We’re excited to throw a spotlight on the inspiring career journeys of some of our talented employees. You’ll get a glimpse into their individual paths and achievements – and what it’s like to be part of the Telko team. Meet Oona Hanska, who chose to explore finding a sustainable solution for Telko’s customer in her master’s thesis in Fibre and Polymer Engineering for Aalto University, Finland. You’ll also hear from her thesis advisor Kimmo Liinamaa, Product Director for Telko’s Masterbatches, Additives and Green products.
Hi Oona! Now that you have finished your master’s thesis on the development of bio-based materials for filament applications, how would you describe the project?
Oona: As a learning journey, it has been a rollercoaster ride — from the initial wave of excitement, through unexpected challenges and changes of directions, to renewed bursts of motivation. Now, we have finally reached the goal, and my thesis is complete. I have learned an incredible amount and experienced personal growth during the process.
Kimmo: The work had the typical trajectory of a project. After the initial excitement there’s always a comedown all the way to the brink of desperation, but all’s well that ends well.
What skills or knowledge have you gained that will help you in your future career?
Oona: Beyond gaining chemistry knowledge regarding plastics, I definitely developed stronger project management skills. At University, I had never done a six-month project with such intensive scheduling. The original scheduling fell apart when unexpected challenges appeared with the work. That required personal resilience – how to collect your thoughts and replan.
As a material, plastic doesn’t have the best reputation. What is your perspective on the topic based on your experience studying the field and working for Telko?
Oona: I think plastics have its place in this world – it’s not always the bad guy consumers might think it is. For example, in the food industry plastic is an efficient material for protecting produce from spoiling. In these applications, biodegradable plastics are not always ideal because they tend to retain moisture. While we do need to reduce the use of fossil-based plastics, we also need to ensure they are used in appropriate applications. For bio-based plastics, it is also a common belief that they are always biodegradable – but they’re not, which increases the risk of greenwashing.
Kimmo: Food packaging is a good example, as without plastic packaging spoilage and food waste would actually place a much greater burden on the environment. Recycling systems can be problematic, but they are being worked on. The whole system from consumer behavior to waste collection and recycling systems is under a lot of development. Biodegradable plastic and recycled plastic are also under development as well as lighter, functional packaging.
How do you see your thesis project contributing to Telko’s sustainability efforts?
Oona: We were able to advance our knowledge, so it's possible that in the future we can offer customers biodegradable materials. It goes without saying that replacing materials that release microplastics would be a step in the right direction.
Kimmo: It was never going to be easy, but we ended at a good point for development to continue in the future. There is a chance that a commercial solution will come out of all this.
Is Telko open to taking on more thesis workers?
Kimmo: Having a thesis worker was rather unusual for us. Since we are a distributor instead of a manufacturer, we typically need a customer with a suitable problem that we can then work on together with our manufacturing partners. In the future, I think we need to be more proactive about discussing these possibilities with customers. This way, there will be more opportunities for Telko to take on thesis workers.
What kind of environment does Telko offer for students and young professionals?
Oona: Telko has a good, supportive work community. When I joined the company, I wasn’t sure if I knew enough, but the orientation process was good, and the atmosphere has been very supportive. My professional confidence has grown – I feel like I can do this.
Kimmo: In a way, we are a small big company. Small enough so you get to know the people from the ground floor to the top, but big enough to offer various roles and international opportunities. Also, we don’t have very narrow professional roles, which can be a good thing. If you’re into the commercial side, we have positions for you. If you’re more of a technical person, we have many kinds of projects for you to get into.
