Up until the age of 19, Salmi's whole world was ice hockey, which he played at national level in the under-20s team. "It was my life and I really didn't think about university. But it gradually dawned on me to have a Plan B. Going on to study was also a good way to postpone big decisions," he says.
He settled on engineering because it is a useful skill in demand globally. "That was my reasoning. I'm not from an engineering family. My father has spent his entire career in IT consulting and my mother runs a small accounting business. I share with my father a drive to get things done while my mother is very organized, which is a trait I try to emulate as best I can."
What began as a summer job...
There aren't any family connections steering Salmi towards the shipping industry. "It happened by accident. I was doing my masters in Global Manufacturing Management at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and got a summer job working in the procurement team at ABB here in Helsinki. I did the same thing the following year, mostly for additional income as a student like many others," he admits.
"I was assigned to coordinate ABB's factory expansion, which felt like a crazy responsibility for a 23-year-old. When the expansion was operational, I thought maybe there could be a future for me at ABB because the organization showed trust in me. Fortunately, ABB invited me to work at our sister factory in Shanghai. It was an exciting way to start my career and opened my eyes to the rewards of working for a global company."
"The world can change fast. In the end it's all about prioritizing correctly."
As his next move, Salmi decided on sales, relocating to Oslo just before Covid. "It was back to winning and losing like in ice hockey. It's quite brutal, but I knew I could do it. I got increasingly more responsibilities and now I'm here, and I wouldn't want to do anything else."
It's a team effort
Salmi works alongside colleague Jukka Erkintalo, who is responsible for large Azipod® propulsion systems. "Selling these complex systems involves close communication between the global and regional sales managers who report to us, and the technical sales support team. Together we lead a dynamic sales team of 10, but we are on hand to give support and manage the global market for different vessel types and regions."
In cases where they need to stretch the technical requirements, they also involve product managers, R&D, and even supply chain. "The hotter a project gets the more people we involve, but sales do the coordinating. Externally we work closely with owners, ship designers, and shipyards, ensuring all parties are confident about our solutions."
His time is split between traveling and the office. "I'm not a big fan of traveling itself, it's just a means to an end. But meeting customers in their own environments is exciting and informative."
Office time is spent mostly on project-driven internal procedures – but the market is always sending curve balls. "For example, some time ago a customer with whom we'd been discussing an Azipod® propulsion deal surprised us and asked for all the agreements within two weeks, while usually this scale of supply contracts are negotiated and aligned on for months. It was a marathon getting the internal risk evaluations, financials, and technical reviews over the finish line, but we made it. There's never a dull day!"
The fight against time
Salmi also works on market positioning. "All business leaders have to contend with making decisions about strategy two or three years down the road. I consult with my team to ensure that as the markets change, we will have the right high-quality solutions to offer. But as opposed to sales, where you get immediate feedback if you were successful or not, with strategy you are always fighting against time. Are we going in the right direction? Are we confident we can meet a specific goal with this plan? You need to do the groundwork, but it's a moving target," he says. "The world can change fast. In the end it's all about prioritizing correctly."
Managing internal sales can also be tricky. "External sales is a breeze with a killer proposal. However, different departments may have different plans and priorities which are perhaps not always in line with sudden business demands. This means that business case development must get the rest of the organization onboard. We have to align with these priorities, so that when something happens in the market we can react effectively. Transparency is essential."
'Translation skills'
Salmi highlights the ability to translate complex systems into clear benefits as an essential skill. "This is actually quite difficult to do well. The key is behavioural – you need to be curious and driven to understand customers' operations and challenges, and how to match your solutions to their requirements."
It all boils down to patience and persistence. "Especially in maritime, the reward can take time. But it's one reason I love my job, as it provides new opportunities to stretch myself. Plus I work with a lot of smart people. Sales would be very lonely if I didn't have their support."
The race for efficiency
Not surprisingly, Salmi gets fired up by the benefits his product lines offer amid the electrification trend. "Electric drive trains have potential to be game-changer in terms of ship efficiency. As 100 percent electric-fed, gearless solutions, both Compact Azipod® propulsion and ABB Dynafin™ concept are spot on. No one product or technology is a silver bullet for all vessel types, but as more and more ships are electrified, electric propulsion is a must-have. With both products we want to make future vessel designs feasible both commercially and technically."
A fully electric, gearless propulsion system means minimizing losses in the drive train. "Efficiency is the key, regardless of the propulsion concept. Moreover, its value will grow exponentially, because whatever the energy carriers are in future, they will be more expensive. Ultimately consumers are likely to carry that cost. Propulsion accounts for 50 - 90 percent of a ship's entire energy consumption, so efficiency is also a big Capex benefit because you need less installed power, which in turn takes less space."
We have countless positive experiences regarding performance and reliability.
Reliability is another crucial factor. "Azipod® propulsion technology has been proven over 30 years, starting with icebreakers. We have countless positive experiences regarding performance and reliability. A cruise ship would be an easy example, but here I'm choosing a Wind Turbine Installation Vessel (WTIV) operator, who has two ships under construction in China that will be fitted with Compact Azipod® propulsion systems. We usually justify their value by efficiency and fuel savings, but WTIVs don't use thrusters that much because they are mostly jacked up doing crane operations. What is the value otherwise? Thanks to the gearless design Compact Azipod® units are quite light and compact in footprint, and weight was key because the whole ship needs to be lifted up, including the pods," Salmi explains.
