Nick Lauters: Caring Attention to Detail on a Tight Timeline

In December 2019, we delivered the newly constructed Andersen Windows & Doors manufacturing and distribution facility in Goodyear, a 540,350-square-foot, build-to-suit manufacturing facility for Andersen Corporation, a premium brand window and door manufacturer. The project, located in the Goodyear Crossing Industrial Park in Southwest Phoenix, supported Andersen's strategy to expand in the western U.S.

This development is significant for Andersen as it marks several firsts: the first build-to-suit manufacturing building in Andersen's 118-year history, the first to facilitate their entire manufacturing process from start to finish and the first Andersen-branded facility in Arizona.

“Andersen had a very tight timeline for this project," said Nick Lauters, Senior Project Manager. “To support Andersen's deadline to have production up and running and product moving in and out of the facility within that timeline, we had to accelerate our schedule significantly which required a high level of collaboration from all project team members from the beginning of design through the completion of construction."

In June 2018, we began design, entitlement and permitting. Ground was broken and construction started in January 2019. And in December 2019 – 11 months later – the facility was completed. The entire project took 17 months – remarkably fast for a complex, build-to-suit manufacturing and distribution facility.

As is the case with most manufacturing construction projects of this magnitude, there are interrelated client and project variables that affect the design and many were not available to Andersen or Opus in advance of commencing design. This is where Nick's project management skills and careful management of the client's requirements – combined with our one-team approach to design-build – really made a difference.

“We needed to be highly flexible and nimble in order to incorporate those variables at the time the client was able to provide them to us so we could incorporate all of the their requirements in to the project," Nick said.

The Right Expert in Any Location

Nick lived and breathed this project for the full 17 months. “I live in Colorado and am based in Opus' Denver office," he said. “With our design team in Minneapolis and the project located in Arizona, I spent extended periods of time away from my home base in Colorado. But the relationships built throughout the entire process and the end result of delivering this new build-to-suit manufacturing facility that exceeded the Andersen team's expectations was a great accomplishment for the Opus team and all of the project's team members and was well worth the travel time required to successfully deliver this project."

Despite the geographic challenge, there's a reason Nick was chosen for the project. His leadership is strong and firm, he is uber organized and a great communicator and he truly cares for clients. This mix of attributes was incredibly important given the compressed schedule.

“With such a tight timeline, one of the most important things is to manage attentively," said Nick. “When challenges happen, they need to be addressed quickly and effectively, while carefully communicating the right information at the right time to the client."

Nick credits teamwork for the success of the project. “Collaboration between the Andersen, Opus and the entire design-build project team on the project was exemplary from day one," he said. “Our teams worked really well together and had the same mindset, which certainly contributed to delivering a building like this."

Jim Moulton, Andersen's Vice President and General Manager of West Operations, agreed, saying, “The entire team of Opus and Andersen really gelled and had outstanding chemistry, which created something very special in Goodyear. It is more than a building – it's a product of passionate people doing what they love to do and leaders knowing how to help bring it all together. The building and site meet every one of our objectives, and Opus should be proud."

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Our associates take care of clients by ensuring the buildings we design and construct meet all of their requirements. Caring for clients, on the other hand, involves a willingness to go beyond what's expected to truly engage and show sincere concern for the client, their experience and their success. Read more stories of our associates Truly Caring for Clients.

• More about Andersen Windows Manufacturing – Goodyear