Our Fossil Free series introduces Siddharth Gandhi, a mechanical engineer whose hands-on manufacturing experience is key to Fiberwood’s transition from pilot-scale development to industrial production.
Siddharth arrived in Finland in April 2024, when his wife’s work brought the family from India to a new country and culture. Getting to know Finland happened gradually.
“People here feel calm and focused. They value activities and balance. You can sense why Finland ranks as the happiest country,” he reflects.
Fiberwood entered the picture soon after. While looking for a traineeship to support his Finnish language studies, Siddharth came across a Fiberwood job posting on LinkedIn. One conversation led to another. Language studies led to a traineeship, and soon a role opened that perfectly matched his background in mechanical engineering.
His initial task began with setting up the laboratory and leading the installation and commissioning of the instruments, while working in parallel to develop work instructions, strengthen safety practices, and contribute to the operating process.
From the beginning, the work was closely connected to building a solid operational foundation.
From Indian Manufacturing to a Finnish Startup
Siddharth brings more than fifteen years of experience in manufacturing and supply chain management across the automotive, pharmaceutical, and engineering industries. His background spans production planning and control, capacity management, lean implementation, supplier coordination, and driving continuous improvement. He has led teams and worked closely with sales and operations functions to align customer demand with manufacturing execution, primarily in Mumbai.
Working across manufacturing and supply chain functions has shaped his approach the most.
“Machines and people always go together. Output depends on both. Culture and motivation matter just as much as technical performance.”
That background fits naturally into Fiberwood’s current phase. Describing his role at Fiberwood, Siddharth highlights its breadth.
“My work combines product development, safety, and operations. That mix reflects the beauty of a startup. When you step outside your comfort zone, real development happens.”
His days revolve around products awaiting testing, discussions on EU LIFE project activities, and continuous attention to safety and process reliability. No two days look alike.
When Nothing Comes Ready-Made
Siddharth’s strongest contribution lies in manufacturing know-how applied to something entirely new.
“When you create something from scratch, nothing comes standardised. You must build everything first, then adapt it to your environment. Seeing how things get built and how they function gives me a real understanding.”
Complex calculations shape a central part of Siddharth’s work. He leads the mass and energy balance analysis of the manufacturing process.
“I need to show clearly how materials and energy flow through our process,” he explains.
He begins with a process flow diagram that maps inputs and outputs at each stage, then calculates energy use and material efficiency in detail.
“The tool shows material input and output streams, including finished products and process waste. It also reveals energy consumption, overall resource efficiency, and where we can improve.”
The analysis converts pilot production into structured data that guides scale-up toward industrial manufacturing.
Ideas That Move the Whole Industry Forward
Compared to large Indian organisations, Fiberwood feels fundamentally different.
“There are no boundaries. You can experiment from scratch. People care about your ideas, and those ideas can move the whole company forward.”
Technical competence matters, but mindset matters just as much.
“Every day brings a new problem. Staying calm becomes essential. Collaboration supports that pace. After pilot runs, the team reviews the results together in lessons-learned meetings. Shared understanding drives improvement.”
From a technical perspective, one challenge stands out.
“The real interest lies in combining thermal conductivity and strength. We develop completely new, environmentally friendly products. Using forest-industry side streams, we must achieve the required lambda values and mechanical performance with wood fibres. This will change the construction industry.”
Motivation comes from clear momentum.
“The potential to grow feels huge. Customers and markets wait for these products.”
Building Impact at Scale
For Siddharth, sustainability has also gained deeper meaning.
“Responsibility goes beyond recycling or saving water. It shapes society.”
Looking ahead, Siddharth focuses on the transformation ahead.
“I want to see how the demo line performs and how overall operations and supply chain evolve as we move toward full production. Bringing suppliers, production capacity, and customer demand into sync as a single system during scale-up excites me most. The journey from pilot to demo line and eventually to full production is something I truly look forward to.”
Through Siddharth’s work, Fiberwood strengthens the bridge between innovation and industrial reality, turning promising materials into scalable solutions for the future of construction.
