Mats Klarén - a life in the service of electricity

A year as a retiree, tell us about it.

It's busy, as we retirees usually say. It may sound funny, but there's truth to it. When I visit Nexans today, it hardly feels like I've been away for a day. At the beginning of retirement, I missed a lot of the daily social interaction, the everyday chatter you have at the coffee table or when someone unexpectedly drops by your office. But the longing has started to fade; I am involved in so many other things.

Such as?

To sum it up quickly, I start each day with a lie-in; I now get up at 6:00 instead of 5:00.

Rain, snow, and ice require more activity, but as I said, most things I can control digitally now, except for clearing the grates from leaves in the fall, for example.

You're retired but still ensuring we get electricity?

Yes, that's right, but I've had that interest my whole life, so it doesn't just stop because you retire.

What do you do after checking the hydroelectric power stations?

It could be anything; helping the family, one day a week I pick up my grandchild from preschool, twice a week I do physiotherapy for my bad knees, my wife and I bought electric bikes this year, so there's been a lot of cycling too. It's fun to cycle, but I'm probably a bit dangerous when I cycle around at 25 km/h in the town.

I have always been involved in politics, so now that there is more time, I have increased my involvement in local politics, including the planning committee. Primarily, I engage in planning issues with an overview and detailed plans. It interests me, and it feels meaningful to influence where you live.

Moreover, I attend adult education school half a day a week. It's a course for 55+, but my friends and I are the youngest in the class, so I would rather say it's 65+. We are a discussion group of around 20 people.

Exciting, what kind of course attracts people of that age?

It's titled "Why did it turn out the way it did?". Partly, we talk about why our own lives turned out the way they did, but also broader contexts like why the world looks the way it does. There's a lot of discussion about history and politics, about chance and what other factors influence.

You also share music tips?

Yes, we were supposed to play a song that had an impact on us and talk about the situation we heard it in. I talked about when I had just started at Domneåns Kraft AB in 1974. I was 19 years old, and it was time for the obligatory Friday coffee at the local pastry shop. The coffee break was always a little preparation for the Saturday dance at Ekåsens Festplats. My older colleague was an excavator operator and owned an American convertible that we cruised through the sun with the wind in our hair—I had more hair back then. Blueberry Hill by Fats Domino played from the speakers. Every time I hear it, I remember that car and the feeling of freedom.

*Ring* Now we were interrupted because you received a call; who was it?

It was my mom; her birthday is coming up, and I ordered a sandwich cake for the ladies yesterday. Now she called and said that a friend was allergic, so I need to stop by the bakery and adjust the order. You see, always busy.

We better move on. How did the electricity industry become "your thrill"?

Haha, I didn't need a Blueberry Hill; I was more or less born into it. My grandfather, my uncles, and practically my whole family have worked with electrical distribution in one way or another. As a child, I got to tag along and found it fun to help them dig and climb poles.

What titles have you had?

I started as a line installer at Domneåns Kraft. It was about a year after my first attempt to get in. My uncle was the boss there and first said, "It's not for you, you're so small and frail." But the second time, he hired me, and I stayed in the industry until retirement. After that, I became a planner, creating documentation for technical cable dimensioning and had a lot of contact with landowners to agree on pole placements when we installed overhead power lines. Then I worked at ABB as a sales engineer before returning to Domneåns Kraft and becoming the facility manager.

How was it to come back?

It was probably the biggest challenge I had. My two uncles were now under me, and they could be quite tough. But I could always threaten to send my mom (their sister) after them, so it worked out well.

How do you look back on your time with Nexans?

Incredibly positively, it was a fantastic period in my life. I commuted between Mullsjö and Grimsås, before Covid-19, I also spent 2-3 days a week visiting customers. Despite all the driving, it has always been very developmental and interesting. Nexans personnel are incredibly competent and good, and we've always had fun—that's why I stayed for 24 years.

A little obligatory memory lane - any memories beyond the ordinary?

One was when Nexans' Lars Josefsson sold ducts in medium-voltage cables to Denmark. We didn't have such a product; there were neither adapted ducts nor adapted fiber optic cables, so there was frantic activity at the Grimsås factory while we were in Denmark trying to make it work. The first time we tried to blow an optical cable, we reached 25cm, which was far from the requirement of 1.5km. It probably took a year, but thanks to everyone's commitment, we solved it and had developed a completely new product.

Other memories from a life in the industry?

The snowstorm on November 17, 1995. I was Network Manager at Vattenfall, and the storm had a significant impact on the power grid. We had one line left that worked; everything else was gone. I had to bring in 80 extra installers, as well as the military and helicopters to fix it. It took a few weeks.

Speaking of the military, weren't you an electrician in the service of the United Nations?

Yes, indeed, the year was 1976, and I wasn't actually an electrician, but I still applied for a UN position as an electrician. How hard could it be, I thought. I had been to northern Germany before, so Cyprus felt very far from home. I had done my military service earlier, but I would still say that this was where I moved away from home for real—here you couldn't go home to mom on weekends. I learned to take responsibility and appreciate Mediterranean food.

As an electrician, I mostly went on missions alone, such as inspecting power plants, and the like. On one occasion, I drove into the demilitarized zone when the Turks came with their tanks and thought I should leave. With tank barrels pointed at my car, I didn't protest but left. Another time, a group of us drove through Varosha, a district that was blocked in the 1974 war and is still deserted today. One of the guys I was with looked Greek, and of course, the Turks came and waved their weapons. They thought we were smuggling Greeks through the area. It wasn't the time to wave weapons from our side, but it eventually worked out. You can talk your way out of most things if people are willing to listen. The time in Cyprus undoubtedly influenced and shaped me.

Any technical shifts in the industry that you remember?

The biggest for me on the power distribution side must be when we switched from bare wire to coated wire (BLL/BLX) in overhead lines. Suddenly, a tree could remain on the line, and personal protection was better. It was significant. However, the era of BLL/BLX was relatively short-lived, even though it still exists in some areas. When the major storms swept through Sweden, it became clear that we should abandon overhead cables and bury as much as possible instead. Storms could blow several trees onto the lines and break poles; it didn't help that the cable was coated. Since 2005, burying so much cable in Sweden has improved reliability and provided extreme customer benefits. Now it can be windy and come a lot of wet snow without anyone losing their power.

If you could look into the crystal ball of the electricity industry, what does it look like?

If society is to manage the transition to fossil-free, there needs to be an enormous change in the transport sector, which will drive the development of power grids and electricity production. Large investments and expansion are required. I'm not worried about the cables and reliability; we have that under control nowadays. It's only mechanical impact, such as landslides when roads disappear, that poses a challenge in that regard.

And the electricity industry as a future profession?

With the expansion required, it is definitely a future profession. Trained personnel are needed to handle the transition. It shouldn't be so difficult, considering how varied, enjoyable, and good the industry is.

Any advice for those considering entering the industry?

My advice is more for the industry itself; today, when families share responsibility equally at home, it's crucial to be able to have a job nearby.

In my opinion, there needs to be more locally rooted electrical distribution with local management of operations and maintenance. While centralization and outsourcing may be more efficient, when something happens, you want people on the spot who know their grid inside and out and know every weakness in it. Having the right people in the right place is incredibly important when problems arise and saves a lot of valuable time that can be life-saving.

Thanks, now you're free to adjust the sandwich cake order.

Well, first, I need to check in with Nexans Design Lab and see what they are up to. It's incredibly exciting to follow Nexans even from the sidelines!