It's not uncommon for advertising agencies and other creative businesses to establish themselves in old factory premises with high ceilings and large windows. But building a 60-meter-long roller coaster – passing over meeting rooms and through the staff canteen – is not quite as common. In fact, the ride at The Great Exhibition's office is the first of its kind in the world. The idea has been with the company's owner, Petter Kukacka, since he was a child.

"I have always been interested in roller coasters and everything that runs on rails. Even in our previous premises, we had loose thoughts about a smaller version, but it fell through due to the low ceiling height. Here we have almost five meters to the ceiling," he says.

Complicated and expensive

It has been a year since the company moved to the thousand-square-meter premises in Stockholm, and Petter Kukacka could start realizing his dream. He emphasizes that the work has been a team effort from the beginning, and the commitment from the employees has been enormous.

"I am probably the one who has worked the least on this. We have taken help from lots of people, but we have designed and planned everything ourselves," he says.

However, building a roller coaster is not something you do in a morning. On the contrary, it turned out to be really complicated – and expensive. After making an initial sketch, The Great Exhibition contacted an expert in the USA whose safety comments led to new insights. A bridge engineer in Sweden calculated the strength, dimensioning of the steel structure, and made drawings. But when the agency started requesting price quotes, they got a real shock.

"We received quotes from roller coaster specialists in Germany and the USA for 3 million $. That was obviously far beyond our budget," says Petter Kukacka.

Built by a Ferris wheel factory in China

Many would probably have given up at this point, but not the staff at The Great Exhibition. One of Petter's friends, who is based in China, inquired at various factories in the country and got in touch with China's largest manufacturer of Ferris wheels. The price was acceptable to the advertising agency, and it became a deal – despite the uncertainty about whether the Chinese really understood what they wanted.

"It was a gamble because it was a very unclear deal, and there were some language barriers, but everything has gone smoothly," says Petter Kukacka.

Towards the end of the process, they visited the factory in China to ensure they had manufactured what was ordered and to ensure the quality of the welds and construction.

Premiere after a year of intense work

At the end of June, the four-ton structure arrived in Liljeholmen in a large container. Shortly thereafter, a couple of Chinese experts arrived to assemble the roller coaster in the office environment. The roller coaster car was designed by the design studio on their own, and on October 25th – after a year of intense work – it premiered. To everyone's relief, everything worked perfectly. And it does when Kollega gets to take a test ride:

The ride starts steep and slow, accompanied by a lot of noise. The track then runs above meeting rooms and the kitchen before the car plunges through the canteen and the open office landscape. It's over in less than a minute and offers a real thrill. Additionally, a photo is taken and printed at the end of the ride – just like at any amusement park.

How much is the roller coaster used daily?

"It's not like we jump in and ride every day. But it's certainly running when we have after-work events, and customers and employees' children are very eager to come here and ride."

What has it meant for the workplace?

"The process of creating this together has been very fun and a fantastic way to bring this workplace together in a different way than before. The work of designing and driving the project has forced us to challenge ourselves. It may seem silly, but when you work creatively, it's important to maintain that vein. The pride is great that the track now stands here and that everything actually works."

"Initially, there were some – fully reasonable – objections from employees about why we should do this, and concerns were raised about the noise. An exciting discussion arose about what a workplace really is and how much time we spend at work."

How did you come up with the name 'Frontal Lobe'?

"The frontal lobe is the part of the brain that develops last and makes you rational. It's a reference to the idea that in our creative profession, you might need to remove some of your rational thoughts now and then."

This text has been translated with the help of AI.

Det har varit en minst sagt turbulent höst för de anställda på Northvolt. I september meddelade företagsledningen att 1 600 personer skulle sägas upp. Huvudanledningen är att fabriken inte har lyckats komma upp i full produktion av batterier.

Efter förhandlingar med fackförbunden fick 800 arbetare och 300 tjänstemän lämna företaget i Skellefteå. Ytterligare ett 30-tal tjänstemän blev av med jobben i Västerås och Stockholm. Majoriteten av tjänstemännen har uppsägningstid kvar men står utan jobb i mitten av januari. En del av dem har flyttat från andra länder för att jobba här och många söker jobb både i Skellefteå och i andra orter i Sverige, enligt Shaneika Jeffrey, vice ordförande i Unionenklubben på Northvolt.

– Vi gör vad vi kan för att stötta dem i det och tipsar om vilken hjälp som finns att få. Alla behöver ett jobb för att försörja sig själva och sina familjer. Många tycker väldigt mycket om Skellefteå och vill väldigt gärna stanna här. Deras barn pratar svenska och har rotat sig här. Så många vill stanna både för att de tycker om Northvolt och Skellefteå, säger hon.

Tre månader på sig att hitta nytt jobb

Under hösten har event som ska matcha arbetsgivare med arbetssökande anordnats i Skellefteå. Arrangörer är Arbetsförmedlingen, Northvolt och Skellefteå kommun. Till det första eventet i oktober hade 900 personer och ett 70-tal arbetsgivare anmält sig. 

