Matthew Mehring, President, Anderson Ashton Design/Build, leads one of the true fully integrated design-build construction firms still operating in southeastern Wisconsin.

Anderson Ashton Design/Build completed this worship space, which includes a narthex and gathering area, at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, during Phase 2 of the overall St. John’s campus project. Phase 1 involved construction of St. John’s Christian School.

There’s a large Skyline® Honeylocust tree outside the Anderson Ashton Design/Build (Anderson Ashton) headquarters in New Berlin, Wisconsin, that was only a seedling when the building was constructed in 1962. Today, that same tree towers over the entrance to the industrial complex, mirroring the strength and growth of one of the few, fully integrated design-build construction firms still operating in southeastern Wisconsin.

Founded in 1959 by Wayne Anderson and Clay Ashton, the company has worked almost six decades to design commercial, industrial and municipal buildings that meet the needs of more than 1,500 customers. Its in-house team of LEED-accredited architects, engineers, project managers, estimators, purchasing agents and construction managers bring more than 100 combined years of experience to a project.

“Both our founders were engineers with Butler Manufacturing™, a manufacturer of metal building systems for industrial construction in Kansas City, Missouri. The company started out as a Butler dealership,” says Matthew Mehring, President of Anderson Ashton.

From the inception of the business, Anderson Ashton performed all its own work, which was mainly industrial. “We continued to add different types of projects to our portfolio,” notes Brian Fisher, business development manager. “We’ve learned to be adaptive as sections of the market change. We still do a lot of industrial work, but over the past 20 years, we’ve added churches and church schools, retail and commercial projects.”

Mehring says that while many firms claim to be true design-builders, Anderson Ashton is the real deal. “We employ architects and engineers and pride ourselves as being problem solvers. Our clients come to us with an idea for a building in their heads and we turn it into reality.”

One-Stop Shop

Some advantages of having everything under one roof are speed, flexibility and alignment. “Our clients have one source to talk to,” Mehring says. “They are not stuck between an engineer and an architect if there’s a problem. We can walk down the hall and resolve any issue.”

Mehring notes that it’s often easy to point fingers when things go wrong during a construction project. “The contractor didn’t understand the plans; the architect didn’t have the right drawing. This is an imperfect business. We eliminate the finger-pointing and get to problem-solving.”

The company still occupies the same metal building where it started, but now it has 18 employees in the office and up to 30 field staff. This number fluctuates with the demands of the business and the amount of work it has with two affiliate companies—one that performs concrete flatwork and masonry and the other steel erecting.

The company’s architects design a project from start to finish. “They’re not stuck just designing one section of one part of a building,” Mehring says. “Our architects can be creative because it’s their project.”

Working as a Team

The firm takes an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach to planning a project. “When our clients come to us with a building they want built or an existing one they want to renovate, we sit down with our architects and engineers and bring in mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors to discuss the client’s vision and identify possible challenges. Together, we form an integrated plan to meet that vision and solve those challenges,” Mehring says.

Anderson Ashton then drafts an architectural solution and budget estimate that reflects client need and vision. The entire team works together to make refinements and adjustments. Next, Anderson Ashton project managers direct the team on the client’s behalf to start construction and build the client’s vision into reality. “We monitor schedules, track and implement changes and report progress to the client,” Mehring says. “We integrate all the parties and deliver the project successfully.”

The integrated team approach helps the company move fast because they can accomplish multiple tasks simultaneously. “The architect is working with the HVAC designer, who is working with the electrical contractor. One is not waiting for completion of the next. We work as a team,” Fisher says.

Total Cost of Ownership

The company’s approach to sustainable development also sets it apart. Anderson Ashton doesn’t consider just the initial cost of a building when planning a project, but also looks to the total cost of ownership throughout its lifetime. “Ten percent of a building’s lifetime cost is in the construction budget. Ninety percent of the total cost of building ownership is in the operating budget,” Fisher says.

“We help clients think through how building decisions they make today can impact their budget in the future,” he continues. “We have software tools to determine what it will cost to run and maintain a building and show our clients how spending money on certain construction choices can save money over the life of the building. For example, if you spend $150,000 more today for better insulation or a certain type of roof, you may save $2 million in energy and replacement costs over the life of the building.”

“At the end of the day, our customers are investing in their business. They need to consider what they are getting in terms of maintenance and building efficiency over the life of the building,” Fisher notes.

Continued Growth

Like the tree in front of its office building, Anderson Ashton continues to grow. The firm has found a niche in adaptive reuse construction, taking many existing buildings and big box stores that have closed and repurposing them for new uses.

For example, Anderson Ashton recently remodeled a seven-story building in downtown Milwaukee into a self-storage facility. “It was an old warehouse that was vacant for years. Some of our industrial clients are looking at efficient ways to use the buildings. A lot of design went into how the business flows and how employees work,” Mehring says.

The company also recently completed a two-tiered crane building for a manufacturer that features two, 75-ton overhead cranes on one level and four, 20-ton cranes at the next level. “It is the one of the tallest crane buildings built in Milwaukee in recent years,” Fisher notes.

A Tight-Knit Group

The firm is a tight-knit group that enjoys working together—from watching movies in a conference room to shutting down the office for a golf outing—and it shows with their production. “We work very hard and, at the end of the day, we enjoy being under the same roof,” Mehring says.

The company has a number of long-term employees, including two men who recently celebrated their 40th anniversaries with the company. “I’ve been here 15 years and Brian has been here more than 20,” Mehring says. “It’s a family culture. We all enjoy what we do.”

Anderson Ashton recently received a Future 50 Award from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. The award recognizes Anderson Ashton for being among the top 50 privately owned companies in a seven-county Milwaukee region that have shown significant revenue and employment growth. And, for the second year in a row, Acuity Insurance, the company’s insurance carrier, acknowledged Anderson Ashton for its exemplary safety record.

Anderson Ashton will celebrate its 60th anniversary in business next year—a testament to its lasting strength in meeting client needs. “Clients come to us with an idea in their head they need turned into reality, and it’s not always easy to get to what they want,” Mehring says. “Over the years, we’ve been able to solve those problems and come up with solutions that make for successful projects.”