Category: Industry News

For the 2nd consecutive year, Inc. 5000 has recognized 23rd Group as one of the fastest-growing companies in America. The Inc. 5000 is a prestigious ranking of the nation’s most successful American independent small businesses. 

 

On the 2019 Inc. 5000 List, 23rd Group ranked:

• No. 1005 – National Ranking
• No. 27 – North Carolina Ranking
• No. 10 – Charlotte Ranking

 

“We were inspired to build a superior facility management company, with an ethos firmly rooted in solving industry challenges, confronting industry norms and implementing bold solutions to advance customer objectives, inspire our team and differentiate our firm. We would like to thank our employees, who continue to provide exceptional customer service through unrivaled communication. We value our relationships with our customers and our growth trajectory is the direct result of strong partnerships between our employees and customers,” said Gregg Ross, Co-Founder of 23rd Group.

 

23rd Group offers a full-range of facility maintenance services, project management, and construction related services. Its services enable multi-site companies to better manage their national footprints with a focus on reducing cost, applying innovative strategies and continuously improving the customer service experience. 23rd Group uniquely tailors its services to meet the evolving challenges associated with building, expanding, and maintaining national facilities. The firm provides services for retail, financial, hospitality, entertainment, restaurant, convenience, healthcare, and commercial sectors of the marketplace throughout the United States and Canada. For more information, visit 23rdGroup.com

 

For more info, contact: Gregg Ross, Co-Founder, 23rd Group, 704-909-4423 x102, greggr@23rdgroup.com, or Carl Paparella, Co-Founder, 23rd Group, 704-909-4423 x101, carlp@23rdgroup.com

The Orange County Business Journal, in partnership with OneOC, recently honored Branded Group as one of Orange County’s 50 most community-minded companies. This is the second year in a row that Branded Group has earned this distinction.

 

“We are humbled to, once again, have been selected for this award,” Michael Kurland, Branded Group Founder and CEO, said. “Our team is committed to its vision of building a conscious business that inspires future humanitarian leaders. It’s gratifying to know that our efforts have been recognized.”

 

The award provides a local standard for superior corporate citizenship and showcases how companies can use their time, skills and resources to improve the quality of life in the community where they do business.  By their leadership and community engagement practices, Civic 50 Orange County companies are translating good intentions into sound business practices.

 

“Our culture at Branded Group reflects our commitment to give back and make a difference,” Kurland said. “We will continue to do all we can to have a positive impact to our community and the world, and hope to inspire other businesses to do the same.”

  

Since 2012, the Civic 50, an initiative of Points of Light, has recognized the 50 most community-minded companies in the nation. Companies are selected based upon four dimensions of their community engagement programs: investment, integration, institutionalization and impact.

 

Civic 50 Orange County companies are increasingly shaping their strategies and crafting their policies to prioritize meaningful engagement with communities. No longer satisfied with checkbook philanthropy or short-term returns on CSR initiatives, Civic 50 companies are elevating critical stakeholder voices from employees, customers and communities into their mission statements.

 

For more information about Branded Group, contact Michael Kurland at mkurland@branded-group.com.

 

About Branded Group

Branded Group is an award-winning facility maintenance and construction management company servicing multi-site commercial properties. Through its “Be Better” experience, Branded Group provides clients with peace of mind and preserves their brand standards. Services include on-demand facility maintenance, construction management, and special project implementation for retail locations, restaurants, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions, among other industry verticals. With its One-for-One Program, each completed service call is transformed into volunteer time with local non-profit organizations. The company has been certified as a Great Place to Work® and has ranked on the Inc. 5000 for two consecutive years. For more information, visit www.branded-group.com.

 

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Connex (previously the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association), the authority on multi-site facilities management, released its annual review of the state of multi-site facilities management and key trends impacting the nation’s leading retailers, multi-site healthcare facilities, entertainment facilities, banks and suppliers.

