space to evolve and grow
In today’s competitive healthcare landscape, medical devices have to be extraordinarily precise. This explains the growing demand for Autocam Medical. As a global manufacturer of precision-machined complex medical instruments, the company has grown to over 650 employees worldwide. After maxing out its current manufacturing facility, the company needed to break ground on a new plant, one that would not only hold more workers, but also give talented prospects reason to consider living in West Michigan.
Inside and out, the facility needed to reflect and nurture Autocam Medical’s belief in continuous improvement while being flexible enough to evolve and grow with the medical industry. Seeking a partner capable of solving complex challenges, Autocam Medical turned to AMDG.
The challenges to the project began with the location itself. To accommodate the 120,000 sq. ft. facility, which would include executive and administrative offices, the AMDG design team
needed to account for the imposing slope of the property. Working in collaboration with Exxel Engineering and Pioneer Construction, AMDG proposed a range of site plans, including an option with underground parking. The ultimate plan allows convenient ground-level parking and entry points for all employees while making the façade a focal point for the thousands of cars that pass the building daily. The design team even developed a street-facing circular window feature that mirrors the Autocam Medical logo. Designed to glow in the company’s unique shade of neon green at night, the feature makes a powerful statement.
Autocam Medical embraces a sense of unity not simply because it makes people want to come to work each day, but because it leads to markedly better results. Designed to evolve, while actively promoting teamwork, the new facility turns a vision of oneness into a daily work experience—one that is raising eyebrows for candidates everywhere from West Michigan to the West Coast.
embracing continuous improvement
At Autocam Medical, continuous improvement is more than a saying. It’s a way of working. While most plant floors are relegated to those operating the machines, Autocam Medical believes in having the entire engineering and product team embedded within the space, addressing challenges, and posing solutions in real time. To reinforce the approach, touch-down meeting spaces flank the floor on two ends. The intention is clear: to constantly improve, teams need to be able to huddle at a moment’s notice.
food for thought
The placement of the café was another strategic design decision. Situated to the rear of the building, where it overlooks nature trails and area soccer fields, the café is steps away from the manufacturing floor. Whether passing through for a quick snack or a meal, the flow of employees from the front of the building to the back gives members from separate disciplines an opportunity to cross-pollinate and share ideas in the moment. In many ways, spontaneity and collaboration are designed into the flow of the building.
positioned for growth
With a goal of expanding its Grand Rapids campus, Autocam Medical founder and president, John Kennedy, wanted the new building to be more prominent than the current manufacturing facility, which is tucked away largely out of public view. He hand-selected a corner parcel directly overlooking busy Broadmoor Avenue—a location that would immediately announce the company’s presence.
building for the future
To attract top talent from around the U.S., the facility exudes forward-thinking. For example, a rooftop solar farm supplies much of the facility’s electricity. To reduce energy consumption, heated oil from the cutting machines is transported via a glycol loop to the rooftop, where it cools before returning to the facility. Instead of being blocked off from the natural world, expansive windows allow sunlight to pour into the plant throughout the day. For those passing through, the space looks more like a clean room than a machining facility. From the plant’s white epoxy floor to the bold numerals painted on the entrance of each touch-down room, every inch of the space feels crisp, bright, and inviting.
