When Mats Berg takes up the post of municipal manager in 2016, Boden is a municipality facing headwinds – fragmented projects, declining self-confidence and a business community that feels overlooked. But in that crisis, something is beginning. A story about Boden – where growth is planned before it is seen, where people are at the center and where the green social transition gets a face.
It is not a straightforward journey. When Mats Berg took up the post of head of the municipality of Boden in 2016, he was faced with a question that would follow him far beyond the job interview. The then municipal councilor Inge Andersson (S) looks at him and asks:
“Why do you want this job anyway?”
It is not a matter of chance. It is a test. Boden faces a future that requires more than management. The municipality needs a shift – in thought, in courage and in direction.
It is a place in the throes of downsizing, relocation and declining self-confidence.
– I was lucky enough to get in when we were at the bottom of the business climate surveys,” says Mats Berg with a wry smile.
Maybe it’s that attitude that makes all the difference – someone who sees opportunities where others see problems. Who dares to paint with a broad brush, but also with a steady hand.
A growth program that sets the direction
Already in his first months, Mats Berg sees the needs: the development projects exist, but they are fragmented, short-lived and lack anchoring. “Tomtebloss”, he calls them. From his years in Piteå, he knows that there is a need for a tool that can bring together politics, administrations and the business community around a common direction.
– “We needed a document that politicians would actually want to live with, not just read,” says Mats Berg.
In 2017, the Growth Program is launched – and nothing is ever quite the same again.
Mats Berg was head of the municipality of Boden between 2016 and 2023 and then worked as head of business relations and CEO of municipal companies.
Five strategic growth areas are identified: trade and tourism, digital and creative industries, environment and recycling technology, industries that demand green electricity, and the horse industry. The aim is to both capture what already exists and create a breeding ground for new growth.
At the same time, it sets a concrete target: to grow from 28 000 to 30 000 inhabitants by 2025 – a clear signal of confidence in the future. But it’s not just about targets, it’s about a new way of thinking. Schools, district heating, industrial land and detailed plans are being prepared – not because they are needed right now, but so that Boden will be ready when the time comes.
From crisis management to societal transformation
When the pandemic hits in 2020, everything is put to the test. Mats Berg leads a crisis organization that goes beyond the municipality’s usual way of working – and instead puts agility, coordination and trust at the center. What starts as an emergency solution becomes a seed, and from it grows Bodenxt – a collaboration platform built to act quickly across sectors and levels.
Then, suddenly, the call comes. In the summer of 2020, the investors behind what will become H2 Green Steel step forward. Boden is on the verge of something bigger than anyone could have imagined: a new steel mill, Europe’s largest hydrogen production, jobs, migration – an industrial renaissance.
Mats Berg is there from the start – in meetings, negotiations and organization building. A collaboration with Luleå is being considered, but Boden has prepared better: land, electricity and planning processes are in place and in February 2021 comes the message from Stegra, then H2 Green Steel, we establish the entire business in Boden.
– It was not luck. It was the work that had started in the organization as a result of the Growth Programme.
Bodenxt – a new way to govern
The decision was taken early on to take advantage of the lessons learned from the pandemic and build a project structure that crosses administrative boundaries and involves municipal companies. The project platform is called Bodenxt, a strategic structure based on four themes: living and housing, infrastructure, skills supply and business. Each area will have its own coordinators, working groups and mandate to carry out the steering group’s tasks.
– We understood that we had to think in processes – not in administrations. This required us to put the best people for the job on the job – not necessarily those with the highest title.
As Stegra grows, clarity in cooperation is needed. A cooperation agreement becomes the tool. At first, it focuses on the municipality’s responsibilities: detailed plans, permits and land. Later, it expands to four areas where both parties have roles to play: housing, skills supply, residual flows and community services.
– We are not on the same team, but we are playing towards the same goal.
In the background of all the state visits of what is now Boden Industrial Park, Mats Berg has been involved in negotiations and strategic moves to enable the establishment of Stegra.
At present, there are around 40 different workflows in various constellations together with Stegra. All to ensure that the positive effect for residents is as good as possible. The most obvious is the collaboration on relocation, where the municipality’s relocation service employees work closely with Stegra’s recruitment staff to be able to work proactively.
At the same time, the municipality is facing an acute reality. By October, around 80 families are expected to move in – up to 400 people, most of them linked to Stegra.
– We know who they are, we know what the needs are – but now we need to vacuum the existing stock. The new production that is ready is basically fully occupied.
The situation is described as a manageable “semi-crisis”. Together with the landlord network, the municipality is actively working on relocation services, matching and temporary solutions.
– We need to capture these people and turn them into residents. It is super important.
He reacts strongly to claims that no one wants to move to Boden.