 

The industry-leading report identifies six major trends driving the multi-site facilities management (FM) industry. They include changing demographics, the rise of multi-site entertainment facilities, FM in the financial services industry, microgrids and energy resilience, new FM technology, and small-concept stores. These trends are driving change across the industry and will require facilities executives adapt new strategies and tactics to succeed.

 

“Multi-site facilities management changes daily, and the Connex 2020 Trends Report helps our members understand new trends. It also provides insights into the entertainment and financial FM markets, as well as other critical issues,” said Myriah Kingen, Director, Facilities Management at DaVita Kidney Care and Board Chair of Connex.

 

A breakdown of the major trends includes:

 

• Stronger Together: In multi-site facilities management (FM), an industry so reliant upon bringing many people to the table, attracting and building a diverse workforce with widely varied perspectives and skill sets is crucial. Facilities management faces a critical labor shortage, and now is the time to create the workforce of tomorrow.
• Action-packed Entertainment: People want entertainment experiences—and businesses are listening. Adapting to this market trend, multi-site entertainment venues are expanding at a rapid rate. They provide customers the opportunity to create memories, as opposed to simply exchanging money for goods.
• Moving Money in the New Frontier: In recent years, several large regional and national banks have closed branches, opting for more technology-based customer service portals to reduce costs and streamline customer interactions. But as it turns out, the physical presence of customers is still needed and desired, and facilities of varying stripes are still required.
• Powering Up: To avert power loss, businesses are investing in technology that promises energy resilience and sustainability – the ability to keep the lights on or recover quickly, while maximizing renewable energy. Among these technologies, microgrids can keep the power on the longest and boost sustainability.
• Expanding Tech Options: Facility managers continually strive to make facilities’ operations more efficient, reduce costs and adhere to increasingly stringent environmental expectations. While there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, FM technology being introduced today can help FMs make progress toward these goals.
• Small Stores, Big Concepts: Small-format stores are popping up everywhere. Retail giants hope smaller, more conveniently located stores make it easier for customers to return products — and to buy online and pick up in-store. But will these new formats create unique challenges for FMs?

 

Download the Connex 2020 Trends Report and 2020 Trends Report Infographic to learn more about how changes in the multi-site facility industry are impacting retail facilities management today.

 

The 2020 Trends Report will be a topic of discussion during the Connex Mid-Year Connexion events in the U.S. and Canada. Held each fall, these events provide strategic direction and tactical guidance for multi-site facilities management professionals. April 20 – 22, 2020, the Connex2020 National Conference will be held in Orlando, FL, and will host the largest annual gathering of multi-site facilities management professionals in the nation.

When we outlined our asset-level retail strategy in the 2016 white paper, The Age of Experience Based Retail, we explained why we favored assets that cater to tenants with a focus on experiences. This strategy was based both on the widely observed trend towards e-commerce spending, and on an examination and forecast of our internally developed “experience-to-stuff ratio.” We calculated the ratio as 1.3x at the time, meaning for every $1.00 spent on stuff, $1.30 was spent on experiences. 

 

Today, our analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data suggests that around $1.50 is spent on experiences for every $1.00 spent on stuff. We believe this has contributed to stronger demand in centers with experiential elements such as restaurants, showrooms, event space, and activities. Stores that are primarily goods based have faced headwinds from both the trend towards spending on experiences rather than stuff, and the trend towards buying that stuff online rather than in a store. In addition to targeting centers with experience focused tenants, we believe many goods-based retailers are increasingly using their stores as showrooms, to help boost their online sales. The result is less need for inventory, and less need for a large format space. 

 

Our analysis of lease signings across more than 150 retailers suggests this trend is underway, with the median store footprint decreasing by 1.2% between 2017 and 2018, and we believe it will continue shrinking in the years to come. We therefore continue to focus on centers with experienced based offerings as well as centers with smaller spaces, or with layouts that could be subdivided into smaller spaces in the future.

