Project manager Raimo Rebo: my work and daily progress give me energy

Adven – Articles – Project manager Raimo Rebo: my work and daily progress give me energy

15th January 2024

Articles General

My name is Raimo Rebo, and I work as a Project Manager in the Assets and Project Management department at Adven. I’ve been working at Adven since 2006.

I consider myself fortunate to be involved in exciting projects and professional engineering work here. The job is both interesting and varied. Even small achievements give me energy, but what I find particularly thrilling is witnessing the visual and powerful realization of my work – the boiler house coming to life!

Powering up from progress and achievements

During my school years, my strengths lay in natural sciences and analytical thinking, which influenced my choice of profession. I also considered the need for heat and energy in the nordic climate – today, tomorrow, and beyond. Studying thermal energy has been a choice I certainly do not regret.

As a Project Manager at Adven, my role is focused and result-oriented. Through my work, I achieve very concrete outcomes as I contribute to the completion of a boiler house, generating heat for people or supplying energy for industrial processes.

Personal characteristics such as consistency, responsibility, and attention to detail are crucial in this role, as it is the small details that contribute to the overall picture. Stress tolerance is also essential, as pressure arises on multiple fronts – the project must stay within budget, to the schedule, and manage numerous stakeholders.

Of course, none of this would be possible without a dedicated, professional, and cohesive team. Through collaboration, we achieve the best results!

Exciting cross-border projects at Adven

Working at Adven is made more diverse by the fact that it is a group operating not only in Estonia but also in other countries. I had the opportunity to lead a project for the construction of an energy center in Söderhamn, Sweden, where Estonian entrepreneurs were establishing a local pellet factory.

This project was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, making its implementation significantly more challenging than initially planned. Due to travel restrictions, many project participants had to stay put, which meant I was away from home for a longer period, contrary to the original plan. In this project I had the opportunity to collaborate with people from different cultures, spanning Eastern, Central, and Western Europe. Project management is essentially the same everywhere, but I realized that people in Estonia are more straightforward, resulting as quicker decision-making.

Despite being away from home for a long time which made me a bit homesick, the beautiful landscapes of Sweden, with its mountains, valleys, and forests, provided a positive charge for everyday life abroad. Those hiking trails beckoned me back the following year.

Be in shape to fully contribute to large projects

The most recent significant project was the construction of the boiler house for E-Piim’s new dairy factory in 2023. The biggest challenges of this project have risen from our ever-changing economic environment, marked by substantial price fluctuations during the planning and construction phases. Additionally, significant price fluctuations during project planning and construction phases, along with delivery delays due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am happy that we have long-term collaborations with partners we can trust. For major projects, we prefer to work with those with whom we have had previous positive experiences. With projects of such importance, experimenting is not an option to us.

Although my workdays come with their fair share of stress and concerns, I have learned to leave those worries behind by the end of the day. I highly value my free time and consciously seek to draw energy from it.

In my leisure, I engage in sports – playing volleyball and challenging myself with kiteboarding. I also have dogs that require a significant amount of attention. Nevertheless, this aspect of my life provides me with much-needed balance, allowing me to fully dedicate myself to work when I am on the job.