– That is the biggest untruth I have heard. Our relocation team has weekly meetings with Stegra and what we hear clearly is that those who are going to work at Stegra in Boden also want to live here in Boden. We have a great attraction value. We should be proud of that.
People at the center
Perhaps what most defines Mats Berg’s leadership is his view of people. Much of his focus has been on lowering the thresholds between residents and the municipality of Boden.
– When I arrived, there was already good cooperation between civil servants and politicians, and that experience has followed me throughout my time. It has facilitated the work of creating platforms for cooperation between the municipality, civil society and the business community – for example Boden Tillsammans.
He has also led as he has learned. The office chair has often been empty – according to him, that’s not where the job is best done.
– I strongly believe in meeting people and building relationships. Regardless of whether it’s entrepreneurs who are potential actors in Boden or whether it’s employees. It is clear that there has been a lot of meeting time, but I also believe that it has made the job more efficient.
The vision that officials and politicians developed is along the same lines: The Good Life. But according to Mats Berg, it is more than a vision – it is an approach. This made it quite natural that area development, settlement services, security and culture are now discussed in the same breath as industry and electricity grids.
– This is about people’s everyday lives – where they live, how they feel and whether they feel part of the change.
– It’s when childcare, leisure centers and football pitches get as much attention as a new substation that we build something that will stand the test of time – and that makes me proud.
According to Mats Berg, continuing with the development of residential areas, based on how Boden residents themselves want it, is important to reduce exclusion in the Boden of the future and further increase its attractiveness.
In connection with the adoption of the vision, it was also decided to work according to a strategic plan. A plan that meant that the municipality in practice agreed to work to ensure that the establishment of Stegra would go from proposal to reality. It also meant an increased financial investment, as the municipality was now expected to grow even more in population – a consequence that is currently being discussed loudly in the media, which worries him.
– We knew already in 2022, when the decision was taken, that this is coming. We said from the beginning that we need to go through a period of investment before we see the fruits. But this is the test – whether we are really serious about putting people first.
One concrete action he returns to is the territorial development of residential areas – and why it is important to continue making bold decisions even in difficult times.
– What if we invest 75 billion in an area that is already socio-economically strong and forget the rest – what happens to the balance of society? he asks rhetorically.
According to him, the development of Sveafältet, Torpgärdan and Lunda are crucial pieces of the puzzle in reducing exclusion and creating a sense of belonging.
– That’s how we build trust – and that’s how we build Boden,” says Mats Berg.
Daily operations and housing challenge
One of the biggest challenges over these years has been housing supply. In a short time, detailed plans have been drawn up, land allocations have been restructured and cooperation with property owners has intensified.
What worries him most right now is not the slowdown in migration – it’s the pace of construction. In 2022, all buildable plots near the city center were booked up, and overnight everything stopped.
– We know that people will come. But we also know that new construction is now at least 18 months away – which could ultimately cost us future taxpayers,” says Mats Berg.
The municipality is therefore working on four fronts: temporary entrepreneurial housing, new construction, mobile housing and efficient use of existing stock. The housing service matches needs with housing on a weekly basis – in close contact with the Stegra recruitment team.
– This is not traditional housing brokerage. It’s operational community planning on a weekly basis,” he says.
– We need to make sure that there is a mix – that we build for different wallets and different life situations. Otherwise we will have growing pains instead of development.
Leadership and culture
Mats Berg describes the keys to leadership as “kind” and “clear”.
– In Boden, I have had the privilege of working with some of the best civil servants in Sweden. It has always been about creating safe and courageous environments where people dare to think new and take responsibility,” he says.
He cites the Boden Industrial Park detailed plan as an example – developed in 16 months.
– It would never have been possible without brave employees who dare to challenge old ways of working and confident managers who support them when the going gets tough.
The Berg legacy
Today, Boden is no longer a backward option. It is a role model – a laboratory for green industry. Since Stegra announced its investment, 38 new companies have set up shop in the municipality.
– They would not have come here otherwise. We are making this development possible through hard work – but we also know that it will never happen without the green industry as a driver.
On June 30, he will leave his role as head of business, but will remain in the municipality of Boden as CEO of municipal enterprises until December 30. He brings with him unique experiences that he does not share with many in this country: leading a municipality from crisis to crisis. On one side, a negative crisis – with out-migration and cutbacks. On the other, immigration, growth and confidence in the future.
In his own crystal ball, he predicts a bright future for Boden:
– In ten years’ time, we will be known not just for starting something big – but for doing it. The steel mill has become the steel mill of Boden. We have two fully occupied industrial areas in Boden Industrial Park 1 and 2. We are full at the Boden Cleantech Center. But above all, we have lifted our residential areas. We have a cultural center where both creative and productive people can meet. And community life – it’s still the glue that holds everything together.
– “Yes, and in ten years BBK will be playing in the Allsvenskan,” he says, laughing.