 

Click here to read more about this study.

Experiential marketing leaders CS Hudson and  International Retail Management and Consulting Group (IRG ), unveiled their latest collaboration dubbed – R|Evolution – last Thursday at the Tanger Outlets in Riverhead, NY. An immersive pop-up shop that provides digitally native and emerging brands the opportunity to participate in a pop-up brick-and-mortar experience, R|Evolution gives consumers an exciting rotating experience every 90-days – aiming to “flip retail on its head” with an innovative model for the future. On the heels of this launch, the two partners also announced a new deal with Simon Property Group to expand to three new locations before the end of the year.

 

The sneak-peek opening event was hosted on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Tanger Outlet Center in Long Island, NY. The event served to launch the new concept, which offers consumers unique opportunities to interact with digitally native, direct-to-consumer and licensed brands in a physical retail environment. The first brands to participate include: TatBrow, Tangle Angel, TRU Niagen, Swiss Relief, Fingernails2go, MYTAGALONGS, Because I Am A Girl, Instant Effects, Ornaments for Opportunity and CB-Dadi’ Oil. For eight of the brands, this is their worldwide launch into physical retail.

 

The unique 2,500-sq.ft. pop-up venue provides a shop-in-shop environment where up to a dozen high quality brands participate in 90-day stints supported by a fully inclusive operational pop-up shop model that is exciting for both consumers and retailers alike.

 

R|Evolution provides a complete, turn-key solution—from installing the entire shop, staging the merchandise, tracking results, and providing brand ambassadors able to educate the consumer, create excitement and sell product—all at a fraction of the traditional cost.

 

By the end of this year, CS Hudson and IRG are slated to open three additional pop-ups branded “LaunchPad powered by R|Evolution” in partnership with Simon Properties – an S&P 100 company and global leader in shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations with properties across North America, Europe and Asia. This expansion will bring the R|Evolution experience to consumers in the common areas of shopping malls in Fla., Penn. and Ill. The unprecedented early expansion signifies what the co-founders believe will be an impressive growth trajectory as the initiative scales up—providing even greater opportunities for online brands to engage with their consumers via physical retail.

 

R|Evolution has set out to revolutionize the pop-up experience category—giving shoppers access to the exciting brands and experiences they are looking for. This is just the beginning.

 

About CS Hudson: CS Hudson – a leader in experiential pop-ups, shop-in-shops and marketing activations specializing in turnkey services and purpose-built solutions nationwide. Innovative, resourceful, versatile and creative, CS Hudson’s experienced professionals are renowned throughout the industry for their expertise in developing, implementing and managing immersive experiential, capital refresh and facility projects within the retail, restaurant, healthcare and commercial sectors. Working throughout the U.S. with companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500s, CS Hudson provides a tailored approach to meet the needs of its clients, all with unique concepts, brands, budgets, challenges and goals. For more information, visit www.cs-hudson.com/experiential.

About International Retail Management and Consulting Group: International Retail Management and Consulting Group, (IRG) is a trusted leader in direct-to-consumer retail operations, pop-up locations and carts, kiosks for some of the world’s top brands—perfecting the art of specialty retail marketing with direct experience in the operation of more than 1,000 locations and automated retail locations throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Headquartered in Las Vegas, IRG evolved from the largest owner-operated specialty retailer in the world, American Kiosk Management (AKM) which proudly served over 52 million guests, amassing more than $1.7 billion in sales for Proactiv®, the company’s most prominent client. Their customized specialty retail marketing includes testing, launching and operating multiple pop-ups, carts, and kiosks for leading companies, including Guthy-Renker, Blue Moon Hemp/Swiss Relief, One Two Cosmetics®, ABC Mouse, Revlon, Solar City, Vivint Solar, Great Foods, and Hess Toy Trucks to just name a few. For more information, visit www.irg-retail.com.

