Page 46 - Mantena Annual Report 2021

Board of Directors’ report
been shelved. The passenger train operators are still likely to put train maintenance out to competitive tender. This raises uncertainty as to whether Mantena will still be maintaining the trains under these two contracts from 2024.
In the freight train market in Norway, contracts are placed
via open tenders. In Sweden, there are ongoing tendering procedures in a deregulated and open market. In Finland and Denmark, deregulation of the train maintenance market has not continued and the process has been deferred.
The future
Future competition will be met with high-quality services and efficiency. For several years, continuous efforts have been made to meet customer needs and to respond to increased efficiency and delivery requirements.
Mantena signed major contracts with Alstom and Baneservice in 2021. The company has also been retained by Flytoget, Transitio and Norske Tog.
In the course of 2021, Mantena won several contracts related to rebranding trainsets with SJ, Vy, Norske Tog, Go-Ahead, RailCare, Arctic Train, Sporveien and the Norwegian Railway Museum. A framework agreement has also been concluded with Euromaint.
In 2022, Mantena has had two multi-year contracts with Cargo Net renewed.
The 2021 operating year was tough, with weak results in some contracts. Provisions have also been raised for future operating losses in these contracts.
Mantena launched a restructuring programme in 2021 to significantly reduce cost levels and maintain competitiveness and profitability. In this connection, we also terminated two contracts in Sweden with effect from the end of January 2022.
Because of the war in Ukraine, there is uncertainty in relation to deliveries of some components. We are working to find alternative suppliers. High prices for electricity and metals will increase the price of parts for maintenance. High electricity prices bring significantly higher costs in the workshops.
The coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic is causing continued uncertainty for the Group. Customers, particularly the passenger train operators, reduced their operations and hence the demand for maintenance services in 2021. Less demand and reduced earnings resulted in lower productivity.
The pandemic also affects Mantena’s suppliers, increasing the risk of stoppages or delays in parts deliveries to the Group. Mantena is working closely with its customers and suppliers to find the best possible response to the situation.
Mantena has followed the official guidelines during the pandemic and has taken a number of measures to prevent infection, maintain production and contribute to social responsibility. When society reopened in the autumn of 2021, the organisation of the Group’s efforts to combat the spread of infection changed from contingency planning to increased line management work.
The Group has had relatively little Covid-related absence. As the official restrictions are removed, we may expect increased sickness absence among our employees. Mantena is working preemptively to plan for situations with significantly more Covid-related absence.
Mantena has not been eligible for public financial support schemes during the coronavirus pandemic, so has not received any such funding.
Personnel and expertise
At the end of the year there were 967 employees in Mantena (1,031 in 2020), which represents an average of 969 full-time equivalents (945 in 2020). At the end of the year there were 752 employees in Mantena AS (829 in 2020), which represents an average of 750 full-time equivalents (799 in 2020).
Mantena is an inclusive (IA) employer. Good and targeted work has been done by managers and elected officials to meet
the objectives in the IA agreement. Mantena aims to be an attractive workplace, with a working environment characterised by openness and trust.
Mantena takes responsibility for bringing apprentices into
the company to ensure future access to skills. All employees must go through a training programme, and certifications as required to carry out current and future contracts. Employees are also put into a broad training programme related to project management and productivity-promoting measures.
Equality and diversity
Mantena aims to maintain equality and equal opportunities in terms of pay, employment, promotion and education and training. The company is concerned with equal treatment, in which individual attributes are respected and valued.
Mantena has a conscious strategy of promoting equality of opportunity when recruiting new employees for the company. It ensures that women and men are offered equal opportunities to take on the different tasks within the company. Most women in the company are in management or administrative positions.
In Mantena’s management team, there is one woman (17 per cent). There are 72 women in the Mantena Group (7.7 per cent), and 54 in Mantena AS (7.4 per cent, against 8.1 per cent in 2020).
On the Board of Mantena there are two women and six men.
46 Annual Report 2021