporary contract. Her manager at the time was so fond of her, he offered her the opportunity to move to Lem (Denmark) and work with him at the nacelle factory, when he himself was offered a job there. They worked together for many years at Vestas.
“Vestas was a smaller company at that time. In 1983 there were only factories in Tarm and Lem. Now a lot has changed, more people and many factories exist over the whole world” – says Bodil.
In Lem, Bodil was tasked with cleaning up the Team Leader’s office. A lot of papers needed to be archived. It was a time before everything was done on computers. “It was a big mess, a lot of papers, invoices to suppliers, production orders, purchase orders … I think there was half a meter of papers from the table to the window. We had a small shed used as an office with just two workplaces. The shed was placed in the middle of the production area. So, there was a lot of contact with all the colleagues in production – which gave a great sense of community,”– says Bodil.
After some time, the factory moved, and Bodil got the opportunity to increase her responsibilities – including all-round work in warehouse planning, transactions in the ERP system etc. until Vestas nearly closed down in 1986. It was a remarkable year for Bodil as many of her good colleagues lost their jobs that year. As a consequence, her department moved to another location in Lem. After a couple of years, Bodil moved to Videbæk and after that Ringkøbing, before ultimately moving back to the Controls factory in Lem in 1999, and later the Blades factory in Lem again.
“It was a good time, with a lot of challenges and fun things to work on and of course good people,” – says Bodil.
More than a place to work
Over the years many of new colleagues joined Vestas, and in 1990, Bodil met four new colleagues with whom she started up a small “Food Club” and took lunch breaks with. Today, even though they do not work together anymore, they have managed to keep the tradition alive.
Bodil was also a part of a small group of colleagues who decided to create a sports union called ‘Company Sports’ at the Lem factory. The sports club made it possible for Bodil’s colleagues to play Football and Badminton for free. Once a year they arranged a football competition, where all Vestas employees located in Denmark could join with their own teams and play football against each other. Bodil and her colleagues rented a sports hall in Lem. After all the matches were played, they had a big party with good food and dancing.
A challenging job with lots of travel opportunities
Bodil has a wealth of experience working with digital systems at Vestas. Initially, she was tasked with investigating and implementing a Warehouse Management System in the Blades Factory in Lem. Despite encountering challenges during the process, it was successfully implemented and Bodil was tasked with implementing the same system in the Spare parts factory in Randers.
Later, Bodil moved to a Global Function where she provided support to all of Vestas' blade factories worldwide, traveling to countries such as China, Italy, Spain, and the US. When Vestas temporarily closed down its global support functions, Bodil took on the role of team leader for the Purchasing team at the Ringkøbing Nacelle factory. She later joined the ONE ERP project and traveled to Spain, Brazil, the US, China, and India to implement the SAP system in all of Vestas' nacelle factories.
In 2018, Bodil began working in Operation Support, where she is currently involved in projects, factory visits, support, and training. Bodil hopes to continue working in this department until she decides to leave the company.
Bodil has always had a passion for working with various digital systems and this is one of the reasons why she has stayed with the company for so long. She has fond memories of her time at Vestas.
“I have always loved working for Vestas. I have been challenged by new projects and systems and I have had the opportunity to work with great colleagues from all over the world”, Bodil says, and continues:
“One of the best projects was getting to implement the new ERP system. I was part of the project team that designed and rolled out the system to all Vestas nacelle factories worldwide. Those were two fantastic years’ travelling with good people and meeting great colleagues all over.”
Bodil states that when she started working for Vestas in 1983, it was small and only known in Denmark. It has been interesting to follow along how big Vestas has grown size-wise and gained international recognition. Currently, Bodil works in the Operations Support department and is responsible for training, supporting and visiting factories, as well as being a part of new projects and working on challenges related to planning and SAP development. She enjoys the contact she has with the people at the factories and takes satisfaction in helping them run the system on their own.
"I am thrilled to be working at Vestas. A fulfilling job is important, but having good colleagues and a competent manager is just as vital. It is essential to start each day with a positive attitude and a desire to go to work. A lighthearted and enjoyable work environment is crucial. I am currently part of a remarkable team in Ringkøbing and we have a great culture and a lot of fun together. My main focus is in the planning area where I provide support to all factories and work with the IT department on SAP development projects. I have two amazing colleagues from India, Jegathu and Ganesh, who provide excellent support and work together in a collaborative manner."
Acknowledgements from colleagues
"Honoring your 40 years of excellent service to Vestas, you're a true professional who's shown that excellence is something to aim for consistently. You inspire all of us to be more passionate about the work they do, and we know that you will only continue your hard work and commitment behind every action you do. It's wonderful to work with you to make the earth greener ☺ Thank you for your guidance and support to us always.”
- Ganesh Bharathi, Assistant Lead Professional Systems
“I have worked together with Bodil since 2015. This was in the OneERP project, which objective was to implement SAP and Apriso on all Vestas’ internal manufacturing factories. Therefore, I was so lucky to travel the world around (China, Denmark, USA and India) together with Bodil for around 18 months and today i still look back at that time as some of the most enjoyable time of my working life at Vestas, even that it was very hard work. For me, Bodil stands, as a true inspiration of many things, but especially in terms of dedication, quality insurance, passion, whilst having a lot of fun. And if I, when celebrating my 40th work-life anniversary, still have half of Bodil’s dedication, quality, passion and fun I am at a very good spot in life”
- Thomas Pedersen, SAP Supply Chain Specialist
“Since I meet Bodil I have seen her daily living Vestas Values, engaging herself in supporting all areas of the world and in all levels in the organization, with the same degree of engagement”
- Hans Henrik Petersen, Head of Supply Chain. Configuration Excellence
"Bodil is probably one of our colleagues who knows Vestas the best, during the implementation of SAP, she travelled the world to support the implementation with very high integrity and passion to do the best.”
- Tommy Rahbek Nielsen, Executive Vice President, COO