Vacant job

KB Components is seeking a Laboratory Manager with expertise in polymeric materials

At KB Components in Örkelljunga, you will take on a central specialist role where you influence material selection, product development, and quality throughout the entire product lifecycle – from early customer projects to ongoing production and analysis of complaint cases. KB Components is an international group specializing in polymeric component solutions, characterized by strong growth, high innovation levels, and close collaboration between functions and operations worldwide.

In this role, you will be part of the Sourcing team and collaborate closely with R&D, Production Technology, Quality, Sales, and other international group companies.

What KB Components Offers

• An engaged team where your skills make a real difference

• A global group with international projects and career opportunities

• 5,000 SEK in wellness benefits

• Free breakfast every workday and subsidized lunches

• Discounts and various employee benefits

About the Role

As a Laboratory Manager, you play a central role in ensuring and developing the company's material competence through testing, verification, and analysis. You work closely with R&D, Production Technology, Quality, and Purchasing, contributing expertise on material selection already in early customer dialogues and during ongoing customer projects.

The role involves planning and conducting tests and analyses for both development projects and ongoing production, as well as investigations regarding complaint cases. You are also responsible for the laboratory's testing equipment and methods, serving as a technical support resource for material-related issues within the business, both nationally and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Select and propose suitable materials upon request

• Identify cost-effective plastic materials during benchmarking

• Train and build competence with a focus on materials, both internally and externally

• Provide technical support and collaborate with other functions within the organization

• Assist and advise on material technical questions and problems

• Participate in research and development projects

• Maintain contact with universities, colleges, research and testing institutes, as well as external laboratories

• Further develop the company's laboratory with regard to advanced testing equipment

You will join the purchasing team, consisting of six colleagues in Örkelljunga. You will report to the Global Sourcing Director. The position involves a few trips per year, both domestic and international.

Your Profile

For this role, you are required to have good knowledge of organic chemistry and polymeric materials, as well as a pronounced analytical ability. With your in-depth knowledge and understanding of polymeric materials, you should be able to interpret material data sheets as well as standards and customer-specific regulations. Additionally, you possess in-depth knowledge of testing methods.

You communicate fluently in Swedish and English and are comfortable working in an Office 365 environment.

As a person, you are self-motivated, solution-oriented, and willing to take initiative. You work well both independently and in a team. You are driven by learning new things and constantly growing, both in your competence and in your professional role.

About KB Components

KB Components is a globally growing company with a turnover of approx. 3,200 MSEK, where our vision is to be world-leading in technically advanced polymeric products. The company's three overarching goals are growth, profitability, and well-being, within which we actively work to become one of the world's best plastic companies! Our main customer segments are found in the automotive industry, furniture industry, and lighting technology. Development, production, and sales take place in one of our facilities in Örkelljunga, Gislaved, Tallinn in Estonia, Nurmajärvi in Finland, Kaunas in Lithuania, Zilina in Slovakia, Zweibrücken and Wannweil in Germany, Warsaw in Poland, Puebla or Irapuato in Mexico, Dallas in the USA, Windsor in Canada, New Delhi in India, and Wuxi in China.