News

It is with great sadness that we learned of the loss of
Mr. John Tsesmelis, long-term General Manager of Velan’s Plant 1, on Sunday, April 5, 2015, in his 53rd year of working at Velan.
 
I came to know John well over the many years he was with the company and respected him and his work ethic greatly, an opinion that I know was shared by all of those who worked with him.
 
John was born in Greece and started to work there as a lathe operator at the age of 12 out of necessity. In 1962, he moved to Canada at the age of 17, and his plan at the time was to stay for five years before returning to Greece. Then he met his wife Mary and decided to build his life in Canada. His son Ted works in Plant 1.
 
John joined Velan shortly after arriving in Canada, starting as a machine set-up man. He took night courses to complete high school and later took university courses. By the age of 21 he was in charge of 33 employees and he continued to advance in the company becoming Plant 1's General Manager, a position he held for the last 30 years. He was a real asset to Velan’s management team, earning the respect of his colleagues and employees. His style was to lead by example: he didn’t expect people to do something he couldn’t do himself.
 
John always had the interests of the company in mind and continued to work throughout his illness for 18 months until his hospitalization on March 11, 2015. I know I speak on behalf of all who knew John when I say he will truly be missed by all of us.
 
Tom Velan
CEO