Meet the people in the Pine Tar Factory

The pine tar factory

Reggae musician, baker and former tram driver. At the Pine Tar Factory, there are 28 employees with many different experiences and stories. But they are all an important part of Auson’s story, which started in 1928. Meet Seydina, Yasmine, Monica and Daniel, who are right at the heart of the business.

The smell of tar hits you as soon as you enter the Pine Tar Factory. The atmosphere is happy and the pace is fast. The employees have just had their breakfast and are ready to continue with the day’s work. For Yasmine Johnsson, today this means working at the so-called tar dissolver – the first station in the pine tar production line. She works with quick, experienced hands and explains what she is doing – all with bright eyes and a huge smile.

– I was immediately hooked on the wonderful atmosphere in the factory and all the wonderful people who always give me energy. There is a fantastic commitment here and I get to influence my own everyday life. Basically, it’s the production itself that gets me excited. I love the feeling of getting the products out – especially when we’ve had the knife to the throat. It’s never good to relax, you have to feel that you’re alive.

Johan started in the tar paint factory at Auson just over three years ago. He left the world’s largest paint group, Akzo Nobel, after 20 years. He was simply hungry for new challenges.

– Here I get to work with Seydi who is always dancing and singing, with Izza who starts every day with a laugh and with Makkonen who still shows gratitude for the job after 30 years. It’s the people in the tar paint factory who make the job extra fun.

Meet some of the People at the Tar Paint Factory

Johan Sporrong

“I was immediately drawn to the wonderful atmosphere in the factory and all the colorful people who always give me energy.”

Seydina Gueye

“I love this job. There’s always a lot happening and I’m constantly learning. During my three years here, I’ve tried most things and there’s always something new to tackle.”

Daniel Börjesson

“Being a union representative is important, fun, and challenging for me. Moreover, the role means I get even more colleagues in the team from IF Metall.”

At the company, there is also Monica Larsson, who has become something of a mother figure. She, like many others, has worked at the company for a full ten years. Colleagues often come to her when they need to “talk things out” about this and that, and she gladly tidies up in the kitchen. She’s also one of those responsible for the important Friday coffee and lottery each week.

“All the wonderful people are what have made me stay. It’s simply the people who motivate me in my job. We’re always quick to laugh and can talk about anything. The fact that we’re a strong team and enjoy each other’s company so much is why many of us have stayed for so long. But when we play the lottery, we dream together about what we would do if we won,” says Monica Larsson with a laugh.

Sista stationen i tjärprocessen är etiketteringen. Olika etiketter ska på för Rödtjära, Svarttjära, Tjärvitriol, Bruntjära och Tjärolja. Idag är det Seydina Gueye som märker tomma burkar med Rödtjära. Han jobbar med kvicka, säkra fingrar samtidigt som han nynnar på en låt från den nya reggaeskivan. Seydina, som kommer från Senegal, flyttade till Sverige 2008 – enbart för att satsa på sin musik. Till tjärfabriken kom han för tre år sedan, tack vare brodern Samba som också jobbar här.

“I love this job. There’s always a lot happening and I’m constantly learning. During my three years here, I’ve tried most things and there’s always something new to tackle. My colleagues appreciate that I’m a cheerful and lively guy who’s open and friendly,” says Seydina laughingly and proudly shares that his artist name is Mandoza.

The final stop in the tar paint factory is the filling station. Today, it’s Daniel Börjesson who’s busy filling Red Tar. Before he starts, he checks the filling order and calculates the weight. It’s important that the weight is correct. He started at the company 15 years ago.

“I started in the lab and learned many important basics. Over the years here, I’ve had various areas of responsibility – right now I’m mostly working on preparing everything for the actual production. But because I have such broad knowledge, I can step in wherever I’m needed.”