Yara’s first woman plant manager outside Norway

Julia Lindland’s role at the helm of the Yara’s ammonia and urea plant at Brunsbüttel in Germany earns her a rare accolade in our company’s 11-year history. She is the second woman only to become a Yara plant manager and the first woman to be appointed to the role outside Norway.

The chemical and fertilizer industry is historically male dominated. At Yara we have an ambitious goal of increasing the proportion of women employed in the company to 23% by 2017. We are well underway, having reached 22% in 2014. However, we still have some way to go in the Upstream segment (production) where the percentage of women in management and staff positions is around 13%.

Julia, who is Norwegian, assumed the role on January 1st this year, leading 250 employees. She brings a wealth of experience to the job. As she says herself, she more or less “grew up” in Yara’s Upstream segment, holding positions in Norway, Brussels, Sweden and Trinidad. Julia has been involved in many of the revamping projects Yara (formerly Hydro) carried out in the nineties.

She spent some time working for the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on the CO2 capture and storage project before resuming her Yara career as a global ammonia expert in March 2013.

Julia’s goal for the future is to ensure Brunsbüttel’s long term profitability, while maintaining the high safety standards that has gained the plant international recognition. In Brunsbüttel teamwork is the key to success!