Elzinga & Volkers celebrates anniversary milestone with continued office revamp, growth in 2016

On the cusp of its 70th anniversary celebration, construction company Elzinga & Volkers plans, among other things, to continue renovations that originally began in 2013 to its downtown Holland offices at 86 E 6th St.

“We had outdated space and the nature of our business is really changing,” says Vice President of Project Development at Elzinga & Volkers, John Parker. “There’s a lot more interaction at our office than we used to have for a construction company.”

Over the past three years, the total 15,000-square-foot building has seen renovations to about 70 percent of its useable space, with the redesign starting with a 20 percent increase in its first floor project management offices geared toward creating a better work environment for its growing staff. 

Parker says though a lot of companies undergoing renovation projects are going with more open floor-plans and collaborative workspaces, Elzinga & Volkers needed something different for its staff to focus more effectively — a quiet place to do head-down work in contrast to their busy day-to-day schedules of client meetings and in-the-field work. 

“We chose to do a more private space for our project managers,” he says. “Updating it, but also creating a better work environment.”

Currently, Elzinga & Volkers is undergoing renovations to add two more office spaces and a private meeting room alongside new restrooms and a new “history wall” to commemorate the company’s 70th anniversary, including information, awards and other memorabilia.

With two more construction phases left in 2016 to update its kitchen/commons area as well as the last 3,000 square feet of office and meeting space, Elzinga & Volkers’ most recent renovations come on the heels of around 20 new hires locally, with much of the job creation driven by a 30 percent increase in backlog from both new and existing clients. 

“We have right now the best backlog in the company’s history,” Parker says, adding that in 2016 they are looking at over $100 million in backlogged business revenue, with around $50 million of those projects expected to break ground by spring 2016. 

Parker attributes growth to the nature of the rebounding construction industry in the region, but also to the fact the construction company has been able to find its niche in the healthcare, senior living and commercial sectors and forge client relationships that require large-scale, continued renovation projects stewarded with skill by its talented staff. 

“We’re excited for the coming years,” Parker says. “The growth in our office is exciting, too, and it’s just an extension of what’s going on in the economy. We feel very good about business operations in the foreseeable future.”

He says over the next year, Elzinga & Volkers is looking to make 3-4 new hires for project management personnel, and expects a handful of new positions in skilled trade field operations to open up with new construction in the spring.

To learn more about careers at Elzinga & Volkers, visit www.elzinga-volkers.com/careers.

Written by Anya Zentmeyer, Development News Editor
Images courtesy of Elzinga & Volkers