Spectacular Modular Offices At $12 - $15 Per Square Foot Installed

By Author: Larry Tang
Total Articles: 512
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Look around and you will see technology wonders that not too many years ago were but dreams in the minds of the inventors. What is most amazing is the affordability of these products compared to price tags carried when they first came to market. Two examples are pocket calculators and cell phones - which in themselves have merged into a single unit for cutting-edge consumers. Efficient mass production of such products lowers the price while broadening the market.

A key to low-cost manufacturing is divestiture of outdated techniques, opines Mark Bassil, co-founder and vice president of MAiSPACE, a Mt. Olive, NJ, based manufacturer of modular office furniture systems. Yet for many manufacturing firms in the contract office furniture industry little has changed over the past 40 or 50 years in the way products are assembled. While it is true that these manufacturers produce attractive quality products, Bassil states, their embedded costs are such that their price points put them beyond reach of budget-conscious business owners and facility managers.

Low Cost Does Not Mean Low Quality
Today's cell phones ...
... and PDAs come packed with features without the burden of severe price penalties. Similarly, MAiSPACE revolutionized the contract furniture industry by purposely structuring its business to maximize its efficiency, Bassil says. Combining smart manufacturing, outstanding design and construction, modern logistics and assembly techniques enables us to provide beautiful interiors and customized features as low as $12 - $15 per square foot installed.

This averages 40% below price points offered by some of the nation's oldest vendors, Bassil points out, noting that the systems carry a lifetime guarantee and warranty against obsolescence.

Moreover, Bassil says, MAiSPACE interiors are move-in ready within 5 to 6 weeks of placing the order, assuming a ‘warm' interior equipped with electrical, plumbing, HVAC, ceilings and fire protection systems. This is because the basic MAiSPACE structural system was designed from the start to facilitate move in, assembly, cabling and the visible finishing elements such as walls, panels, fixed and movable furniture.

As an example, Bassil cites a 135,000 square foot renovated warehouse used as a call center by a financial service organization. Criteria included colorful and attractive design, durable construction, ease of installation and user-friendly voice, data and cabling management. MAiSPACE responded with 486 workstations in 6 x 6 and 6 x 12-foot configurations at $12 per square foot installed. So easy is the system to assemble, he says, that this job was completed within an installation schedule shortened by two weeks.

Making it Happen

MAiSPACE addresses costs in other ways.

Creating high-quality and beautifully designed modular office interiors at $12 - $15 per square foot calls for careful planning, and this starts with a professional design team to produce the best and most cost-effective layout for today and the future, Bassil notes. Our designers understand facility issues and employ the latest versions of AutoCAD and GIZA specifying software to achieve furniture and floor plans that are virtually fault free. Not having to go back and ‘make things right' is one reason why our installations are so fast and accurate.

Ease of installation is another critical point. Cost can quickly mount when installers have to struggle with poorly designed systems, Bassil says. Our heavy-gauge steel framing components equipped with self-leveling connections simplify moving elements into and throughout the building, reducing assembly costs and the number of framing components required. High strength also means the load-bearing panel frames can be used to build walls from 30 inches to 14 feet in height. Further, they resist bending or distortion when elements are repositioned as part of any moves, adds or changes to the floor plan.

Bringing data to the workspace is crucial and for conventional modular office systems can represent a major up front and long-term cost. Managing voice, data, and power cabling is a snap with MAiSPACE because our patented plug-and-play cable runs are laid in behind lift-off panel segments, not bundled and fished through structural elements, Bassil says. While this provides a definite up-front advantage in terms of reduced installation costs, further benefits occur when offices have to be reconfigured. With MAiSPACE, this time is reduced from days to hours without disrupting the entire local area network.

Finally, but always of concern, is appearance. Purchasers of office furniture systems quite rightly are interested in how the products look, and pleasing aesthetics deliver positive first impressions, Bassil points out. Indeed, aesthetics is not a luxury but a necessity if companies are to attract and retain qualified personnel. A pillar in the MAiSPACE value proposition is its broad range of choices in colors, textures and finishes that add class and a pleasant ambiance to today's offices.

Examples are panel segment options such as laminate, Coverseal, veneer, painted metal, embossed steel, brushed stainless steel, airflow, clear glass, frosted glass, textured glass, fabric, tackable/acoustical tiles, power/data tiles, marker board and paper management..

As our many customers will attest, MAiSPACE makes smartly designed interiors at $12 - $15 per square foot a reality, Bassil concludes.
MAiSPACE.com will help business owners and operators make smart choices in Systems Furniture and Office Cubicles for their offices and selecting the right Modular Offices from $12 - $15 per square foot.