Addilan Group is a national multi-site facility maintenance company, supporting a wide variety of commercial businesses, with a focus on service and communication.  The vision is to build long-term relationships with their employees, clients, and partners based on trust, respect, and honesty through company culture, superior customer service, and technology.

“Addilan Group is not starting from scratch, we’re starting from experience,” says co-founder Steve Vollrath.  “We believe service and communication are keys to building long term successful partnerships with our clients.  Our technology, our expertise and our attention to detail allow us to provide exactly what our clients need so that they can focus on their business.” 

Addilan Group provides critical core services to their commercial clients–from kitchen maintenance services to fire and life safety inspections, ensuring compliance, and cleanliness. 

“We seek to provide more than just facility services,” explains co-founder Justin Yaskowski.  “We seek to provide peace of mind.  The trust that we build from clear, timely communication is the basis of our long-term partnerships and it’s what lets our clients focus all their resources on what’s really important to them.”

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Addilan Group supports multi-site clients by providing Grease Trap Services, Hood Cleaning Programs, Cooking Oil Services, Fire and Life Safety Inspections, Waste Management, and Pest Control across the nation.  Addilan Group’s customized preventative and reactive maintenance programs give you a valued partner, ensuring that your facilities are protected and compliant.  Their commitment to your success is supported by dedicated account teams focused on understanding your unique business needs, providing service validation, and working towards exceeding your SLA’s and KPI’s. www.addilangroup.com

SMS Assist has been named to the Forbes 2019 Cloud 100, the definitive ranking of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world, published by Forbes in partnership with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures. This is the fourth consecutive year that SMS Assist, a leading innovator in the facilities management industry, has earned the recognition.

 

Headquartered in Chicago, SMS Assist enhances how customers experience some of the nation’s biggest brands, streamlining all aspects of facilities management for retail and restaurant chains, banks, residential communities, and more. The company’s technology platform offers customers and Affiliates real-time quality assurance and transparency across more than 186,000 service locations coast to coast.

 

“Being named to the Forbes Cloud 100 every year since its inception is an incredible testament to our team’s ingenuity and relentless dedication,” said Marc Shiffman, CEO of SMS Assist. “We’re humbled and honored to be in such esteemed company and are proud to play a leading role in the cloud’s continued transformation of business worldwide.”

 

As part of the rigorous selection process for the Forbes 2019 Cloud 100, Bessemer Venture Partners received submissions from hundreds of cloud startups. The Cloud 100 Judging Panel, made up of public cloud company CEOs, reviewed the data to select, score, and rank the top 100 private cloud companies from all over the world. The evaluation process involved ranking companies across four factors: market leadership (35%), estimated valuation (30%), operating metrics (20%), and people & culture (15%).

 

“The private cloud ecosystem has matured, making the competition to land one of the coveted spots on the Cloud 100 list steeper than ever,” said Byron Deeter, a top cloud investor and partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “In fact, the average valuation of a company on our inaugural list just four years ago was $1 billion, while the average valuation on this year’s list spiked to $1.7 billion. Our 2019 Cloud 100 includes more than 60 private cloud unicorns! These founders represent the absolute best in cloud computing today, and they will most certainly follow in the footsteps of our esteemed Cloud 100 alumni.”

 

“There has been tremendous growth in the cloud market in recent years, as more and more companies are adopting cloud technologies to enable their digital transformation and change how they do business. The opportunity is massive in the cloud sector, which is evident in both the public and private sectors. There are now more than 15 public SaaS companies valued at over $10 billion whereas even five years ago there were only two,” said Matt Garratt, managing partner at Salesforce Ventures. “The growth we are seeing is not limited to the Bay Area and San Francisco, as we are seeing more $1 billion-plus cloud companies spring up throughout the U.S. and globally. Salesforce Ventures is excited to be partnering with Bessemer Venture Partners and Forbes for the fourth year in a row to recognize the next generation companies who will land on the Cloud 100 list—those who are not just predicting what’s coming but working to create the future.”

