significantly . We are currently employing about 260 people at our two Biddeford locations and have more than 25 open positions to fill . My current title is Director of Sales , Contracts , Program Management and Purchasing . I ’ m responsible for managing all of our customer interfaces , all of the government contracting , managing the programs and also purchasing .
Q : How did you come about working for FMI ?
Dan : I spent almost 20 years of my career in the semiconductor industry with Fairchild Semiconductor . In early 2015 I was asked to relocate to the West Coast and declined . I didn ’ t want to leave my Maine roots . I was born and raised in Saco , Maine , and I still live in Saco today . So we parted ways and I began my search for another career that would be in some sort of high tech industry and came across the opportunity at Fiber Materials .
Q : What do you find to be the most inspiring part of the job ?
Dan : There are a couple of things about this job that truly inspire me . The first is being able to play a role in the significant growth of this 50-year-old business and changing the culture of the business . Creating opportunities for employment in the community has been very rewarding to me . The other inspiring thing about working for Fiber Materials is that we play a significant role in defending this great country of ours . I am a very patriotic person and going to work each day knowing what we do to protect all the people in this great country is very rewarding . We support propulsion for all of our defense missile systems , we have some programs we are working on now in the hypersonic missile market that will change the way this country defends itself , and supporting NASA space science missions is really inspiring as well .
Q : During the pandemic , we all needed to adjust to new ways of doing things . Did you , or the company , discover inspiration in a new technology or workflow that you will continue using ?
Dan : We managed through the pandemic very well . We had no impact on our production and very little lost time from employees who may have been exposed or affected by COVID . I have to give significant credit to our Health and Safety Team and the management team for this . We reacted quickly , got people who could work from home set up at home offices so we could spread out all the engineers and technicians who had to be onsite every day through the pandemic . We added additional shifts to parts of manufacturing so we could get everyone a comfortable distance apart while continuing to work . Microsoft Teams was and is our go-to technology for remote working and meetings . We are getting everyone back to work now , but with our growth we are becoming space constrained so there will continue to be remote workers . And knowing now that working remotely can work , we are offering more flexibility for remote working .
Q : What ' s next for you personally , and for FMI ?
Dan : As I am approaching the latter part of my career , I am focusing on succession planning at FMI . Over the next several years I look to provide coaching and leadership training to some of the younger members of my team that will enable opportunities for them to grow in their individual career paths . I manage four major functional areas of the business ( Sales , Contracts , Program Management and Purchasing ) and as we continue our growth , I can see management opportunities for my team in all of these functional areas .
Q : What is your favorite Thornton Academy memory ?
Dan : I would have to say the friendships I had ( and still have with many of them ) and playing sports , primarily playing football . The class trip to New York was quite memorable as well .
Q : How did your time at Thornton Academy inspire you and prepare you for your career ?
Dan : I grew up with quite a bit of adversity and we had to learn to work hard at a very young age if we wanted anything . I also did not want to give up the normal life of a high school student , so learning to manage academics while playing sports , doing things with friends and working played a significant role in preparing for my career .
Q : Do you have advice to inspire current students ?
Dan : My advice to students today is to be respectful of the opportunities that present themselves to you in your career and life , take advantage of the opportunities desired and , if needed , create opportunity . Work hard , be independent and don ' t rely on others for your success . And give back when you can .
Daniel Godbout lives with his wife Gail ( Shaw ) ’ 79 in Saco , Maine . His two brothers , Jim ’ 80 and Bill ’ 83 , both reside in Saco as well . All attended Thornton Academy .
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