We’re going to get an opportunity to look at Barts Electric’s brand-new headquarters. We’re getting close to finalizing construction here, so we’ll have a great look at the progress and some of the things that we’re excited about as we move into the new facility.

I’m William Walker, President of Barts Electric. With me is Sean Pummel, President of the Kansas City office.

Barts Electric has experienced exceptional growth over the last several years. Anybody that’s driven by our original campus has seen that we’ve run out of parking. And anybody that’s been in the building knows that we’ve run out of office space. Now, we’re taking the opportunity to spread our wings a bit. We’re going to have a little extra space between the two facilities where we can grow and continue that growth.

Last year, we experienced almost 50% growth as a company. We’re going to see another 25% growth this year on top of that, and we expect that 25% growth to steadily increase.

One of the things that you’ll hear Bart Walker repeat a lot—something that’s representative of Barts Electric—is “in the light,” meaning that we do everything in the light. Integrity is paramount, and this facility represents that commitment. This phrase is a cultural pillar of Barts Electric.

Tina Bingham is kind of our resident cook. She comes in and cooks for the folks in the office. This is a spot where we can sit together, talk about challenges, and discuss the things we’re trying to accomplish.

The building is divided into four sections—upstairs, downstairs, north, and south wings—and they follow a pretty typical layout. If you look down the center, this is where most of our operations will be. The PMs and some of the junior PMs will be out in cubicles, while some of the more senior PMs will have offices around the perimeter.

There are two offices down to the right that will house purchasing, with purchasing agents in cubicles. Safety will also be located in this area, along with a few cubicles for foremen who need a workstation to review plans and collaborate with their PMs. They’ll have a place where they can work effectively.

We’ve also got room for about 12 to 15 more estimators in cubicles. As Sean mentioned, our estimating team has seen exceptional growth. They’re the ones helping us price all the change orders on projects, which helps the operations team stay efficient. Everyone will be located here.

Eventually, we’ll also bring some of our training and education into this building. Barts Electric has its own Department of Labor–approved apprentice program. Our goal is to make that program the best it can be—facilitating the growth of our apprentices and helping them fast-track their success. This space allows us to provide a dedicated, permanent area for that growth and continued education—not just for apprentices, but for the rest of the company too.

Everybody wants to be together, and I think we’re all excited to get it completed, move into the space, and be able to work together in a more organized fashion. Previously, departments were a little separated. Individuals within departments were also somewhat isolated, just because of the available space. This new facility is really going to bring everyone together and create a more functional flow.

This has also been a great opportunity for us to train our Red Hats. They were able to come into the facility and do some electrical work under close supervision. It’s also been a chance to grow some of our leadership.

More than anything, we’re excited that we get a facility where we can all be under one roof. We can work together, eat together, work out together—we can do everything that a good work family should do together. And we’re all going to do it while growing, while progressing, and with the elbow room in this facility to keep growing.

Eventually, we’ll be in both buildings, and Barts Electric will look back and say, “Wow, we never thought we’d be able to fill up both of them.