From Assembly Floor Supervision to Thesis Mastery: Axel’s Journey with Steerprop’s Next-Gen ERP

Now 24 and in the final year of his Industrial Management and Engineering degree at Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK), Axel has transformed that initial impression into hands-on expertise. What started as a friend's recommendation for a summer internship quickly evolved into part-time work during the academic year, culminating in a thesis project centred around Steerprop’s core operational shift: implementing a next-generation Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

During his first summer, Axel gained practical experience in the heart of production. His role involved organizing resources in production, overseeing assembly work, and solving problems along the way. That foundation proved crucial as his responsibilities expanded.

This summer, Axel stepped up to cover production planning as a summer holiday substitute, executing daily operations while simultaneously driving the operational side of Steerprop’s new ERP rollout.

"The most interesting experience has been figuring out how complex the background workings of a successful ERP implementation actually are. The work has been eye-opening and challenging, but also rewarding," says Axel. "I think my experience with SAP has been very important, and it has made working with the system and deepening my understanding of it easier."

For Axel, bridging the gap between academic theory and complex enterprise systems became the core focus of his final-year thesis, documenting new processes and creating solutions directly for production.

Navigating major system upgrades and busy production schedules requires strong teamwork, and Axel found Steerprop's workplace culture to be one of its greatest strengths.

"The team is great at what they do, and absolute professionals but everyone still works with a smile on their face," Axel shares. He also appreciated the supportive environment: "I also feel like I received enough onboarding, but that might just be me because I enjoy learning on the fly."

That collective spirit shines brightest when technical hurdles arise. "I can’t think of a specific moment from this summer, but maybe one of the moments when a problem that we had been trying to figure out for a while, and then somebody came up with a solution that finally works, that was very rewarding."

Before joining Steerprop, Axel’s exposure to maritime engineering was mostly limited to joint university coursework in Rauma. Today, he views the sector as a clear destination for his professional career.

"I feel like working at Steerprop has opened a whole new avenue for me and my future career," he reflects. "I think everything I have learned will be useful at some point, some skills and knowledge obviously more than others. The deeper understanding of the ERP system and its implementation will probably be very useful."

With his thesis progressing well, Axel is looking forward to his short-term plans to "graduate and start my career properly, joining the work force full-time." In the longer term, he aims to develop his skills to become a fully fledged professional, with plans to "maybe apply to university at some point to study (and hopefully complete) a M.Sc. (Tech) in industrial management."

To his team, he leaves a simple message: "All I want is to extend a thank you to my colleagues for helping me learn a tonne, and pushing me to become better at my work every day."

Curious about where a career or thesis project at Steerprop could take you? Explore our open positions and student opportunities on the Steerprop Careers page.