History of the Company
1980's - The Early Years
Facility Group was founded by one man with a vision. That vision was that any project, large or small, could be planned, designed, engineered, and constructed by one company. A simple concept provided with a great project delivery approach.
The entrepreneurial spirit and passion for excellence at Facility Group has made the company’s mark on the A/E/C industry like no other. Established in 1986, Facility Group has grown and evolved over the past 35+ years into a globally recognized full-service design and construction firm. But it’s taken hard work, ingenuity and above all, the collaboration of talented people, to take the company where it is today.
Robert Moultrie, a Civil Engineering graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, began his career at an international design/engineer/build firm. During the early part of his career, he recognized the opportunity to take design/build to a different level. He left his position as President of the Southeastern Division of a prominent design/build firm to start his own company.
His vision was to deliver services in such a way that clients felt they were working with experts. He wanted to implement an approach that gave his clients the simplicity of holding a single contract for all planning, design and construction and ensured a high quality, design-driven experience. He wanted to take the contractor out of the control position. He would achieve this by introducing a third party into the design/build equation: The Program Manager.
In Robert’s model, the program manager would be the client advocate. The program manager would possess niche expertise in a given market. The program manager would hold all the subcontracts. The program manager would guarantee the cost and schedule of a project. What was once a party of two in design/build now became a party of three: the program manager, the architect/engineer and the construction manager.
What differentiates Facility Group from most other companies in the industry is its ability to offer an efficient turnkey solution for the full range of design, engineering and construction services under one roof. The company has managed billions of dollars of work and has delivered on all phases of the project. The company concentrates on the benefit to the client - efficiency in cost and time - while providing a high level of quality.
1989 marked an exciting time in Facility Group’s history. In just three short years since its inception, the company secured several large distribution projects in Southern California, which led to the firm’s first regional office opening in California. Facility Group was quickly becoming recognized as an industry leader in foodservice, insulation and refrigeration projects.
1990's - Diversification
At the start of the 1990’s, the A/E/C industry began to experience a deep recession, leaving many companies without work and forcing their doors to shut. Many of Facility Group’s clients decided to put their projects on hold. However, this did not discourage Robert. While many of his closest advisors were encouraging him to make serious cutbacks, he chose instead to increase volume by expanding the company’s market focus into the public sector. Robert recognized early that diversification would be the key to weathering the economic storm. He knew that when the private sector was experiencing a downturn, the public sector would be spending and vice versa.
Through two key acquisitions, Passantino and Bavier Architects in 1995, and CSG Consultants in 1998, Facility Group was on its way to becoming nationally recognized in the fields of K-12 education and criminal justice planning. The diversification plan worked. Over the next decade, the public sector would grow to represent nearly 40% of the firm’s annual volume. And the mission to exceed client expectations remained solid.
1996 – Going Global
As the City of Atlanta was getting ready to host the World at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Facility Group focused on opportunities abroad. Concentrating on U.S. companies going to Europe, Facility Group gained the confidence of the IAMS Company, who awarded the firm its first project in Europe - a new $110 million dry pet food manufacturing facility. As its first international project, the company quickly opened its first international office in the Netherlands.
To date, the firm has completed 23 projects in Europe for clients such as Foot Locker, General Electric, Coca-Cola and Hills Pet Food. The international office housed more than 40 employees at its peak.
Turn of the Century
At the turn of the century, the Facility Group truly embraced its calling as a company – to offer clients a suite of refined capabilities including integrated planning, design and construction services ensuring seamless project delivery. With deep niche expertise within the firm’s five major business units: Food and Beverage; Retail Distribution; Criminal Justice; K-12 and Higher Education, Facility Group was prepared to take on what would be the best years yet. The ongoing and overwhelmingly positive client feedback further solidified the rationale behind Facility Group’s formula for success.”
In just 35+ years, the company grew from a start up serving the foodservice and refrigeration industry to a powerhouse in its field with 11 offices across the United States and Europe.
The corporation has been recognized with prestigious awards by peers and clients alike for its exemplary performance in integrated project delivery. But no matter how many accolades the company received; Robert recognized that the company was only as good as its people. Striving to be a “great place to work” the company always remembered the core values that were established in the very beginning.
Today
Today, we continue that vision under the next generation of ownership. We are excited to announce that our founder Robert L. Moultrie, after 40+ years of working in the industry, made the decision to semi-retire (less work and more golf), and with the decision, is transitioning company ownership to Garland Smith.
Garland started at Facility Group in 2000 as a field engineer and then spent the next 10 years of his career working on project sites in various roles around the country & abroad. In mid-2010 upon completion of the Beechnut Nutrition project in upstate New York, Garland married and moved to Atlanta to start a family and work full time at the corporate headquarters. Garland has served in several executive leadership positions within the company and has been a valuable project team member on some of the company’s most successful food and beverage projects.
“Garland has shown me over the last 20+ years what a great leader he is and that he is willing to do whatever it takes to make a project successful for our clients”, said Moultrie.
“I have seen and been a part of this company at its height and at its lowest and I am extremely grateful and excited about the opportunity to lead this company into the future”, said Smith.
James E. Strack will continue to serve as President and CEO of Facility Design Group, a position he has held since 2010. In this leadership capacity, the company continues to refine its mission of providing excellent professional services while staying on top of the latest trends and advances within the industry. Its Integrated Collaborative Approach is more important today than ever and the company continues to be a leader in the design/construct market utilizing this proven delivery method. Today, Facility Group provides its professional services within the Food & Beverage, Dairy, Cold Storage, Distribution, and Industrial Markets.
By employing some of the most talented professionals in the industry, including planners, architects, engineers, and construction managers, Facility Group can deliver any type of food and beverage project in this ever-changing industry. We can augment and enhance our current staff by forming working relationships with smaller specialized firms, consultants, and food technology professionals, allowing us to fulfill every aspect of the project, from concept to completion, without sacrificing value, knowledge, or experience.
Our company was founded around the philosophy of Exceeding Client Expectations, and we hope you will allow us the opportunity to show you how our organization can design & construct your projects, large or small.