State St. Facility Additions | Gentex

Details

Budget

$27M

Start Date

May 2022

Architect

InterActive Studio

Project Supervisor

Steve Weatherwax

DESCRIPTION

Gentex, a global leader in automotive part manufacturing, continues to experience incredible growth, requiring rapid expansion to their local operations. As a long-time partner of Gentex, Lakewood understands the unique complexities of working in their active and occupied spaces, which often include trade secret and proprietary elements that require strict safety and security standards.

To meet their growth, two large wings were added to the Northwest and Southwest sides of their flagship State Street facility. The Southwest wing was built to provide a quieter, cleaner environment for hand assembly operations. A unique challenge of this space was the extremely tight tolerances required for floor flatness to support the integration of automated storage shelving systems. This required high quality control standards and constant communication with trades as the floors were poured and shaped.

The northwest wing was constructed to offer additional space for glass bending operations, which integrate large equipment that draw significant electrical power. Given the scale of the new equipment, significant power infrastructure and capacity had to be added. Adding electrical capacity can often cause schedules to shift because of delays in working with the provider, however, Lakewood’s crews carefully planned the timing and coordination of these needs to ensure the schedules remained within scope.

“Lakewood has consistently proven to be a trusted partner—bringing expertise, accountability, and a solutions-driven mindset to every project. Their ability to align with our standards, adapt to change, and deliver complex builds on time and on budget has made them an integral part of our continued growth at Gentex.” Scott Heerema, Facilities

Gentex NRC 3

Details

Budget

$90M

Completion Date

January 2024

Architect

InterActive Studio

Project Supervisor

Clark Causley

DESCRIPTION

Gentex is renowned for its cutting-edge manufacturing of automotive mirrors, electronics, and dimmable glass products. Their commitment to innovation and quality naturally aligned with Lakewood’s values and passion, leading to a strong long-term partnership.

Gentex approved the construction of the NRC3 building to expand their manufacturing capacity for current and future needs. This building has over 300,000 sf of manufacturing space and over 100,000 sf of mechanical, warehousing, office and café space. The structural steel structure rises high above the production floor allowing clearance for utilities and mezzanines above manufacturing lines. Equivalent to 129 Olympic-sized swimming pools, this production volume requires 16 semi-trailer sized HVAC units and over 8,000 feet of large diameter spiral ducts.

Built for flexibility and growth, this building houses the utilities for a variety of manufacturing needs. A large distribution loop passes over the manufacturing space for the delivery of compressed air, nitrogen, RO water, power, chilled water, and hot water. Each of these utilities require significant back of house systems to receive, purify, and recover to maintain the highest purity and to recycle for reuse. This utility loop provides the infrastructure for new equipment to be installed quickly and anywhere on the production floor.

Magna International

Details

Budget

$8.8M

Completion Date

September 2022

Architect

Lakewood Architecture

Project Supervisor

Dale Austin

Overview

Magna International manufactures high-end components and systems that require tremendous accuracy and quality PPM. Magna has been a Lakewood partner for decades because they know that when tolerances are tight and accuracy is mission-critical, Lakewood has them covered.

Our architecture team worked to design an addition that optimally integrates into existing facilities and increases efficiency. Through internal design-build processes, we are able to communicate the intricate and specific design features quickly and easily- ensuring a seamless transition from concept to procurement.

The addition created much needed storage space at the home site for materials that were previously stored off campus. The addition needed unique specifications in order for Magna to store their precious materials with peace of mind. Lakewood was able to meet their needs while remaining on schedule, and on budget, all while facing supply chain shortages.

The Stow Company

Details

Budget

$51M

Start Date

February 2022

Completion Date

June 2023

Architect

Lakewood Construction

Project Supervisor

Jon Quist

Overview

Challenges:

Build in a new state while headquartered in Holland, MI.
Invest in new relationships with trade-contractors.
Create new relationships with the local municipalities and service providers.

FROM WEST MICHIGAN TO THE WESTERN US

The Stow Company is a closet and storage solution manufacturer, headquartered out of Holland, Michigan. Since the company was founded over 30 years ago, they have seen tremendous growth. This growth has resulted in a longstanding relationship with Lakewood Construction, having partnered on numerous projects over the last 10 years to continue their expansion.

As Stow continues to experience exponential growth, they knew they needed a way to better serve their customers on the western half of the United States and to do that, they needed to build a manufacturing hub out west.

