"It's genuinely fun with robots"

He is the production engineer, who dropped out to work in music and slipped into teaching others how to work with robots. Meet Jimmy Hultman, Manager of KUKA Nordic's college and TechCenter.

6 February 2023

Some people already know in middle school how they are going to get an education and what they are going to work with. Others, like Jimmy Hultman, happen to find their perfect niche more by accident. - I could never even have imagined that it would become what I am doing today, he says. It started six years ago.

Sound engineer to a robot engineer

Jimmy Hultman ran his own company in sound technology in his hometown Härnösand, and was involved in fixing the sound for everything from local revues to more famous artists such as Di Leva. Then he met Elin, a physiotherapist who lived in Gothenburg. Jimmy decided to move there and then also began to think about his career choice.
- Music is a typical weekend and evening job, I realized that we would never see each other if I continued in that industry, he says.

Jimmy Hultman loves being out in the nature.

Teaching others how to use robots

Since he also has a background as a production technician in the plastics industry, he started looking for that type of job, and saw an ad that KUKA was looking for a training manager – a position that involved teaching others how to use robots. He thought it this could be interesting and got a meeting with KUKA’s former CEO Jonas Glimdén.
- Jonas pointed to one of the robots and asked if I thought I would be able to program one. Doesn't seem impossible, I said. Now he has been at it for six years and has trained over 1,200 people in robot programming. Everything from pure novices to seasoned civil engineers who mostly need to learn a new system.
- The challenge is often to set up groups so the knowledge gaps between the participants are not to bigs.

Automation's crown jewels

Can everyone learn? - Yes, in principle. Throughout the years, there have only been a few who have not passed the courses, it is about a few per thousand. What is the best thing about the job?
- I love the feeling of being able to pass on knowledge to others. Then I also think that it's genuinely fun with robots, they are still like a kind of automation's crown jewels.

Facts: Jimmy Hultman
Age: 38 years.
Occupation: Manager of KUKA Nordic's college and TechCenter (Nordic Manager College and TechCenter).
Lives: Gothenburg.

Interests: Music, and everything to do with being out in nature.

Family: Wife Elin and son Axel. "It was only a week after we had chosen the name that we realized it was a bit funny. I work with robotic shoulders, she is a physiotherapist and works with broken human shoulders.” (the Swedish word for shoulder is actually axel).
Listening to: "Anything from In Flames to ... Ed Sheeran which feels a bit geeky, even though I love his music."