Employee interview

Jan Ledal

Jan Ledal works as an inside salesman at the orders department in Trondheim, Norway.

Henrik Walter, our previous guest in this series, asks: What is your biggest dream for yourself?
My answer is to become debt-free.

How long have you worked in the ball bearing industry
I started right after school at ABRA Kulelagersenteret in Trondheim. That was in 1984, so next year I will have worked in the industry for 40 years and we joined Nomo in 2021.

What has your journey looked like over the years?
I started in the warehouse, picking and receiving goods. The work then shifted more and more towards receiving orders. I was put in charge of purchasing, and gradually moved to sales. A big difference today for searching products and information is the internet, which has made the world smaller.

Why did you choose the ball bearing industry?
It was simply a job advert in the newspaper that led me to apply and get the job after an interview with the founder of the company.

How did you get to know all the products?
There was a lot of self-learning, using product catalogues and discussing solutions with suppliers and customers. It was a great help that we built up a product database back in the 1980s, which made it much easier to make the right product choice.

What has given you the most professional development?
It is always interesting to be able to solve a problem about machinery, storage and lubrication for a customer.

What are your personal strengths?
To be courteous and provide the best possible service to our customers.

What is your customer segment?
The emphasis in Norway is on aftermarket and MRO customers in the mining industry, fishing and slaughterhouses, among others.

What are the main challenges?
The competitive situation is always a challenge. We have been successful thanks to competence, good product knowledge and have many loyal customers. Another challenge today is longer delivery times for certain products due to various external factors.

How do you manage longer delivery times?
We have always been at the forefront and had the motto that we should have the product on the shelf and be able to deliver a product to the customer the day after ordering.

What is the company’s best product?
It must be the world's best-selling deep groove ball bearing, along with our expertise and extensive product knowledge.

What is your best environmental tip?
Never throw plastic into nature. See what the consequences are on beaches and in the oceans.

What do you do in your spare time?
I sometimes go out with my boat and fish for pollock, cod and ling, among other things.

What food do you choose to enjoy on a Saturday night?
There's nothing wrong with some crab and shrimp.

What is your biggest success in life?
It was becoming a father to my son, who is now 25 years old.

Our next guest is Leif Leinefelt, what question would you like to ask him?
I'm asking the same question I was asked, what is your biggest dream for yourself?