ESCO

The ESCO Group

How It Started

Project Summary

Esco owned several buildings in downtown Marion totaling 17,000 sq. ft. The company had yet again filled their capacity and were left with a troubling next step. Would they acquire and remodel or would they build something entirely new?

To begin, they met with builders and architects and were convinced they could build a new building. This approach assumed that because the employees currently fit, they would fit once the buildings were combined.

However, the issue was that they had no idea how the combined buildings would work for their employees. This prompted them to reach out to kôr to pursue this issue further.

We assured them that a predictive approach could be taken. This predictive approach would require us to not only analyze the buildings, but also the company and the way the employees worked.

Seeing the forest and the trees.

Discovery and Testing

Based on the analysis of the organization, we discovered a variety of issues that could spell disaster for The ESCO Group and their plans to move into a single location. These issues have been documented below:

Critical Issues

The Building

No Growing Space
ESCO was currently landlocked. This gave them little to no room to grow if they stayed where they were.
Not Updated
Their current facilities were old with many closely-spaced columns.
Outdated Hardware
The current facilities experienced major HVAC issues.
Too Loud
The acoustics led to sound carrying throughout the building.
Not Enough Space
There was only one conference room and only one training room for the company.

Critical Issues

The Company

Culture Shifts
The ESCO Group was migrating from a “mom and pop” company to a professional engineering company.
Family Oriented
Even with all of these large changes, they still wanted a small-town feel.
Communication Barriers
There was a significant issue with departments in the company communicating.
Poor Presentation
The current building space prevented them from showing the company for who they are, and what they did in a positive light.

Critical Issues

The Employees

Need More Space
The engineering department was crowded and dis-jointed.
Recruiting Issues
There was no place left to add key engineering roles. Which severely impacted their recruiting efforts.
No Collaboration
The engineering team didn’t have their own place to collaborate on projects.
Separated Teams
The company directors were in the Chamber building and had to leave the building to meet with anyone else in the company.

“kôr presented us with a great design that maximized our existing space yet they showed us that, at our present rate of growth, it wouldn’t be long until we were going to be landlocked. They helped us see that building our own facility was going to be the best option for long-term growth.”

Ray BrownEsco’s CFO

“It was the best decision we could have made.”

Ray BrownEsco’s CFO

kôr Recommendations

Roadmap to Success

Due to the costs to renovate, employee relocation, and to accommodate future growth, ESCO decided to build a new 30,000 sq. ft. building.

Once the data was collected for the building, the company, and the employees, it was clear their current plan to construct a new building would not be large enough for their growth. In fact, it would be less than a year before they would need to review new space options.

With our new found data, we were able to give them the evidence they needed to make critical changes to their new building. Which led to these specific solutions being developed:

Space Optimization
The upper level of the building was split into two sections. One side for the engineers that would be considerably more quiet. The other side would be for the admin group, that had a tendency to be noisier.
Collaboration Spaces
The Engineers were given private work areas and were also given team spaces. Each team was then assigned their own meeting space.
Natural Light
Offices and conference rooms were set up in the middle of the building so everyone had visual access to the outdoors and natural light.
Improve Client Visits
Clients visits were given dedicated bathrooms, coffee room, and an easy way to tour and meet their team without disrupting other members of the company.

Enhanced Training
Training was extremely important to ESCO. This prompted us to recommend adding two large training rooms to the downstairs of the building.
Added Cafeteria
To improve additional communication between employees, a cafeteria was added.
Family Oriented
The cafeteria could be used by the employees for their own personal events.
Amenities
The ESCO Group cared deeply about their employee satisfaction. This led the team to add a fitness room, showers, larger kitchen, additional windows, pond behind the building, and increased parking spaces.

“We have increased our efficiency as a company and are positioned for continued growth and success in the future.”

Ray BrownEsco’s CFO

“Kôr guided all of our decisions to maximize our efficiency.”

Ray BrownEsco’s CFO

Project ROI

The Project Results

Below you will find the results of all of our implemented solutions:

Reduced Building Costs
Over $2,125,000 saved on building costs.
Recruiting
The building is now an asset in their engineering recruiting efforts, especially when pursuing out-of-state candidates.

Increased Communication
“I have so many more opportunities to interact with our employees now,” commented Ray. The flow of the building puts him in contact with people in the cafeteria, hallways, and common spaces in a way that didn’t happen previously.

Do you have questions?

We have answers.

Interested in learning more or want to discuss how we can help your company, please call us or contact us online.

Call (319) 362-0055 Contact Us

ESCO

Project Summary

Discovery and Testing

The Building

No Growing Space

Not Updated

Outdated Hardware

Too Loud

Not Enough Space

The Company

Culture Shifts

Family Oriented

Communication Barriers

Poor Presentation

The Employees

Need More Space

Recruiting Issues

No Collaboration

Separated Teams

Roadmap to Success

Space Optimization

Collaboration Spaces

Natural Light

Improve Client Visits

Enhanced Training

Added Cafeteria

Family Oriented

Amenities

The Project Results

Reduced Building Costs

Recruiting

Increased Communication

We have answers.

Contact Info.

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