After acquiring land in Nampa, Idaho, Stow made the decision to present Lakewood Construction with the opportunity to follow them out West and design and build their new facility. The Stow Company attributed their choice of foregoing getting multiple bids and going directly to Lakewood Construction, to their proven history of success together and trust in the Lakewood team to guide them in creating a facility to support their continued growth.The Lakewood team eagerly accepted and began integrating themselves into the Nampa community to ensure this projects success.

The Lakewood Architecture team worked closely with the project owners, our own construction team, E3M solutions, Megan Murray Interiors, and Holland Engineering to ensure the project was planned with the right expertise.

The new facility will include 20,000 sf of office space and 520,000 sf of manufacturing space. The addition of this space will not only allow them to continue to grow, it will also allow them to better serve their Western U.S. based clientele. The construction for this project began in February of 2022, and was completed on time and on budget in June of 2023.

EarthTronics

Details

Budget

Start Date

November 2019

Completion Date

December 2020

Architect

Lakewood Construction

Project Supervisor

Andy Ostrander

Overview

Challenges/Solutions:

Work closely with city government
Orchestrate purchase of city-owned property
Gain site plan approval
Collaborate with overseas parent company
Build during a pandemic
Create showcase space for key clients & workers

A SHOWCASE FOR THE FUTURE

LED lighting product manufacturer EarthTronics was looking to create a space that would effectively house all of its needs under one roof. But going beyond daily operations, the space also needed to welcome international team members while also serving as a showcase for potential big box clients.

For the sake of efficiency, EarthTronics needed to build a single space for its office and warehouse needs, which previously resided in separate buildings. It was discovered that the ideal property was part private- and part city-owned. To gain the necessary approvals, our team needed to sort through the details of a complex purchase.

Working through the pandemic was another major challenge, since the China-based parent company was shut down throughout the project.

Providing both architectural and contracting services, Lakewood was able to work closely with EarthTronics from start to finish. In the process, our teams provided the necessary documentation and support needed by the City of Norton Shores to approve the land purchase.

Transparency was another key advantage to working with Lakewood. To keep the project on schedule, our team provided routine cost analyses for the parent company in order to receive budget approvals.

JR Automation Office & Manufacturing Addition & Remodel/Renovation

Details

Start Date

July 2017

Completion Date

March 2018

Architect

Maxam Architecture | Grand Rapids, MI

Project Supervisor

Steve Weatherwax

Overview

JR Automation is one of the fastest growing companies along the West Michigan Lakeshore. Over the past five years, Lakewood has had the opportunity of being selected as one of their business partners to help them achieve and be successful in their business goals.

Lakewood completed construction on a 75,000-sf state-of-the-art industrial area and a 10,000-sf office expansion. Special components of the project included Class A manufacturing space, an addition to the existing manufacturing space, relocation of an existing pond, air piping, bus ducts, crane access to the entire expansion, the tech-style office addition features high-end conference rooms, offices, and a new breakroom area. Logistics, planning, and schedule were successful elements of this project as the existing facility was fully occupied for the duration of the project, and JR’s commitment to their clients required turnover of the space in an accelerated timeframe.

West Shore Design | New Office & Manufacturing Facility

Details

Start Date

September 2017

Completion Date

May 2018

Architect

Maxam Architecture | Grand Rapids, MI

Project Supervisor

Steve Vork

Overview

West Shore Design is a 25,000-square-foot industrial building that combines office staff, design and engineering staff, and warehouse space all under one roof.

From the beginning, the owner’s main goal was to build for today and plan for tomorrow. Even though the building design is more than sufficient to house the company’s needs of today, they wanted to ensure they had space to grow. There were a few challenges we faced right from the start.

The proposed building was partly in the 100-year flood plain which was a major issue because part of the growth plan was inside this foot print. The solution was to dig a wet pond in the back of the property instead of a dry pond. This allowed us to take sand from this area and raise the building, as well as the planned addition out of the flood plan. This solution had relatively little impact on the project cost and gave the owner’s great peace of mind for the future.

In order to meet their goal of planning for tomorrow was their need in having Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) flooring. ESD flooring presents a challenge in being installed properly to ensure its functionality, and in availability going forward. We worked through the challenges and were able to install this flooring for today and for tomorrow.

Lakewood was able to self-performed carpentry and also installed the unique flooring, the project has been a complete success. All parties are left with a feeling that West Shore Design is set up not only for today but for the future, as well.