 

“For four years now, we have ranked the best and brightest emerging companies in the cloud sector,” said Alex Konrad, Forbes editor of The Cloud 100. “With so many businesses growing fast in the cloud, from cybersecurity and marketing to data analytics and storage, it’s harder than ever to make the Cloud 100 list—but with more elite company if you do. Congratulations to each of the 2019 Cloud 100 honorees and the 20 Rising Stars honorees poised to join their ranks!”

 

The Forbes 2019 Cloud 100 and 20 Rising Stars lists are published online at www.forbes.com/cloud100 and will appear in the September 2019 issue of Forbes magazine.

 

About SMS Assist

SMS Assist is on a mission to deliver a better experience in the facilities management industry. We’re doing this by delivering optimum levels of quality, timeliness, and cost to more than 186,000 properties across retail chains, restaurant chains, banks, residential communities, and more. The industry knows us for our proprietary cloud technology, easy access to more than 20,000 vetted service providers, and a customer service organization available 24/7/365.

STANLEY Access Technologies today announced the availability of its new telescoping automatic door solution, called the DuraFit.  Providing for the high traffic access needs of retail, hospitals, and hotels, where durability is a central requirement, this new automatic door solution delivers.  It has been tested for years of standard operation (390 cycles/day), as well as extreme temperatures (-30°F to 130°F), and abusive contact from hand trucks and luggage carts.  Throughout DuraFit’s development, it has exceeded expectations with its reinforced construction, durable parts, and the new iQ Controller, guaranteeing a perfect slide, tens of thousands of times.

 

The bi-part, six-panel telescopic DuraFit is specifically designed for installation in tight spaces, targeting 6ft – 9ft rough openings with high-volume pedestrian foot traffic.  This new door from STANLEY Access Technologies provides one of the industry’s largest possible walk-through opening in that space.  For security, the DuraFit has been tested to the highest standards, and it comes with full-height security hooks that are proven to resist exhaustive crowbar attacks.  DuraFit is compliant with the following code bodies: UL, cUL, ANSI/BHMA A156.10, IBC, UBC, BOCA, ICBO, NFPA 101. 

“A door you have to squeeze through isn’t a door at all, it’s an obstruction. That’s why the DuraFit is designed to maximize space, not waste it,” said Henry Kao, STANLEY Access Technologies’ Director of Product Management.  “This door has been rigorously tested for years of operation, and undergone extremes of abuse, temperature, and attack, while prevailing in all scenarios.” 

About STANLEY Access Technologies

Since receiving a patent for the world’s first automatic door operator more than 80 years ago, STANLEY has led the industry with state-of-the-art manual and automatic door solutions. Today, STANLEY Access Technologies proudly manufactures, installs, and services sliding, swinging, folding, transit/metro and revolving door systems, as well as an array of sensors, controls, and security options. Our door systems can be seen on buildings around the world in a wide variety of industries, including retail, hospitality, healthcare, education, restaurant, government and many more. More info: www.STANLEYAccess.com

BOSS Facility Services Inc. (BOSS FSI) celebrated the opening of its new corporate headquarters with a ribbon cutting today. The company has spent the last week meticulously moving from its former 7,500 sq. ft office into its new 31,000 sq. ft facility. BOSS FSI who specializes in facility maintenance, management and construction has invested over $5 million dollars to purchase and renovate the 31,000-square-foot building at 60 Adams Ave in Hauppauge.

 

BOSS’ services include HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Janitorial, Handyman, Lighting, Special Projects, Roll outs, Refreshes, build outs, Pop ups shops, Shop in Shops, Temporary Locations, disaster recovery etc. throughout the US serving multiple industries.

 

The move to Hauppauge will allow the company to more than double its current workforce while keeping its roots firmly planted on Long Island. The Hauppauge expansion has allowed the firm to establish a new state of the art training facility that will focus on providing employment opportunities for Suffolk County veterans and other individuals having difficulty finding employment.

