Life at Konecranes Susanna Suikkanen: “Life is too short to hide who you are”

Susanna Suikkanen has worked at Konecranes for nearly three decades. During that time, she has taken on international assignments, solved complex technical challenges, and built a long career in electrical testing. More recently, she also took an important personal step by openly transitioning at work. 

Susanna has built a long career at the electrical equipment factory’s testing team, being now a team lead for 12 people. Her team ensures that the electrical cabinets and rooms assembled at the factory function correctly before they are installed in cranes. 

“These are quite complex systems that we build here, and if something doesn’t work, our team also needs to find a solution,” Susanna explains. 

Susanna joined at Konecranes as a trainee in 1997, with an opportunity to go abroad. Her first assignment took her to Thailand and then to Laos.  

“We commissioned cranes and supervised their electrical installations, both at the crane factory and at customer sites. It was demanding and the days were long, but it was also very interesting,” she says. 

The assignment in Thailand was the first of the several international experiences. Over the years, her work has taken her to countries such as France, China and Estonia, and she has also taken on different responsibilities, including acting as a union representative for the Finnish Electrical Workers’ Union. 

The importance of people along the way 

Throughout her career, colleagues have played an important role. Support, friendship and the opportunity to talk about different things have had a direct impact on how meaningful the work feels. 

“Having people at work you can talk to about more than just work has been really important,” Susanna emphasizes. 

In recent years, one colleague in particular has been important in supporting Susanna during her personal journey. 

“She encouraged me to take steps forward, for example to change my legal gender and to move to the women’s changing room.”