Aug. 31, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Interstate Office Products.

When you’re ranked one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, you tend to run out of office space fast too.

That has been the case for Sioux Falls-based VIKOR Teleconstruction, which just marked its third consecutive year on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies.

A leader in building out the latest infrastructure in 5G wireless, VIKOR now counts offices in Sioux Falls; Rapid City; Denver; Bismarck, N.D.; Missoula, Mont.; and Orem, Utah.

The company has turned to Interstate Office Products at each stage of growth to support its office needs, from flexible interior walls to modular furniture solutions.

“We moved into the Sioux Falls office two years ago and planned for 10 years’ growth and have accomplished it in two to three years,” said Michael Fowler,  VIKOR’s director of marketing and business development.

“So we’ve had to be quick and creative about things, moving around offices and creating work spaces in the form of pods. We’re doing the same thing for our offices in Rapid City, and we’ll be building an office shortly in Denver, and IOP will help us with that. They’ve definitely helped us find a design and products that meet our needs.”

Interstate Office Products has been a big help with that and also with “visualizing what could be,” he continued.

“I like things being a little open and having work space and work flow that allows for collaboration and transparency, and they’ve been able to help us do that quite a bit.”

IOP knows what it’s like to be in growth mode. Even with this year’s disruptive pandemic, the Sioux Falls-based firm has seen a solid gain in market share, CEO Gary Gaspar said.

“We want to keep building on that and keep the fantastic talent that we’ve been able to attract,” he said. “I knew we could be in for some rough months, but it’s been a lot more positive.”

IOP has been able to keep its team intact despite the uncertainty that hit the entire business world, he added.

“Downsizing happens in our industry, but the challenge is then you can’t respond to opportunities, and we want to make sure we are positioned to do that,” he said.

“Because of it, we feel even better about our position in the market today, and the reputation our designers, installers, customer service and order management teams have built is driving much of that. We have people working on these projects who clients trust and can execute.”

At VIKOR, IOP helped establish multiple pods, essentially three desks that surround one another, which help with efficient use of space.

“We have been very happy with Interstate from a quality and customer-service standpoint,” CEO Craig Snyder said.

“Steelcase is the Cadillac of office furniture, and in our experience, it can easily last 20 years or more. So I imagine you get what you pay for. We’ve been using Interstate for a majority of our office furniture and office supplies for over two decades. It’s been great to have such a faithful resource.”

IOP’s demand for business is coming from a huge range of industries, from technology companies such as VIKOR to education, financial services, health care and agriculture. It has been a combination of new facilities and new uses for existing ones.

“In some cases, businesses are looking at spaces that were underutilized before, and now they’re using that space, so they’re adding furniture,” said Kristi Christensen, executive vice president of sales and design.

Back-to-school season drove business in K-12 education, and higher education continues to work on immediate and long-term projects.

IOP helped furnish tables and chairs at O’Gorman High School to supplement cafeteria seating and allow for more spacing among students.

At Sioux Falls Christian Schools, the team furnished new classrooms focused on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.

“It’s interactive furniture, very mobile, with all height-adjustable tables to accommodate kids of many ages,” IOP designer Abby Tufvesson said.

Health care continues to drive activity as well, as IOP is furnishing three new Avera facilities in Gettysburg; Spirit Lake, Iowa; and Windom, Minn.

Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center, Iowa, is another new project, as is the John Deere dealership, Green Iron Equipment, in Britton.

“Both those projects came to us as referrals through previous clients, which really is the highest compliment,” Gaspar said.

The financial services industry also continues to invest in office space. IOP is working on multiple full-service bank projects in various cities, financial advisory firms and an accounting firm.

“This has become an incredibly busy time for us,” Gaspar said.

“Our installers are experiencing a significant workload, and our sales and design team is still extremely busy with new projects, which is exciting to see. I think clients know we can execute for them at every step, that things get taken care of and that we’ve been able to work through any supply chain issues. The team we’ve built is just really amazing.”

To learn more about how Interstate Office Products can meet your office needs in the Sioux Falls area and beyond, visit i-o-p.com or call 605-339-0300.