Steiner Electric
Elk Grove Village, Illinois
Steiner Electric Company is one of the largest electrical distribution suppliers of equipment and material in the Chicago metropolitan region. The company operates from two adjacent distribution buildings totaling approximately 140,000 sf in the combined area. Despite this, the two buildings are not connected, have different floor elevations, roof heights, column spacing, and do not look anything like each other.
The arrival, flow, racking, and shipping of material from these two buildings created many inefficiencies which demanded a better long-term approach. The final solution was to demolish the older, less efficient structure and replace it with a new, modern 72,000 sf facility with higher racking bays and flush floor conditions connected directly to the existing 80,000 sf plant and administration wing. The new structure is enclosed with precast concrete, while the existing building features a dated assortment of brick and metal panels.
To create a unified architectural statement for both structures, Eckenhoff Saunders applied an exterior skin of high-pressure laminate (Trespa®) to the existing building’s exterior and overlapped onto the new precast concrete to visually tie the two structures together. Additionally, Eckenhoff Saunders changed out energy-efficient glass and aluminum in the existing building and added a contemporary corporate image at the main entry.