Expansion of Crown headquarters

Crown Equipment Corp has invested in the redevelopment of a historic New Bremen building that now houses its headquarters' marketing, sales, service and branch operations teams, about two blocks from Crown's corporate offices.

Freytag & Associates of Sidney, Ohio provided design services, and HA Dorsten Inc of Minster, Ohio handled the construction of the 44,400 sqft. (4,125 sqm) office building on the site of the badly damaged 1895 Boesel Opera House. In February 2012, a fire destroyed the interior of the structure on West Monroe Street.

Crown integrated much of the original building's exterior framework and ceiling beams in the new design and incorporated floor tiles from a historic New Bremen hotel in the lobby.

Environmental sustainability elements include smart-glass window technology from View Inc of Milpitas, California. The View Dynamic Glass system tints windows electronically in response to outside conditions, eliminates the need for shades or blinds and allows for better use of natural lighting.

An open-air interior layout emphasises open workspaces and includes fewer offices, factors that further enhance the use of natural lighting.

"The fire that destroyed the opera house was an event that impacted our community and our employees," says Mark Manuel, a Crown vice president. "As the primary employer in the area and in alignment with a company tradition of brownfield development, it was important that Crown took a lead role in the redevelopment of the space and reclamation of as much of the opera house as possible."

Manuel says the project is the result of the collaborative efforts of many organisations.

Crown designs, manufactures and distributes materials handling equipment along with related automation and fleet management technologies. Globally, Crown employs more than 10,000 and operates a service and distribution network exceeding 500 retail locations in over 80 countries.