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bkm OfficeWorks + Viasat: Equipping the Future
As with so many of our working relationships with clients, the partnership with Viasat began by winning a bid. Back in 2015 bkm OfficeWorks won a 5-year bid to design and provide office furniture for multiple Viasat locations located within the continental United States. We’ve accomplished a tremendous amount for the telecommunications giant since then. We have also cemented a working dynamic that is based upon mutual trust and admiration.
“Their work is outstanding. It’s why we’ve chosen to stay with them and renew our contract.” – Amber Jordan, Infrastructure and Office Services Manager for Viasat
Below we go into some of the details on our work together, but here are some quick statistics:
- 26+ locations
- 44+ buildings
- 25+ laboratories
- Nearly 6k employees
- 675,000 sq. ft. of office space
Read more in our Viasat case study.
Viasat: Global Communications Leader
Viasat has several global lines of business, including:
- Home internet
- Small business internet
- Community internet
- Aviation
- Defense
- Space and networking technology
Started in 1986, the company’s main campus is located in Carlsbad, California—just a few miles from bkm headquarters. Viasat reported $2.3 billion in revenue in 2020. Key services and products include networking and satellite internet access, military comms equipment, modems, and broadband connectivity.
Design and Installation Projects Across the U.S.
bkm quickly formed a team dedicated to Viasat composed of an account manager, designers, customer support, and a project manager. Projects range from simple furniture or design upgrades of small spaces to the equipping of entire multi-story buildings. “It’s been wonderful watching the synergy between our two teams. We get along well, we work well together, and the development of that relationship has been great,” notes Jen Evans, President of bkm Design and Development.
The projects are located in Viasat spaces all over the United States. “bkm does all of our furniture throughout the U.S. for us,” says Viasat’s Amber Jordan. Locations include Duluth, Georgia, Austin, Texas, Boston, Massachusetts, Cleveland, Ohio, Washington D.C. and Tampa, Florida. “We also do a lot of smaller projects, like refreshing a conference room. We’re constantly redesigning for new uses in existing spaces,” says Jordan.
Lab Furnishings for Viasat
bkm has worked on all kinds of projects with Viasat. We’ve designed office spaces, conference rooms, feature areas including their headquarters, atriums, manufacturing spaces, conference rooms and centers, training rooms, outdoor spaces, cafes, dining rooms, lounges, and even outdoor game areas for employees to let loose.
One area of specialization required by Viasat is their labs. bkm is uniquely positioned to provide both on- and off-carpet technical lab furniture and accessories. These can include the following:
- Tech benches
- Wet labs
- ESD labs
- Mobile benches
- Modular casegoods
- Equipment storage
- Gowning tables
- Fume hoods
- Carts
- Shelving
Viasat primarily requires lab spaces for the creation and testing of products for the government and the U.S. military. “A lab bench sounds so simple, but there are about 50 different accessories you can put on a lab bench. So we actually worked together and created a lab bench manual. My project managers can send out this manual and say, ‘Here are all of the different features you can choose from for your lab bench.’ And bkm can order them for us,” says Jordan. “They really meet our customers’ needs.”
These laboratories support 24-hour network ops commands and secure ops command facilities, and satellite control centers. As you can imagine, it is delicate work supporting sensitive environments and future classified spaces destined for high-tech multimedia integration. Luckily, bkm’s Viasat team has decades of experience working in and designing these unique spaces. The overall look and feel is modern and sustainable, with a focus on keeping people connected around the world.
Amber Jordan notes that bkm and Viasat are now in their second 5-year contract and are in constant contact on current projects. “It is a partnership. They are there almost around the clock when we need them. If I pick up the phone and need someone that day, they’re here. The commitment that we get from their employees is a gamechanger, it’s huge,” says Jordan. bkm is proud of the long-term partnership formed with Viasat and looks forward to many more great years together.
To read more about bkm’s design and furniture offerings, click here. You can also explore our medical and lab furniture design specialization.
View the full Viasat case study.