Growing our big happy Falkbuilt family

Valerie Do remembers going to Christmas parties at SMED International with her parents and sister when she was a little girl. “Those are some of my favorite memories,” she says.

Now, in university studying fine art and biology, Valerie and her sister Jessica are spending the summer working at Falkbuilt, alongside their dad Hieu (all three pictured above). Hieu, who wraps aluminum extrusions in the factory, has worked with Falkbuilt CEO Mogens Smed for decades.

Valerie, a talented illustrator, is one of the students drawing up a storm for various internal communications projects (including some of the Meet the Falkers portraits you see here). And her younger sister Jessica is helping the design team. The creative sisters come by their talent naturally. Hieu is an avid photographer and his photos often grace the lunchroom TV in the factory.

Valerie and Jessica are two of dozens of summer students working at Falkbuilt HQ this summer. Our other students include super smart designers, animators and product developers. We’re lucky to have so many bright young people join the Falkbuilt fam for a few months—and many of those who are graduating are staying on full time.

Some of these shining stars came to us through their parents, like the Do sisters, one student came to us from a FoF (friend of Falker) and another one is working at Falk because of a conversation with an OF (original Falker) at a restaurant.

Falkers are always on the look out for smart, motivated problem-solvers to join us, whether they are already part of the family or brand new to our Digital Component Construction clan. We’re all about family—our 380 Falkers, 90+ Branches and of course our hundreds of clients around the world. We make strong, long-lasting relationships.

Speaking of which: those Christmas parties Valerie remembers so fondly? Every winter a very nice man with a white beard and kindly smile would don a red Santa suit and hand out presents to the hundreds of kids. All these years later, his son, Doug Stevens, is part of the Falkbuilt family as a Branch principal in Montreal.