Runt 2 000 personer har kommit från ett land utanför EU för att jobba på Northvolt. På grund av reglerna för tillfälliga arbetstillstånd har de personer som blivit uppsagda tre månader på sig att hitta ett nytt jobb.

– Att hitta ett nytt jobb i Skellefteå kan vara svårt eftersom det är en mindre ort. Men vi har otroligt många kompetenta människor här och många av dem som letar jobb gör det över hela Sverige. Målet för de flesta är att stanna på Northvolt, att stanna i Skellefteå, men om de inte kan det tror jag att det finns många möjligheter i andra städer i Sverige. Och Sverige vill gärna ha deras kompetens, säger Shaneika Jeffrey.

Osäkert om lönen skulle betalas ut

Northvolt har mycket ont om pengar och förra veckan var det osäkert om de anställdas löner skulle betalas ut. Men enligt Shaneika Jeffrey har pengarna kommit.

– Vi kommer att hålla koll på utbetalningarna de närmaste månaderna. Vi tar det dag för dag, månad för månad och vårt mål är att våra medlemmar ska få sina löner.

Nyligen ansökte Northvolt om en Chapter 11, en rekonstruktionsprocess i USA. Målet är att få ordning på företaget och frigöra 2,7 miljarder kronor.

– Det är svårt för mig att svara på om det var rätt eller fel, men det var i alla fall ett steg vidare i processen. Och jag tror att företaget gjorde det som de ansåg var det bästa för Northvolt, som gör det möjligt för oss att blicka framåt.

"Trots alla mörka moln finns fortfarande hopp"

För Shaneika Jeffrey och de andra i klubbstyrelsen har de senaste månaderna varit hektiska. Men hon tycker samtidigt att företaget har skött sig.

– Arbetsgivaren har varit väldigt bra på att informera oss anställda, och det har inneburit att de flesta har fått svar på sina frågor. Vi svarar självklart också på frågor, men arbetsgivaren har varit bra på att informera vilket har lättat på trycket för oss. Alla medlemmar vet att de är mer än välkomna att kontakta vem som helst av oss på Teams eller via mejl. Vi lyssnar på deras bekymmer och hänvisar vidare i de fall det behövs, så vi gör allt för att vara tillgängliga för medlemmarna just nu.

Hur är stämningen på Northvolt nu och hur ser du på framtiden?

– Det är blandade känslor. Det är tufft att vi har kollegor som kommer att lämna oss, men vi hoppas verkligen att framtiden blir ljusare och ljusare. Snart är det jul och julbelysningen har tänts och trots alla mörka moln finns fortfarande hopp. Jag är övertygad om att ledningen kommer att göra allt för att Northvolt ska överleva. Vi gör något bra här.

The clock is ticking for the struggling battery manufacturer Northvolt. During the autumn, debts have piled up with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, and recently several of the company's major shareholders withdrew from negotiations for new financing. Since its inception in 2015, Northvolt has raised SEK 110 billion, but now the money is almost gone. According to CEO Peter Carlsson, they need to raise just over SEK 10 billion in the coming year, but so far the search for new financing has been fruitless.

Maintaining control with Chapter 11

Therefore, Northvolt has now taken the next step to save the company. The management has applied for a so-called Chapter 11 procedure, a type of reconstruction process in the USA that was recently used by the airline SAS. One possible explanation for the battery manufacturer turning to an American court is that it is considered doubtful that Northvolt would be granted a Swedish reconstruction, as it requires the company to be fundamentally viable. Another advantage of Chapter 11 is that the management is likely to retain control over the company.

No guaranteed wages for employees

However, there is a downside – for the employees. In an American process, Northvolt's employees will not be able to benefit from the Swedish state guaranteed wages - lönegaranti - according to several legal experts contacted by Kollega.

– The Swedish state does not pay any guaranteed wages if the company has not initiated a reconstruction or bankruptcy in Sweden. If Northvolt only initiates a Chapter 11 procedure in the USA, all the company's obligations to employees in Sweden to pay wages and other compensation according to the employment contract remain, says Hans Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Association of Restructuring and Bankruptcy Administrators.

If Union members at Northvolt do not receive their wages, the union can, however, request the company to be declared bankrupt in a Swedish court.

– If Northvolt does not pay wages on time, the employee or the union can collect the wages through the Enforcement Authority and ultimately request that the company be declared bankrupt if the wages are not settled, explains Hans Andersson.

Unionen: "Will collect unpaid wages" 

Filip Vujcic, a union lawyer at Unionen, also assesses that members cannot benefit from the state guaranteed wages when a corporate reconstruction is initiated in the USA.

– This means that Unionen, in the event of future unpaid wages, needs to safeguard its members' rights through wage collection. According to Swedish bankruptcy rules, a corporate reconstruction in the USA does not prevent a member's bankruptcy application from being examined in a Swedish court, he says.

Will Unionen request Northvolt to be declared bankrupt if members do not receive their wages? 

– Unionen does not comment on that question at this time.

*In wage collection, Unionen usually sends a demand letter to the employer, who has seven days to pay the wages. If the wages are still not paid, the employer receives a payment order via service. If that does not help either, Unionen sends a bankruptcy application to the district court.

This text has been translated with the help of AI.