Focusing on organic growth that would allow it to best serve longstanding and deeply valued Consumer Packaged Goods clients in North Texas, Haskell has developed a firm foundation in the Dallas Metroplex, one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions, over the past two decades.
Current expansion, however, is more intentional and broad-based, as Haskell leans into a strategy of regionalization to better support its full range of markets and delivery groups nationwide.
In March 2021, company leadership announced the formation of Regional Operations Centers in Jacksonville, Florida; Dallas, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah, and expansion among global offices to “ensure world-class facility solutions and unparalleled client experiences.” As the international headquarters, Jacksonville provides support to the Eastern United States, while Dallas serves the Southwest and Midwest and Salt Lake City the West.
“Our goal is to ensure every Haskell office is as strong as our largest,” said Pete Kinsley, President of Haskell’s Infrastructure and Transportation Group. “This strategy will be a key factor in our next 50 years of service for our clients.”
Haskell’s Dallas office is located in burgeoning Frisco, the fastest growing city in the United States over the past decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That community. and neighboring Plano, are 30 miles north of downtown Dallas in the quickly growing suburban landscape. The Professional Golfers Association of America is building its new headquarters, golf courses and associated hotels and retail, to open in 2022 and 2023, 12 miles north of Haskell’s current office space in what will virtually be an entire city.
Toyota North America and Keurig Dr. Pepper are also headquartered there. Numerous healthcare and manufacturing headquarters are either open or moving to the area. PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America, one of Haskell’s longstanding clients and its top customer in this market, is but a three-mile drive from the Haskell offices.
In tandem with this progress, Haskell is in rapid growth. Jay Floren, Haskell Regional Vice President, said that the office has grown significantly to more than 110 team members since the beginning of 2021 and he expects it to double again in the next 12 to 18 months. An additional 20,000 square feet of leased space will be required to accommodate the forthcoming personnel, and by the end of 2023, Floren said, Haskell will identify a permanent home north of Dallas with a size of approximately 50,000 square feet, something he called, in a very Texas-like manner, “The Final Frontier.”
“With the recent Regional Operations Center strategy, we’re doubling down on our resource and talent acquisition,” said Floren, a Texas A&M graduate who is closing on 20 years with Haskell. “Dallas was the first location that moved into a Regional Operations Center mode and was a catalyst for our regionalization strategy. Client growth, market expansion and revenue growth have been vital here as we develop our resources from across the country. Every week there’s a new company moving next door providing opportunities in our local community.”
Floren said the Dallas office’s top priority is more effectively servicing the Frito-Lay account, which has manufacturing interests in 35 states, and other important clients such as PepsiCo, In-N-Out Burger, Schreiber Foods, Nestle, McCormick Spice, Applied Material, Allied Electronics, Ericsson and other new relationships that come with the expansion. Frito-Lay is an example of “a customer-centric rather than regional” orientation due to the company’s expansive catalog.
“The regional office growth provides local engineering talent closer to our clients and projects,” Floren said. “Our local presence has expanded relationships with Frito-Lay and other local clients. It provides easier commutes to regional projects and clients, and it develops more confidence in Haskell’s capabilities. The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) job is part of its business evolution and goes beyond the building-construction activity that has marked the three-decade relationship between Haskell and Frito-Lay.”
Indeed, staffing the Dallas ROC with expertise in packaging engineering, liquid and dry process engineering, project management, facility design and construction, is positions Haskell to provide turnkey manufacturing solutions and moves it down the path of becoming a full-service office.
“We have acquired talent and will continue to do so,” Floren said. “That shows our clients that we are committed to expanding our local footprint to provide expanded services and an unparalleled client experience. Our clients support our growth and expanded capabilities, which gives them ultimate confidence in our ability to execute and support their long-term growth strategies. We have been diligent over the past ten years to expand into EPC projects with the support from Frito-Lay engineering. We have successfully executed multiple EPC projects from our ROC which has paved the way for larger opportunities. I expect this trend to continue to escalate.”
Haskell’s visibility will continue to increase among a base of more regional clients, such as healthcare systems, colleges and universities, municipalities and water/wastewater utilities, and open new doors as the company recruits top talent from surrounding professional schools.
Now with more than 1,700 team members and more than 100 open positions, Haskell continues to grow rapidly, and much of that expansion will take place in the ROCs. Over time, Dallas and Salt Lake City will have representation from multiple delivery groups and support services, including human resources, accounting and finance, Architecture/Engineering Core (AE Core), Construction Core (C-Core), Project Management Core (PM-Core) and Manufacturing Core (M-Core).
“It’s an opportunity for our employees to grow, develop and assume new leadership roles,” Floren said. “It’s an exciting time, and there’s a buzz around our office. We’re all thrilled with the new strategy, and the future is bright in Texas.”
