Technology not the whole story
Yet as important as it has been, technology has never told the whole Vikan story. Because our people have always been equally important – and still are today.
In his memoir, Life and Works, A.P. Pedersen shares the following thoughts about workers at Vikan, and human labour in general:
"A worker must never be seen as merely a tool, like a machine … he must, like anyone else, be regarded as having his own will, as a human being with not just a body, but also a soul. He should therefore not be kept in the dark about the company’s orderbooks and delivery deadlines. If he’s kept informed about such matters, he will feel that he’s involved, that he has been given responsibility. He needs to feel that if he does his work well, he’ll get ahead, and that if he does his work poorly, it will stand in his way. And he must understand that he has a say in whether he gets ahead or not."
We find these words extraordinary coming from the period during which Mr Pedersen lived and, not least, given the importance that technology – machines – played at Vikan and in Mr Pedersen’s thoughts.
But somehow, we’re not really surprised.