Senior Designer Pekka Nissinen

Back in December 1986, when I started at Genelec as a production and dispatch office assistant, I had no idea that my then three-month assignment would lead me into to such a long and varied career.

My long journey here, which began with a friend's recommendation, has taken me from the production mailroom and production line to property maintenance and our product development mechanical engineering team. In the early days, prefabrication was a big part of my job description. During the first half of the 90s, I started to get more and more tasks related to our factory's building maintenance and servicing. I also moved on to making production equipment such as jigs and developing production manufacturing processes. In 2005, I moved to the product development mechanical engineering team and my job description started to include prototyping – alongside my existing building-maintenance-related tasks.

My working days can include everything from managing our property-related projects to building new product prototypes and maintaining and monitoring the factory's services and automation. At time, my days may include production or other maintenance and repair needs that are deemed high priority. I also manage and oversee testing of our factory's fire alarm control panel, and I'm especially responsible for making sure the fire alarm's wiring is considered when we make physical changes to our factory.

The Genelec factory has a substantial solar power generator, which I also help to look after. I'm currently involved in the planning of its extension. When it comes to the factory, I always try to ensure we have the most energy-efficient solutions possible for our equipment and services, such as LED lighting and waste heat recovery.

The things I like most about my job are the challenges and responsibilities; there's a good mix of both. My work is varied, and I quite often get to determine what my working day looks like, taking into account my priorities at the time.

At Genelec, we apply a principle of "all different but equally valued", and I appreciate the fact that I can deal with things smoothly and on an equal footing, with anyone. I was particularly impressed by Ilpo Martikainen, the company's founder, and his unique personality, which I gradually got to know over the years. I still remember the distinctive knock of his wooden shoes in production. I'm grateful that Ilpo trusted me and my skills and gave me the opportunity to progress, learn new things, take on responsibilities and build my own life's work within this company.

My most memorable experience over the years has been when I had the honour of attending the President's Party in Tampere, Finland, on Finnish Independence Day, as a representative of Genelec. I also remember many fun and comical events that came up during my everyday work. We cultivate humour in our work community and laughter is often heard at the coffee table!

One of my closest colleagues was Ari Varla, a loudspeaker designer, with whom I also spent a lot of time fishing and building cars. We also occasionally spent our free time building custom versions of factory loudspeaker models in Ari's garage. I still use a modified pair of 1022A loudspeakers that Ari made for me in the 90s pretty much every day. Ari also made similar loudspeakers for himself, and those can now be found in our factory's private museum. Ari was a very close colleague and friend of mine, so 2008 turned out to be a very difficult year for me, as I lost my mother in the spring of that year and my best friend, Ari, in the autumn.

I live in Iisalmi with my wife and have an adult daughter who lives in Turku. In my spare time I play drums in a local band, with which I have regular gigs. Our band plays great music from the 50s right up to the present day.

Cars and motorcycling are also close to my heart. Building cars is less of a priority these days but I still actively follow the general development of the car industry and motorsport. Until a few years ago, I went rallying in a four-wheel-drive car. My spouse and I like to go jogging and bowling together.

I've been working for Genelec for 38 years now, and I've learnt a lot in those years. In the time I've worked here, Genelec has grown from a small company with 12 employees to its current team of around 300 people. The size of the property in Iisalmi has also grown ten-fold, bringing with it new tasks, challenges and experiences over the years.

At Genelec, I have seen how belief in your own work and vision can make all the difference. Even a small town in Eastern Finland can become a player on the world stage. It has been a pleasure and an honour to be part of Genelec's story and growth all these years.

Greetings from a colleague

Pekka, or "Peku" as many of us know him, is Genelec’s longest-serving employee. I first encountered him at Genelec back in the 80s, and we’ve also met throughout the years in our common hobby of rally racing. Peku is a people-orientated multi-tasker; whether you hand him a factory expansion plan or ask him to deliver a grand piano to the factory's backyard for a short-notice party, he's sure to deliver. Or then if you give him a metal piece to shave down by 0.05mm or a prototype to make from a sketch, the result will be exactly as intended, with no compromise in quality.

In his spare time, if you give him a dirt bike, some drumsticks or put him at the wheel of a rally car, then great things will happen. I‘m grateful for Peku's guidance and direction in my work. I remember him teaching me how to make midrange drivers and ribbon tweeters, among other things. Let's continue to innovate together for the absolute best sound quality!

Your colleague, Noa Eskelinen