Growing business from the floor up

Peter Brändström knows a good thing when he sees it.

In this case, that “good thing” — the combination of specialized manufacturing, a centralized national location and favorable proximity to partners and customers — happens to be in South Bend.

Peter Brändström, president and CEO of Bergvik Flooring Group

Brändström is president and CEO of the Bergvik Flooring Group, a Swedish company that designs and manufactures raised access flooring. Bergvik’s high-quality products are used in data centers and other enterprises to efficiently route data and telecommunications cables, electrical wiring and air distribution systems under the floor, rather than above it.

Bergvik currently has a presence on four continents, including plants in Sweden and South Africa, a sales office in Thailand, as well as a warehouse and assembly facility in Salisbury, Md. But in order to capture a larger share of the U.S. market, it would be necessary to establish new manufacturing and distribution operations in the United States.

Making new connections

“A couple of years ago, I began searching for U.S.-based manufacturers of rectangular tubing for our modular floor structure and seismic bracing systems,” Brändström says. “I found out about Lock Joint Tube in South Bend and met with Terri Schmeltz, who is the sales manager there, as well as Marcia Deal, sales coordinator, and Kevin Marks, the company’s vice president. I really liked the high quality of their steel tubing products, and their professionalism.”

He already has worked closely with Lock Joint Tube to develop rectangular tube steel for floor structures, meeting Bergvik’s high quality standards.

It wasn’t long before a whole network of South Bend-based opportunities and collaborative relationships began to materialize for Brändström.

Via the business-oriented social media website LinkedIn, he got connected with Michael Pound, CEO of South Bend-based Koontz-Wagner, an electrical engineering, manufacturing and contracting firm. The two ended up having a productive meeting.

“Koontz-Wagner builds large modular buildings with electrical and electronic equipment integrated into them, and Peter inquired whether we’d be interested in utilizing Bergvik’s raised floor products in these buildings,” Pound says.

Pound in turn put Brändström in touch with John Axelberg, president of General Sheet Metal Works, a manufacturer of parts and assemblies for lawn and garden machinery, solar power and other industries.

Brändström quickly saw the strategic affinity between Koontz-Wagner’s modular construction solutions and Bergvik’s raised flooring products. He also recognized the potential for collaborating with General Sheet Metal Works in producing all the assembly parts for the raised floor structures, as well as seismic bracing restraining systems for mission-critical equipment, such as racks for servers, power distribution units and telecommunications.

Based on the recommendation of Rob Schinbeckler, formerly of Cincinnati Bell/CBTS, Brändström met with Rich Carlton, president and chief operating officer of Data Realty LLC, which will build a data center at Ignition Park, and everything came into focus.

“I thought to myself, ‘Why not establish manufacturing and distribution operations for Bergvik right here in South Bend?’” Brändström says. “It has great advanced manufacturing capabilities and skilled labor, it’s centrally located, and it is close to Chicago — an important part of the country for designing and building data centers, which is one of our main customer segments.”

A win-win for all

To Brändström’s potential collaborators in South Bend, it could be a win-win for everyone.

“Businesses here in South Bend would be able to provide a strong advanced manufacturing foundation without Bergvik having to start from scratch,” says Schmeltz. “And, this would allow us to reach new, different markets as well.”

Axelberg emphasizes that this sort of opportunity doesn’t happen every day, adding: “This is a good example of what can happen when South Bend businesses collaborate to create a solution. As a community of manufacturers, there isn’t much that we can’t do.”

Carlton sees this as another step toward developing South Bend’s competitive advantage in the data center sector.

“With the growing number of data centers here, including Data Realty’s center to be built at Ignition Park, as well as affordable power and utilities, high-speed data connectivity via Metronet, and great location, this potential partnership with Bergvik helps strengthen South Bend as a high-tech platform for data center growth,” he says.

“South Bend is not a dying, old-industry city,” Pound says. “We’ve got a skilled workforce, solid advanced manufacturing and excellent educational institutions like the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University South Bend, Purdue University-College of Technology at South Bend and Ivy Tech Community College. When new companies establish themselves here, it helps raise our visibility and demonstrates our capabilities.”

At present, Brändström is laying the groundwork and “testing the waters” to determine whether South Bend will indeed become Bergvik’s base for manufacturing and distribution in the U.S.

“My father, who started the company 41 years ago, used to say, ‘It’s only your imagination that can keep you from finding new applications for our floors,’” Brändström says.

Clearly, Brändström’s imagination has been spurred by the potential of what he’s seen in South Bend.