Valmet Celebrates Bedford, NH Office & Fiber Technology Center Opening

From left to right: Deborah Donlick, Human Resources Manager; Eric MacDougall, Marketing & Communications Manager; Sue D’Angelo,  Reprographics Specialist, Ann Ericksson-Patey, Process Manager, Fiber Technology Center; Jukka Tiitinen, Area President, NA; Daniel Whitney, Senior Account Specialist; Michelle Cahill, Manager, Applications; Glen Hicks, Purchasing Manager; Cara McDaniel, Technical Proposal Manager; Steve Shartrand, Senior Operations Advisor; Patrick O’Brien, Product Engineer, Team Lead; Susan Ouellet, Applications Coordinator; Debi Beetz, Operations Assistant; Trevor Zecha, Project Manager 

Valmet colleagues and key stakeholders recently gathered to host a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Valmet Office and Fiber Technology Center located at 8 Commerce Drive in Bedford, New Hampshire, North America, 03110. 

The festivities began with presentations from management, a ribbon cutting ceremony, tours of the new office and fiber technology center, and a luncheon. The Fiber Technology Center (FTC) is a great asset for companies in the pulp & paper business with decades of experience and a versatile laboratory with testing equipment. 

With approximately 55 people in attendance for the ceremony including Valmeteers, Valmet partners, customers, building owner, and interior design and construction teams; Valmet was delighted to welcome everyone to a new, modern work environment for our employees based in New Hampshire.  

Employees were able to move to the new office in October. When speaking about the transition from the previous office to the new location, Drew Humphries, Vice President of Pulp & Energy said,

Our moving process was not easy. We needed to relocate our warehouse facilities and find a new space that would be willing to accommodate a laboratory facility in addition to the office space that was required. Ultimately, I think the team here knocked it out of the park with this new space. It has tons of natural light, is very open and inviting, and was made possible through the hard work and dedication of everyone in the office.” 

Several key components of the newly designed office include a: 

• Fiber Technology Center (including a versatile laboratory with testing equipment) 
• Cafeteria 
• Gym 
• Engineering collaboration area  
• Wellness room 

Additionally, several meeting rooms were created with all being named after mountains in New Hampshire (Mt. Washington, Mt. Kearsarge, Mt. Monadnock). Two of the conference rooms are on the 3rd floor, while one is on the first floor. 

Product Engineer, Matt Kuba had the following to say about the new space, “I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of our new office. Although I was initially concerned about noise given the open design, the layout hasn’t been an issue at all. In fact, I’ve found that it has enhanced our team's camaraderie and collaboration.” 

Background on the move

In June 2022, Valmet faced the task of relocating its NH facilities, which had been situated in Nashua, New Hampshire, for nearly a decade. Their goal was to secure an office space of around 15,000 square feet that could also accommodate the laboratory testing that occurs in the Fiber Technology Center. After exploring nearly a dozen options, including some within a mile of the previous site, Valmet finally selected as the perfect choice for their future home. 

In the months that followed, the team embarked on an extensive office cleanup effort of the current space while holding numerous meetings to gather employee input on the desired features and layout of the new building.   In the end, the collaboratively designed space has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from NH Employees, Valmet visitors, and external guests.  “I wasn't excited about the move, but if I'm being honest, the new office looks great! It's a very welcoming and thoughtfully designed space” – Donald Smagula, Buyer Planner.