Federal Way’s Valmet was recently recognized by the city of Federal Way for being a leading global developer and supplier of services and technologies for the pulp, paper and energy industries.

Valmet’s services cover everything from maintenance outsourcing to mill and plant improvements and spare parts. The company’s strong technology offering includes entire pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bio-energy production.

“We do hereby recognize Valmet’s important role in the local and state economy and thank them for being a valued member of the Federal Way community,” the City Council wrote in a proclomation.

Valmet employees were handed the award during a ceremony Oct. 7.

“It was a surprise, we definitely were not expecting it,” said Jennifer Smith, general manager. “Everyone that works here is proud of what we do and proud of the city we work in, so it was so nice to be recognized by the city.”

The history of Valmet Corporation goes all the way back to the 1750s when a small shipyard was established in the Sveaborg fortress on the islands outside Helsinki, Finland.

In the early 20th century it ended up under the ownership of the Finnish state and became part of Valmet. Tamfelt was established in 1797 and became one of the leading suppliers of technical textiles. These operations are now part of Valmet’s services business line.

In 1946, several metal workshops owned by the Finnish state were merged to form the Valtion Metallitehtaat, also known as State Metalworks. At the beginning of 1951, the Valtion Metallitehtaat group was renamed Valmet Oy, and the product range expanded over the years to include ships, aircraft, weapons, locomotives, tractors, marine engines, elevators and, of course, paper machines.

Valmet began the manufacturing of paper machines at the former Rautpohja artillery works in Finland in the early 1950s and delivered its first paper machine in 1953. The company became an internationally significant paper machine supplier in the mid-1960s, when it delivered several machines to the world’s leading paper industry countries, Smith said.

Today, Valmet develops and supplies competitive technology and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries.

“Valmet was established in downtown Seattle in 1931 and then moved to Federal Way in 1957,” Smith noted. “Our mission has always been to convert renewable resources into sustainable results.”

Valmet is located at 34320 Pacific Highway South and it has around 30 employees. The company is a local supplier, but most customers are located outside of Federal Way.

“We don’t have a lot of face-to-face contact with our customers,” Smith said. “Sometimes we feel a bit isolated, so having our city honor us as a valid member of the community felt really great.”