The Flowers Group

but is now quite outdated. “We felt that coming into our 75th year, we wanted to reimagine what the business was going to be like,” says Dana. “We’re obviously well-rooted in the history of our business but, more importantly, we’re future thinking and we really wanted to create a user- friendly space for our customers. We’re going to have an interactive showroom with lots of touchscreens. Each product will have its own QR code that you can scan and pull up on your smart device. And we’re having a beautiful state- of-the-art client meeting room that allows us to use a lot more video technology, because we believe the way we meet and interact with people is going to change, as well.” Whether dealing with a local or an international supplier, connectivity with clients and customers is key. So, the revitalized space will be molded around that ethos. Even the back of house has a state-of-the-art room where the Flowers staff can conduct training courses for clients, showing them how new technology works. With a growing staffing pool, more real estate space is also needed for administration. The building footprint will remain the same, but certain areas are being repurposed to improve day-to-day functionality of the business. This is primarily for the manufacturing arm. The property is about eight acres with a front of the house office building that’s a few thousand square feet with the factory, the manufacturing area, and the service garage at the back. And the company just bought another three acres of adjacent land which will eventually be developed with more factories to accommodate the new building technologies. Dara explains, “We have a five-year plan to expand, even though we’re renovating our existing office, we will be building a new office and expanding in terms of product availability. Currently we’re producing blocks, paving stones, and (ICF) insulated concrete foam. We partner with a company called Fox Blocks that supplies all our plastic and then we do all the manufacturing