Structurally Sound Business Approach
Leads to Growth
A little more than three years ago, Jeremy Baer, PE, took a leap of faith and started TEKTON Engineers in Northfield, Minnesota. With a team approach focusing on collaboration and partnering with his structural engineering clients, he has seen his business flourish and grow revenues annually since the firm began operations.
“We are a structural engineering firm heavily concentrated on industrial and commercial buildings with extensive experience in finding economical solutions to complex problems,” Baer says. “Our firm offers design, analysis, site studies, preparation of construction documents, construction administration and project management.”
“We focus on creating the greatest value for our clients, seeking to understand how they define success, and then committing our efforts to making that happen. Our motto is ‘Your Vision, Our Mission,’ ” he adds.
His team of engineers and drafters brings more than 40 years of experience to their work for architects, contractors and developers, and manufacturing and industrial clients throughout the country. They hold licenses in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Utah.
‘Open Collaboration, Constant Curiosity’
According to Baer—TEKTON Engineers’ principal and owner—it is not just the services offered to clients that help his firm stand out to existing and potential clients, but also the spirit of service behind them.
“We like projects that are design-build or similar to design-build because they allow us to work closely with the client as well as the contractor,” says Baer. “We offer more than structural engineering alone. We can be the design lead for a project as well, especially in the manufacturing realm.”
“Our business style is one of open collaboration and constant curiosity,” Baer continues. “Since our business involves the expertise and cooperation of many different people with diverse skills and areas of expertise, we try to engage them actively in the design process.” “Everyone has something to offer, and TEKTON attempts to bring that out in the entire design team by creating an atmosphere of collaboration,” he says. “The execution requires that every individual works together for the greater whole, so if everyone can see his or her contribution to the whole, then the entire project goes well.”
While other companies find niche specialties, TEKTON strives to understand the whole of the project instead of focusing on just one aspect of engineering, he says. “Understanding the client’s vision is also part of where the company gets its name. ‘Tekton’ is the Greek word for craftsman or artisan and connects to the word architect or master builder. Even though we are not architects, we want to provide a wealth of information and assistance to our clients,” he says.
High-Profile Projects
TEKTON has provided this generalist approach to structural engineering to many high-profile projects, including the multimillion-dollar renovation of PEX (polyethylene) pipe manufacturer Uponor North America’s plant in Hutchinson, Minnesota. Uponor purchased a 237,000-square-foot building in 2017 and is in the process of renovating it into a factory that makes PEX pipe, which Uponor uses in plumbing, fire sprinkler, radiant heating and cooling systems. This expansion is one of several projects in which TEKTON has played a leading role for the design team.
“We become part of the owner’s and contractor’s team. It’s not exactly a design-build project, but it works in a very similar way, as we support the architect and contractor from the start,” Baer says. “We worked with Uponor on its last two major expansions in 2015 and 2017 in Apple Valley, in addition to the new acquisition in Hutchinson.”
Dan Hughes, Uponor North America’s Director of Real Estate, Security and EHS, has worked with Baer and members of his staff for almost 14 years on many projects related to Uponor’s growth.
“We’ve worked together to design expansions for office, manufacturing and warehousing, as well as related projects for laboratory, research and development, and site improvements. Some of these projects have even been designed, constructed and certified to USGBC LEED standards,” Hughes says. “As of Feb. 5, 2018, Uponor is a resident in and operating over 1 million square feet of facilities, and TEKTON is a critical resource to me in managing this portfolio. Because of the deep knowledge they have developed regarding all of our facilities and operations, they are more of a business partner than a service provider. Their focus on customer service, value engineering and structural/architectural design work is exceptional.”
Working with TEKTON on projects—including many with Uponor’s Apple Valley, Minnesota, campus, and now the Hutchinson site—is PCL Construction Services, Inc., a company well-known for industry excellence. The atmosphere of teamwork and communication, combined with the expertise of each team member, has made this relationship a standard, setting the tone for how other jobs are executed.
Sean Scott, Special Projects Manager with PCL, says, “TEKTON Engineers, under Jeremy Baer’s leadership, has been a tremendous firm to work with and a trusted partner. Over the past several years, PCL Construction and TEKTON have successfully completed over 20 projects together. Jeremy and his team have proven time and again that deadlines and deliverable dates are not just goals but firm dates that are met consistently, always willing to put in the extra effort to get a project started on the right track. We are excited for TEKTON’s growth and future as a strong structural engineering firm that excels as a primary project consultant.”
TEKTON also worked with Molin Concrete Products on its precast/prestressed automated wall panel operation in Ramsey, Minnesota. Completion of the facility’s building modifications happened in just eight months on this plant. TEKTON was responsible for updates made to support new manufacturing equipment that Molin imported from Germany, requiring multiple pits, and both embedded and overhead crane rail systems. TEKTON was also responsible for ensuring that the pieces of this complicated project fit together and that all the details, including both imperial and metric systems measurements, were accurate.
Baer says most of the firm’s work comes from repeat clients, but notes that the project lineup is well diversified with a mix of clients in the commercial, industrial, historical and housing markets. He is working on expanding the base of architects he works with in addition to his regular partnerships. His goal is to focus on organic growth and increasing market share by getting to know the construction community better, as well as by expanding the range of services offered to the firm’s existing clients, including broader project management and other engineering disciplines.
Leadership Lessons
As a team leader, Baer says he has learned extensively on the job that there is an important transition to make from doing technical work to running a business that does technical work.
“It’s one reason I like for us to be so collaborative. I like to inspire curiosity in my team. I want team members to understand the role and expertise that each person brings to each project,” he says. “If we all have that mindset of learning, it truly helps us be a better team. I try to be deliberate about everyone knowing how the business operates.”
To further his business leadership skills, Baer participated in a Goldman Sachs program called 10,000 Small Businesses, which he completed at the end of 2016. It was a great experience where many small business owners came together from across the country to fine-tune their businesses and produce growth plans, he says.
TEKTON also gives back to the community. Baer says businesses are meant to serve not only clients and employees but also the greater society to create thriving communities. TEKTON and its employees volunteer both time and resources to several local charities in the area, including the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, Rotary Club, Rice County Habitat for Humanity, Northfield Women’s Center, and coaching the local high school’s Science Olympiad team.
“I have found there is a vast difference between being a design engineer and being a business owner,” Baer says. “Over the past several years, I’ve learned the value of magnanimity, prudence and humility. Magnanimity allows the business owner to aspire after great and difficult things for the business and the employees. Prudence ensures that he stays within the realm of what is possible. Humility gives him true knowledge of self, with his strengths and weaknesses. It also allows him the freedom to be inspired by the great people and the great works that have come before him.”