Emballator has now recruited Kent Viitanen as new Group CEO.

Viitanen is a senior and experienced business executive with a long and successful career in SKF.

Viitanen studied at Gothenburg School of Economics and then started to work for SKF in various positions within controlling and finance. He went on to run factories and companies in Austria, Italy, and Germany. He later headed the Renewable Energy division (with large, international customers, e.g., Vestas) and became a member of the SKF Group Senior Management Team. Since 2017, he has been responsible for the Global Bearing Operations, and in 2022, he was appointed President of EMEA.

Starting January 2023, he will take on the role as Group CEO at Emballator.

“I’m excited to embark on this journey with Emballator and I’m really looking forward to getting to know the team and the business”, said Viitanen. “I really like the ambitious growth plans and the values of the Group.”

To Herenco, the owner of Emballator, the recruitment of a high-caliber CEO is a key step towards reaching the great ambitions of the packaging group. Anders Davidsson, CEO of Herenco Holding since March 2022 and the Chairman of the Board commented:

“Kent has a great interest in people and is a highly appreciated leader. He is a curious, responsible, and hard-working person with a strong growth mindset. At the same time, he is humble, social, and down to earth, which is a good fit with the Emballator and Herenco culture”, says Anders Davidsson.

In conjunction with the recruitment of Kent Viitanen, it has been decided that the headquarters of Emballator will be placed in Ulricehamn, Sweden, co-located with the biggest production site of the Group.