Marko – Maintenance Technician

Marko Pitkäaho, a maintenance technician at Lapp, has worked in electrical maintenance for almost his entire adult life. Although the world around him is changing rapidly, Marko’s role has remained remarkably consistent — much like his love for guitars.

After studying to become an IT mechanic in vocational school, Marko transitioned to his current duties back in 1997. Before that, he spent about a year at SKS Group’s warehouse, where he learned about the opportunity to move into a position that matched his education.

“My tasks have remained almost unchanged since then — only the company name has changed. Even my colleagues haven’t changed much, as my closest coworker started about a year after me,” Marko explains.

Marko is very familiar with Lapp Automation’s product range, and it hasn’t changed radically in 26 years.

“Technology evolves, though I’m not sure it’s always a good thing. Nowadays, we do the same things as before, but on a computer, and there’s less hands-on work. Individual components are no longer as easy to replace; often, you have to change the entire circuit board at once,” Marko reflects.

Radios, signal converters, sensors, and calibration

Workdays in Lapp Automation’s electrical maintenance follow the rhythm of customer needs.

“There’s no crystal ball to show me what will happen in the coming days. The work is guided by sales and customers’ maintenance requirements,” Marko says.

His tasks include not only discussions and emails with customers but also modifications and inspections of radio controllers. Sometimes, temperature transmitters and signal converters are programmed with values requested by the customer.

“Together with a couple of maintenance colleagues, we’re part of the sensor manufacturing team. We install transmitters into sensors and, when necessary, perform factory calibrations to provide documentation that they display accurate readings. For major customers like Metsä Fibre’s bioproduct mill in Kemi, we’ve delivered well over two thousand transmitters recently,” Marko explains.

Customer visits are less frequent than in previous years, but sometimes the job still requires traveling to the site — even to the other side of the world.

“The trip to Singapore stands out in my memory, and I’ve also been to Romania for work. There, I fixed a component fault at a device manufacturer together with their own representatives,” Marko recalls.

Guitar plays in his free time

In his free time, Marko enjoys playing guitar and collecting them. His home hides 19 guitars and every issue of Guitar Player magazine since its very first edition in 1967.

“I mostly play metal with my band, but I have guitars for every occasion. My latest acquisitions were actually a mandolin and a steel guitar, and I’ve been strumming a ukulele for quite a while too,” Marko laughs.

Guitars remain, but the approach changes over the years.

“As you age, learning new things becomes increasingly difficult. On the other hand, certain thrash classics from the early ’90s that I played with youthful enthusiasm come back to me quite effortlessly.”

If you have any questions, Marko will be happy to answer at marko.pitkaaho(a)lapp.com