F&M Trust opens new corporate headquarters

F&M Trust opened its new corporate headquarters in Chambersburg Wednesday. 

The Franklin County-based community bank held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening in the Chambers-5 Business Park. The renovated 67,000-square-foot building at 1500 Nitterhouse Drive sits on 11 acres and is home to 150 employees with the capacity to accommodate future growth. 

“Most banks will not move their headquarters to a business park, but the building was here, and it needed to be used,” said Tim Henry, president and CEO of F&M Trust. “And to the board’s credit, they heard me out and they thought about it. They didn’t just out of hand say ‘no, we want something more traditional.’ I sincerely appreciate their willingness to be open-minded about the idea.” 

The new headquarters allows F&M Trust to bring operational, support, and sales departments – which had been housed in two buildings in downtown Chambersburg – together for the first time in 60 years in a contemporary office space.  

“If there ever was a flag standing that says, ‘we plan to stay independent,’ this building is it,” Henry said. “F&M Trust is proud to be a part of this community, and we plan to stay independent because we think that allows us to do more for our customers and our community.” 

The new headquarters features an employee training room, a community room, a Butcher Shoppe micro market, and an atrium where employees, customers, and shareholders can gather in a relaxed and spacious setting. The campus also features a half-mile walking trail that provides traffic-free space for employees to safely exercise. 

The building’s previous tenant, Danfoss Drives, moved out in 2018. The Franklin Financial Services Corporation (FFSC) Board of Directors approved the purchase of the building in March 2020 from CFDC, LLC, an entity jointly owned by Franklin County Area Development Corp. and Chambersburg Area Development Corp. 

“From a board standpoint, it just made a lot of sense,” said Warren Elliott, chairman of the board for FFSC, the bank’s holding company. “We are reusing a building that wasn’t being used, we’re getting all of our employees in Chambersburg that can be under one roof, and it’s going to provide us with efficiencies that are going to last a long time.” 

F&M Trust will maintain its Memorial Square community office.