In the space of three days, Endress+Hauser opened two major, U.S.-based facilities on June 23 and 25, which are co-located with two of its longtime Midwest and East Coast technical, sales and service partners—each averaging 56 years of collaborating with the company. Both new facilities are expected to expand Endress+Hauser’s U.S. presence, and strengthen its collaboration with its regional sales and service representatives.

The first opening was the $50.9 million Endress+Hauser USA Innovation Center and new George E. Booth headquarters at the company’s campus in Greenwood, Ind., near Indianapolis. George E. Booth has worked with Endress+Hauser since 1971. This 108,000-square-foot facility consists of offices and workspaces for 190 employees from both companies’ sales, services, quality, legal, project and solutions teams.

The second opening near Philadelphia is a 100,000-square-foot campus in Edgmont, Pa., which will also serve as a new headquarters for Eastern Controls Inc., which has been an Endress+Hauser sales and service provider since 1969.

“As a family-owned company, we stand for long-term thinking, reliability and partnership-based collaboration—values that are also reflected in these construction projects,” said Steven Endress, president of Endress+Hauser’s Supervisory Board, during the opening festivities in Greenwood.

Peter Selders, CEO at Endress+Hauser, reported investing in the two buildings is part of its long-term, three-part strategy, which includes serving a broad-based portfolio of industries that can offset fluctuations in each, taking a partnership approach with its customers to enable continuity, and maintaining a stable framework in the U.S. which is Endress+Hauser’s largest market, far ahead of China and Germany.

“With these new buildings, we’re strengthening our local presence and ensuring we’re close to our customers. In doing so, we’re laying the foundation for sustainable growth,” explained Selders. “Customer proximity is key to building long-term relationships and a strong regional market presence. Likewise, George E. Booth’s new headquarters is also strengthening our relationship because of the additional insights, innovations and manufactured-to-order products we’ll produce by collaborating more closely.”

Selders added that Endress+Hauser is more able to execute projects like the Innovation Center and Edgemont campus because it’s family-owned, and typically retains four-fifths of its profits within the company for future investments when the time is right. “For instance, we don’t need to worry about quarterly reports, and still commit 7% of our resources to R&D,” added Selders. “The Innovation Center is the first building in the U.S. we’ve shared with a partner, but it’s more than a building because it represents commitment, trust and collaboration, which allows us to help each other become better. Our people create the innovations and value, but the building gives them the space to do it.”

Scott Young, president of George E. Booth, reported that co-locating its new headquarters with the Innovation Center gives it a critical advantage in serving clients and attracting new staff. “This building represents George E. Booth as a company, and helps us differentiate ourselves,” says Young. “We relocated 50 staffers from Indianapolis last August, hired 50 new employees last year, and added another 30 so far this year.”

George E. Booth II added that his father’s company started distributing Endress+Hauser’s valves and pressure gauges in 1970, became its representative for Indiana and Kentucky, and presently represents southern Ohio and Illinois, too. “We couldn’t have grown without our people, so we go back to my Dad’s core values of honesty, integrity, taking care of our customers, and taking care of our employees like they’re family—and we still embrace those values today.”

Skids and STEM

Because it houses their project and solutions teams, the Innovation Center will enable both companies to expand their customer bases, and allow them to build customized process skids and analyzer packages more efficiently, according to Todd Lucey, managing director at Endress+Hauser USA.

“Customers want to know more about the material flows related to the products they’re buying, and our new Innovation Center enables this, along with our other manufacturing facilities in California and Ann Arbor, Mich.,” said Lucey. “We’re also super focused on maintaining a strong talent pipeline. We want to fill 80% of job openings from within, but this process starts by bringing in elementary, middle and high school for field trips and events like our 12th annual Community Career + Education Forum (CCEF) on Sept. 10, which can hopefully attract them, and give them the idea of pursuing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.”

Beyond its sales, service and solutions functions, the center also features an integrated Design and Innovation Studio to promote developing young talent in STEM fields. It will also facilitate hands-on learning formats, and focus on collaborating with local schools and colleges.

“We’re expecting about 3,000 students to come through the Innovation Center this year,” added Lucey. “Everyone wonders where technical talent comes from and where they can get it. Well, there are many great opportunities for jobs, including at Endress+Hauser, and many don’t require four-year degrees. The Innovation Center showcases our technologies and what we can do, but it also lets students get their hands dirty with applications and installations, and see how they’re implemented in the real-world.”

Mark Myers, mayor of Greenwood, credits its success as Indiana’s fourth fastest growing municipality to people and organizations like  Endress+Hauser. “We’re trying to bring to Greenwood more apprenticeship programs like those Endress+Hauser runs in Switzerland, and it’s working.”

Sustainability and health

In addition to its other capabilities, the Innovation Center boasts multiple sustainable features, such as a geothermal system with more than 100 wells, 626-kilowatt solar array, rainwater management, and other eco-friendly measures that underscore Endress+Hauser’s commitment to energy-efficient construction and operations. The building is certified Gold according to the LEED sustainability standard.

“This building is a gift from the Endress family, and shows its commitment to the growth and health of the company and its surrounding community,” said Krista Taggart, deputy general counsel at Endress+Hauser USA, who also served as the Innovation Center’s project manager. “For instance, the 626-kilowatt solar array on the roof provides more than half of the building’s power. We’ve reduced indoor water use by 40%, reduced outdoor water use by 90%, and we’re maintaining 8.3 acres of native prairie. It’s said that it take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to construct a building like this.”