Companies are finding thoughtful ways to show their flair, encourage creativity, and give clients and partners a little visual reassurance. For one Long Island firm, creating a stylish new workspace that was both “green” and within budget was an important goal.
Insurance giant Bradley & Parker had an office in Syosset and one in Ronkonkoma. They decided to consolidate their two offices into one efficient space on Long Island in the Melville, NY, business hub. The move involved completely gutting the space and creating a sleek new facility. They decided on an on-site gym and cafeteria, an open, airy plan, and a uniformly elegant look.
“Stylistically,” says Bradley & Parker’s Executive Vice President, Mr. Wayne Nowland, “there were two different types of furniture in the executive offices and two different types of workstations. Nothing was really compatible. When we looked at the cost of breaking it down and moving, it just didn’t make sense.”
Founded in 1939, Bradley & Parker is one of the largest privately held companies of its kind, placing in excess of $85,000,000 in insurance premiums annually. Even so, the company wanted to stay fiscally conservative with their furniture, and also to make the most environmentally responsible choice.
EthoSource, a used office furniture company headquartered in Pennsylvania, provided the solution.
Mr. Nowland knew that he wanted to provide Herman Miller cubicles for his staff. Herman Miller was the pioneering company that first made cubicles in the 1960s, when designers wanted a completely new kind of office furniture that would encourage creativity and collaboration.
EthoSource was able to provide refurbished Herman Miller Ethospace cubicles at a great value.
“These are superior workstations,” Mr. Nowland points out, “using a recycled product — which everyone should be thinking about these days.”
EthoSource Account Executive Lisa Frizol worked with Mr. Nowland to determine the needs of the different levels of management and employees in the new headquarters. Taking into account the functional needs of the various staff members as well as the appearance that Bradley & Parker wanted to achieve, Frizol came up with specifications for the new space.
Great looking used office furniture was needed for cubicles, private offices, conference/training rooms and cafeteria, and EthoSource found just the right furniture in their extensive stock. Wood grain laminate surfaces at each workstation gave all the pieces a high end look.
“Lisa and her design team were able to create a perfect plan for us,” says Mr. Nowland, “with refurbished workstations, some used furniture, and some new case goods for the executive offices at a very competitive price.”
The transition into the new space was smooth, Mr. Nowland says, but not entirely without its challenges. “It was a completely new interior,” he points out, “with a lot of thresholds and milestones to be met. It was a fairly aggressive timetable and EthoSource was able to get their team on the ground here exactly when it needed to be done.”
The project involved sixty to seventy workstations, and Mr. Nowland was pleased that the refurbished cubicles were indistinguishable from new ones. “There were a couple of issues, as you’d expect with this size of job” says Mr. Nowland, “but I really measure the performance of a company by how it rises to the challenge. These guys handled everything that came up in a very professional way and made sure that we were 100% satisfied.”
With the furniture management plan implemented, Bradley & Parker is satisfied that their goals have been met. “We’ve gotten tons of compliments on the way it looks,” says Mr. Nowland.
For more information on EthoSource go to https://www.ethosource.com.
For more information on Bradley & Parker go to www.bradley-parker.com.