Senior Designer Noa Eskelinen

Sometimes life takes you in an unexpected new direction, which happened to me in the mid-90s, when a doctor diagnosed me with asthma and suggested I leave my job as a carpenter. For me, Genelec seemed like a natural place to go. I had already completed an apprenticeship here, and I was very familiar with the company, since my godfather was one of the founders and I visited the factory with him as a child. So, I took the liberty of calling the production manager at the time and got the job.

Decades later, I'm still here at Genelec. My long career is closely linked to my respect for my godfather, Ilpo, and the previous generations who've made a mark here. At Genelec, I've been able to continue working with my hands, bringing value to others, while getting better and better. The work has also taken its toll at times – sometimes heavily. Yet, working, learning and developing with my colleagues has made my work meaningful and provided for my family.

I started in amplifier assembly and warehousing, moved on to the assembly and testing of midrange and tweeter drivers and, later, the manufacturing of supporting products. These jobs taught me many things, from ensuring quality to understanding effective manufacturing methods, materials, tooling and workstation development. Over the years, my tasks have changed, but the essence has remained the same – to create loudspeaker elements that make the sound cleaner and more accurate.

No two days at Genelec are the same, but my work usually involves making new prototypes, developing elements and improving production methods. I also assist in production and maintenance, audits, material inspections and quality assurance. My colleagues are very important, and, for me, coffee table discussions are the highlight of the day. I'm known at work for a little vice of mine: eating an ice cream cone during almost every break.

What matters most in my job is rising to the challenge of developing solutions - finding improvements so the device works as well as possible. When I meet that challenge, I know that I'm helping my colleagues and our clients to succeed and experience the joy of their work.
When I think back to my most memorable moments here, I particularly remember the development of our 8260A coaxial element and the feeling of solving mechanical problems along the way – which allowed us to successfully build it. I was also involved in developing the assembly jigs for the element and the workstations for production.

When we created the 8351A The Ones SAM Monitor, we developed completely new solutions, so unusual in fact that a very experienced person from another industry asked in amazement, "How did you do this?". It felt that we had performed one miracle after another. I remember well my first experience of our prototype of that monitor. I listened to Finlandia from my own recording of the Lapinlahti Symphony Orchestra at Lapinlahti Church. It gave me chills and brought a tear to my eye.

Our design of a smaller coaxial element and creation of 'racetrack' elements have also stayed vivid in my memory. Those moments when we first hear the result of the work we do seem to remain with me forever, and I feel a real sense of pride in being part of something bigger.
I live in a small town in Lapinlahti, Finland, and it is important to me that even small towns remain vibrant and attractive from a business perspective. It is vital to create jobs for people of all ages in the local area – also for future generations.

In my spare time, I've been building our home. I started making the floor plans back in the 90s, and it's a project that will probably take forever. We live there now, although there is still work to be done – as there always seems to be with any detached house. I have three daughters, and I spend time with them whenever I can. My eldest daughter recently graduated as a mechanic, my middle daughter is in high school, and my youngest is still in primary school. My parents are also closely involved in our daily lives; we help each other with a whole range of things.

At a young age, I would learn alongside my parents by doing various practical tasks, from repairing a tractor engine to mending trousers or building model cars. Back then, I spent a lot of time restoring old cars. It was a good way to learn about mechanics and how to achieve a good quality result. These things all played a part in me developing different perspectives and gaining a decent grasp of sustainability.

For me, being out in nature is an important break from everyday life. When I think about sustainability, I come back to the idea of respect and creativity. We should respect nature and think about the kind of world we want to leave for others. Natural resources should not be wasted in vain, and it is important to think first about whether a broken object can be repaired or re-purposed, rather than replaced with a new one. I've been known to say, "Let's not fill the world with silly products."

Music is also close to my heart. I listen to a lot and have sung in various choirs for years as a tenor. Singing gives you great strength. Music and my work have something in common; in both, the final result is the fruit of careful listening and collaboration.

In my work, I strive to develop long-lasting products that provide a good experience for users. They should have a long lifetime that can be further extended through maintenance – with materials that can eventually be recycled for new uses. For me, my work at Genelec is also a way to honour what is precious – pure and natural sound.

Remember to keep listening to good music!

Greetings from a colleague

My journey together with Noa started in our work life many years ago at Genelec. We soon found that we shared a common interest in rallying, and within a short time Noa became my maintenance guy at the rally tracks. Noa is a calm and friendly guy you can always trust. He is very thoughtful and thorough in his approach. He has a wide range of skills, and you can be sure he’ll get the job done. He has practical skills that you don't learn from books, that you only get from doing things, experimenting and being a true enthusiast.

Thank you for everything, Noa! It's great that we continue to work together – and hopefully we will for a long time to come.

With friendship, your workmate Pekka Nissinen, Senior Designer for R&D