 

“The move to the state-of-the-art facility will allow us to not only train new talent but allow us to be competitive in an already difficult labor market,” said Keith Keingstein, President of BOSS Facility Services Inc. The facility boasts over 24 65” LED screens, leading edge technology, a 40-person training facility, 5 conference rooms and enough room for future expansion.

 

BOSS is a family affair and Hauppauge holds a special place in the Keingstein’s hearts. Most of the family was raised here. “We find it especially special to know that after 18 years in business we are coming home,” said Keith. “Hauppauge is not only a great place to live, but a great place for business. The timing of the purchase cannot have been better, there is a newfound energy in the Hauppauge Innovation Park, and we are excited to be back”.

 

Today, BOSS Facility Services is a nationally recognized leader in the facility maintenance and management industry. With major retail, restaurant, finance, healthcare and corporate accounts, BOSS provides clients with unparalleled response times and communication, as well as delivering exceptional results on every project. With each passing year, the BOSS name and reputation grow stronger as more and more clients experience the superior service that is the foundation of the company’s success. BOSS ‘Built On Superior Service”.

But getting to this point wasn’t easy. When Keith Keingstein founded the company with his sister Kerri back in 2001, he had trouble attracting clients. He was just 26 years old and few clients were willing to take a chance on a newcomer even though he had reached Journeymen level status in the HVAC industry. Instead of giving up, he enlisted the help of the people he knew best: his family. He brought in Bob, his father (oversees the HVAC and Plumbing Divisions), and brother Kevin (oversees the reoccurring services division) each experts in their own right. One client became a few clients, and eventually, the roster began filling up as the company established a reputation as a service-oriented facility management provider with attention to detail and the ability to get things done.

Eighteen years later, BOSS competes on a national level, with a growing number of clients, all based on the core family values and cutting-edge service for their clients.

 

 

Media Contact:                                                           
Kimberly DiPinto
Kimberly.dipinto@bossfacilityservices.com
631-361-7430 ext:260

 

MC Group and Icon, two of the leading providers of brand implementation solutions in the United States, announced today that they have merged to form one of the largest and most well rounded organizations in the industry.

“This has been an exciting process as we are strategically combining two of the largest players in our industry,” states Tim Eippert, MC Group’s Chief Executive Officer. “Both MC Group and Icon have strong signage businesses at their core. We can expand on those complimentary capabilities while now offering MC’s fast growing Energy Solutions products, including Lighting, to Icon customers and Icon’s Construction and Refresh/Remodel products to MC’s customers. It’s a big win for our combined customer bases.”

“This is an exciting day for Icon, our employees and our customers,” noted Kurt Ripkey, Icon’s President & CEO. “We have always respected MC Group, their team, and their products and services. Culturally we are also a great fit for one another which will make the integration of our organizations a success. Our combined talent, technology and industry expertise is game changing for our customers.”

MC Group’s location in Mentor, Ohio, will serve as the new corporate headquarters for the combined organization while Icon’s headquarters in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, will be retained as a significant base of operations. The combined company will continue to operate under both brand names in the near term with plans to consolidate under one name in the future. Tim Eippert will serve as CEO, supported by Kurt Ripkey as President/CRO and Dave Walters as President/COO. The three executives bring with them nearly 100 years of combined industry leadership experience.

About MC Group
MC Group is one of the largest national providers of signage, lighting, electrical, and energy management solutions. Complete brand management services include program management, installation, repair, maintenance, energy saving retrofits, rollouts, and more.
Further details on MC Group can be found at www.themcgroup.com

About ICON
Icon is one of the nation’s largest brand implementation companies, specializing in full-service signage manufacturing and installation services, sign and lighting maintenance services, specialty services and commercial retail construction solutions.
Further details on ICON can be found at www.iconid.com