For Nina Backman, 25, from Norra Svartbyn, Stegra’s investment in Boden means that she can work with what she is trained for and at the same time continue to focus on her elite career in horse jumping.
The spring winter sun makes the large snow-covered white fields in Norra Svartbyn sparkle between houses, stables and horse paddocks. Nina comes out of her parents “home with coffee thermos under her arm and a big smile, with her dog Tero as her companion. During her lunch break at Stegra, she takes the opportunity to visit her horses in the stables at her parents” home.
On the other side of the forest grove is Boden Industrial Park, where Stegra’s green steelworks, hydrogen plant and DRI tower are emerging. Around 2000 people currently work here. Many are construction workers and subcontractors, but the number of people employed directly by Stegra is growing. Nina is one of a growing number of people from Boden who have sought out the new job and career opportunities.
For her, Stegra’s investment in Boden was crucial in order to be able to combine a job with what she is trained for and at the same time be able to continue with her elite horse jumping at home in Boden.
THE HEART OF LIFE
Within a radius of a kilometer, Nina now has the heart of her life – the horses on her parents’ farm, and her job at Stegra.
Nina has literally grown up on horseback. Her parents met through their interest in horses. Nina got a pony when she was little and has been riding for as long as she can remember. The family has four horses, stables, pastures and a riding school of their own.
Nina and her partner Ludvig live in central Boden, but she spends almost all her free time at the home farm training and looking after her horses. One of them is her competition buddy, Uno. Together they compete in, among other things, the team championships in show jumping at elite level. The award-winning wall in the newly renovated stable tells you that they are a successful team.
LOVE TO THE HOME TOWN
Nina describes herself as extremely home-loving, she loves Boden and has never wanted to leave.
– During my studies, I was plagued by the thought that I might have to choose. I felt that I would have to move to work with what I was trained for and reduce the horse jumping, or take another job to be able to stay here in Boden and continue competing, says Nina.
But before she graduated from Luleå University of Technology, Stegra came to Boden. A position that fit her like a glove appeared when she finished her studies. She applied for it and got it. With that, she became part of an international and highly competent and experienced finance team.
MEETS THE WHOLE WORLD
– Now I get to meet the whole world without even having to move. There are so many fun and interesting people here and I’m surrounded by so much expertise,” says Nina.
Having only a few minutes between work, stable and home also gives her some time to spend with new friends and colleagues she has made through work.
– I work out at the gym with some of the team and have made a new best friend from Canada. She moved here from the other side of the world and it feels like we’ve always known each other. So we see each other a lot and do things together. I try to be an ambassador for Boden, bring the new people who come up with things and show how good Boden is.
A recurring event is Stegra’s afterwork at one of Boden’s local restaurants. After the municipality’s organized after-work once a month, Stegra staff continued to meet on their own initiative on the same day of the week every week. There, the game of shuffleboard has led to organized team spirit and league tables that Nina is contributing to, alongside new colleagues from the UK, South Africa, India, the US…
Nina has also taken on the teenage daughter of a South African colleague who missed riding in her old country.
– Now she comes to me and trains every week,” says Nina, who just enjoys sharing her knowledge.
THE STALL ON THE MAP
Nina’s position as a financial accountant also means that she is occasionally at Stegra’s office in Stockholm together with the rest of the finance team.
– I’m not a big city girl, I just get stressed out by being in Stockholm. But it’s pretty cool to be there in a big fancy office in the middle of Stockholm and all the TV screens and meetings are talking about Boden. There are so many people there who wouldn’t have a clue about Boden if it wasn’t for Stegra. It almost feels a bit exotic to be one of those who come from here.
She praises both Stegra’s and the municipality’s role in everything that is happening in Boden now. As someone who lives close to what is emerging, she also sees the changes affecting her neighborhood.
– Of course things change, but I definitely think the benefits outweigh the costs. You can still live and live well and have horses here, and I hope that will continue in the future. We have sold our apartment in Boden and hope to find a house here in Norra Svartbyn soon.
Nina’s advice to other Boden residents is to dare to apply for the new jobs, take the chance to work internationally and be enriched both professionally and privately with Boden as a base.
TEXT: ANNA BERGSTRÖM
