GREENVILLE — Koenig Equipment and Ferguson Construction recently were honored with an Excellence in Construction Eagle Award by the Ohio Valley Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. for Koenig’s new facility in Greenville.
When Koenig and Ferguson came together to plan the facility, which opened in February 2015, they wanted not only to increase the space available for Koenig’s work but also to improve efficiency, safety and customer service.
The new building, located on a 10-acre lot at 5155 Children’s Home-Bradford Road, is approximately twice the square footage of the previous space, and the footprint of the retail store is about four times as large, according to Business Manager Eric Moore.
The facility now covers 42,000 square feet, with a shop area of 100-by-160-feet, in addition to a retail store and lobby, learning and conference area, parts storage, wash bay and more.
Koenig President Aaron Koenig stood in the shop area and pointed to the six combines gathered under the high roof at one end of the shop.
“In the old facility, those would have taken up all of the space, but you see in here we can fit six combines at one end and still have more than half of the space available,” Koenig said.
He also drew attention to the high overhead doors that allow the equipment to be easily moved into place, as well as the 3-ton capacity overhead cranes that can be used for safely lifting parts from the massive agricultural equipment in for repair.
In addition to the retail store and the service center, the new facility boasts twice the capacity in the parts area, so that the business can have on hand the parts as they are needed to serve the customer. There also is a large wash bay to keep the dirt and grain residue from gumming up the parts of these machines that can cost upward of a half million dollars.
Koenig said the project not only provided room for the business to expand, but it also allowed employees to be safer and more productive.
Technical Service Director Ken Koenig, who is the company’s oldest full-time employee and the grandson of the company founder, said the Greenville building project was for the customers.
“The customers invest in us,” Ken said. “This is our investment in support of what they do for us.”
Aaron echoes his comments, saying, “Here we can serve our customers better.”
Koenig’s customers include not only large-scale farmers but also anyone with a home or lawn or garden, with a product line ranging from string trimmers and chainsaws to lawnmowers and garden tillers for the homeowner. Customers also include landscapers and contractors.
“That’s a growing part of the business,” Aaron said.
The store carries such premium brands as John Deere, Honda, Stihl and Ferris mowers, and the service department can repair any brand, whether Koenig sells it or not.
Koenig Equipment was founded in 1904 in Botkins, Ohio, and has been in business in Greenville since 1991. Koenig has seven locations in Ohio and four locations in Indiana with a total of 216 employees.
The Excellence in Construction award was given to Koenig as well as Ferguson Construction, which designed and built the facility.
The OVABC Excellence in Construction Awards program publicly recognizes the quality and innovation of merit shop construction. The competition serves to raise the level of construction standards throughout the industry by recognizing the workmanship of those who contribute and by the results of their commitment.
