Food Concepts Inc., on Parmenter Road in Middleton, opened its creatively renovated 79,000-square-foot building in 2006. Brad Duesler, CEO, gave clear direction at the launch of the project planning, "I want a $100 a foot building for $50 a foot" and through tight planning, smart real estate negotiations, creative design and a focused project team, he got what he wanted. It's not just inexpensive; it's efficient and attractive, a hugely powerful management tool for improving sales, morale and liquidity.
Food Concepts creates and executes brand strategies in the food service industry. They also manufacture food displays for food courts, convenience stores, hospitals and other places that need high design, flexibility and quality at a competitive cost.
Cost creativity
The entry window wall was recycled from a Dick's Sporting Goods store that was being replaced. Duesler saw it was about to be demolished and struck a deal on the spot with the superintendent to truck off that site and move it to his—the next day. The purchase of the existing building included more land than Duesler needed for the long run: selling off the excess went a long way to reaching his "$50 a foot" goal.
Durrant was the architect of record and worked with Duesler to provide "value engineering" ideas for everything from door handles to ceiling tiles. "We were moving from pretty poor space, so we knew the staff didn't need the very top of the line to still be thrilled with the result," says Duesler.
Duesler got to know the superintendent Ideal Builders assigned to his job. Together they worked the details, always looking for ways to achieve the function Food Concepts needed without sacrificing quality or image.
Jim Hartlieb, president of Amcore Bank, says, "This is the kind of project we love to finance: it's cost effective and, more important, it promotes the client's efficient growth far into the future."
Practical, psychological function
Delivering the project at a low cost would be a complete waste if it didn't fundamentally improve efficiency. The "adjacencies" of the design studio with production functions has improved not only efficiency, but morale as well. Everyone feels more connected to the business and able to contribute new ideas in the Kaizen initiative facilitated by the new building: efficiency begetting efficiencies.
The layout began with Bodi Engineering, industrial engineers, working through Systematic Layout Planning to get the arrangement of all spaces just right, saving time, reducing waste, and improving safety. As Duesler puts it, "we now have the corridors in the right places."
Function means more than workflow; it relates to softer issues, including the sales process. The facility tour is now a critical part of the sales process: the tour was a critical part of General Mills becoming a big customer. Food Concepts is in the design business, so it made sense that the building show their abilities.
The community has enjoyed the building. What had sat empty as an ugly shell has become an asset. Food Concepts hosted a fund-raiser last year, displaying 180 pieces of art from local artists. 400 visitors and buyers allowed Food Concepts donate almost $8,000 to the Middleton Outreach Ministry.
Recession lesson
Food Concept's building proves the rule that a tight budget can stimulate creativity, producing better results than if money were no object—a critical lesson for 2009.
