Vaisala opens new facilities in Colorado’s Atmospheric Science Hub

On April 1, 2003, Vaisala celebrates the opening ceremonies of new facilities in the Colorado Tech Center in Louisville, Colorado. The new facilities were built to centralize the company’s US manufacturing operations into one location. The Boulder, Colorado, area is recognized internationally as a hotbed for atmospheric sciences. Vaisala, the world’s leading provider of weather observation equipment and services, joins the industry nucleus formed by University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) laboratories, data centers, and offices in affirming this area’s importance in this global industry. Vaisala’s significant investment here also reinforces its commitment to the North American market.

“In recent years the US market has become increasingly important for the Vaisala Group and this increase is expected to continue. We’re committed to the North American market. By centralizing our operations, we naturally aim at improving efficiency and enhancing productivity, enabling us to better serve this market,” says Pekka Ketonen, President and CEO of Helsinki-based Vaisala Group. “The Boulder area was selected as the Vaisala Group’s central location in the USA and it will be the focal point of the development of our US operations. Several important meteorological research institutes and laboratories that Vaisala works in close cooperation with are also located in Boulder.”

The new facilities were built on a site that Vaisala purchased in 2002. Construction work was completed in January 2003. The investment totaled approximately USD 5.5 million (EUR 5.5 million). The new facilities comprise 40,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space, housing 62 employees. Design elements reflect a clean-lined and modern style reminiscent of the company’s Finnish roots. The facility is also a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for several of Vaisala’s global product lines. Dropsondes, wind profilers and aviation weather systems as well as automatic weather stations for the US market are produced at the facility. Significant engineering development work and after sales services will operate here. The site allows extension of the facilities in the future.

Vaisala offices in Boston, Columbus and Sunnyvale in the USA continue to function as sales, customer service and product development locations. Vaisala’s office in Tucson, Arizona, continues production, product development, sales and marketing.