Life in Finland | First days and hockey games

This is the second part of Antoine Blanquart’s blog about his tenure in Finland and TT Gaskets. Find the first part here.

On my first day Teemu Piipponen and Matti Järvinen organized a tour of the factory for me. I had the opportunity to see the company’s premises as well as the various warehouses. It was a surprise to see the great working environment with TVs and sport equipment for the employees. The welcome at TTG is just like this picture, incredible!

Settling in TTG

On my second day, I was able to catch up with Aleksi Arpiainen, CEO of the company. We discussed together the different projects we could undertake together. He also elaborated on how he wants to run TT Gaskets and his vision for the company. Ethics, CSR, and employees’ well-being are major priorities for him.

When back to my office after this meeting, I was surprised to find a rose on my desk for my girlfriend Lisa, to celebrate the Women’s Rights Day, on March 8^th. 

First Hockey Game

The following day I was invited by a few colleagues to see a hockey game. It wasn’t a random game as it was Ilves, one of the two Tampere teams, who was playing to keep their first place in the general ranking, knowing that the team behind them in the ranking is the second Tampere team, Tappara.

We went to the Nokia Arena, a brand-new stadium that opened last December. Great first impression for me discovering this very impressive sport that I didn’t really know much about!

At the end Ilves won 5–4 which we celebrated in a pub right next to the stadium where we could watch the Champions League match where the French team PSG got eliminated by real Madrid. Nevertheless, I was grateful as it was my birthday, and I got to spend a great evening with my colleagues to celebrate it!