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Alf Persson
Alf did his internship at Hymas' welding department in 1979, which changed its name to Huddig in 1986. Since then, he has worked with all HUDDIG , from the very first one developed in 1986 to the latest hybrid machine, TIGON. In his role as a prototype builder, Alf works on innovation projects where designers' ideas are tested and some of them later become reality.
From HUDDIG to TIGON
"I started at Hymas in 1979, which later became Huddig. Now, 42 years later, I am driven by the same curiosity and desire to improve every model. Going from HUDDIG with a 96 hp Perkins engine to the TIGON, which is the first diesel hybrid excavator loader the market, is a huge step. It's incredible what a journey of development we've been on together," says Alf.
Alf and his colleagues in the development department work closely with the designers, realizing their sketches by building prototype machines. During his time at the company, Alf has worked at every station in the workshop such as sheet metal, welding, machining and all assembly stations. For the last 20 years he has had the role of prototype builder.
- My colleague Fredrik and I have been working together for almost 10 years. We usually say that no two days are the same here in the development department - it all depends on what stage we are at in the project. My work today is mainly about testing, measuring and test fitting the designers' drawings and ideas. Some days there is a lot of screwing, other days a lot of measuring or test driving. It's fun that no two days are the same and it's exciting to build the designers' new ideas and see if they work.
Huddig's development department has some of Sweden's sharpest mechanical engineers. There is a continuous development work aimed at optimizing the interaction between hardware, software and hydraulics to continue to develop the most advanced the excavator loader on the market.
– If you compare what the excavator loader like today with what it looked like a few years ago, there is a significant difference. One of the biggest improvements we have made concerns data control and hydraulics, which have improved and simplified the machine operators' work in a number of different ways. We always take our customers' experiences of the machine into account and use their feedback and all our collective experience to improve our HUDDIG . It never ceases to fascinate me that development is constantly moving forward – we are never finished.
Since Alf first set foot inside Huddig's doors in the 1980s, Huddig has established itself on the global market and HUDDIG excavator loader now in demand all over the world. The first HUDDIG has now also been delivered to a customer following its launch in 2015.
- We have a lot of exciting things going on and Huddig is constantly thinking new. Innovation is a strong keyword here and it is extra fun to go to work when you see how new types of machines come out on the market and make an impression. Now with TIGON, I actually believe that, even though we are a smaller company in terms of number of employees, we have taken the first step in the electrification of the construction industry. It's a journey that I'm really looking forward to continuing," concludes Alf.
Update:
The interview was conducted in November 2021. In March 2025, Alf took his well-deserved retirement after 46 years at Huddig.