"The whole integration from bridge to propeller, including other ABB solutions like Onboard DC Grid™ and our brand-new DP system, was just perfect. Moreover, the minimum number of mechanical components that need lubrication means we found a sweet spot on how to do maintenance."
Collaboration for efficiency
With regard to ABB Dynafin™, there is a lot of interest from customers who see the benefit of a technology that has the potential to improve propulsion efficiencies.
Salmi cites ABB's collaboration with Ritz-Carlton Cruises as an example. "Our proposal wasn't just to install ABB Dynafin™ on their future ships. We wanted to start from first base and they agreed to a joint study. The results clearly show the efficiency value in terms of fuel savings, but they surprised us with something else: an ultra-efficient solution well below Carbon Intensity Index (CII) thresholds gives them operational freedom to access new destinations. Moreover, the space gain provides room for more revenue-earning cabins."
Salmi emphasizes the need to work with customers who want to make the innovation work first and scale later. "When we've proven that it works, I'm confident the doors will fly open."
Power-hungry first movers
Vessel types most likely to be the first to adopt ABB Dynafin™ are those that operate a lot and consume large amounts of energy. "You get the biggest benefit if you consume lots of power. For example, ferries operate almost constantly, as do cruise ships. Ferries are also facing new regional regulations like the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). It's not right for everyone – different propulsion technologies have their own sweet spots and scalabilities. The power range of ABB Dynafin™ is currently limited from one to four megawatts per unit, which rules out huge container ships, for example."
Compact Azipod® propulsion units now operate on more than 25 vessel types and use cases are growing all the time. "As well as WTIVs, new segments include dredgers, cable layers, smaller expedition/luxury cruise ships, and superyachts. Fully electric drive trains enable reaching levels of vibration, noise reduction, and passenger comfort that are market leading. They also provide great maneuverability as the electric motors are directly coupled to the screw."
He expects growth of the electric propulsion market to continue. "We are determined to remain the most innovative company with the highest customer-value solutions. When you are very customer centric, you are most likely making the right decisions."
Leadership philosophy
This being Salmi's first managerial role he soon found out that leading others isn't a walk in the park. "I'm no expert, but I think I'm getting there slowly! We all have different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, but there needs to be a strong game plan everybody is onboard with: 'Let's make a hell of an impact!' He doesn't put much store in mavericks. "Trying to survive alone is very old school. You need to help others because you always need help yourself – we need opinions and information from so many sources to understand key topics comprehensively enough."
Be brave, talk to people, take chances, and stick to your guns. Real talent for me is a mix of skillset and strong motivation to succeed.
Salmi is fortunate to have had excellent mentors at ABB. " The first was very effective when I started in sales. Working on projects measured in tens of millions of Euros was a big responsibility for a guy under 30, but my manager encouraged and supported me every day. The second was able to push me to perform at a high level. They both guided me in the right direction."
His advice for youngsters looking to pursue a similar path is simply: "Be brave, talk to people, take chances, and stick to your guns. Real talent for me is a mix of skillset and strong motivation to succeed. When you're sufficiently motivated and curious, you learn automatically."
Memorable milestones
Salmi's first vessel type in sales was superyachts. "It was less impacted by Covid than the other markets, so managed to lock in significant growth and are now selling three to four times more Azipod® propulsion systems every year. Also during Covid, we achieved the first milestone with our new mid-sized Azipod® propulsion series. Despite the slow cruise market at that time, we received an inquiry out of the blue, and within half a year we had secured our first contract for the Azipod® propulsion in this power range, which has since then been very well received at the market. There were a lot of technical and commercial hurdles and we did practically everything remotely, but we succeeded.
Then a couple of years ago came the launch of ABB Dynafin™, which is absolutely not what the market would have expected from any “traditional” engineering company! It's inspiring to be involved in developments and projects like that."
Balancing home life and a meaningful job
Salmi is married and the couple has a 16-month-old son. He admits balancing work and home life is easier for him as his wife is a teacher, workíng locally in Helsinki. "I miss them when I'm on the road and always try to limit unnecessary nights away. But I believe working on what you enjoy is equally important as a balancing factor. Children should see you motivated and thriving as their role model That goes for young mothers as well. I'm lucky to have that luxury."
For holidays they like to go to Salmi's family house on the Costa del Sol. "We have a summer cabin in Finland – like the majority of the Finns – but Elviria offers rather more exotic cabin life for me. We play tennis, go to beach, eat out. It's my perfect way to relax."
Back in Helsinki Salmi continues to play ice hockey for an ABB 'beer league' team. "In Shanghai, I played in the expat league with a senior executive from Canada, who told me he would never have got to where he is without his competitive ice-hockey background. And despite what many people might think, ice hockey guys are in fact quite smart and they definitely know what hard work means – they just channel all their brains into the game. It certainly set me up well for this job!"
Azipod® and ABB Dynafin™ are registered trademarks of ABB.
