Design/Build Superiority.

What do the European and Japanese businesses know about constructing cold storage facilities? In two words, "Design/Build."

But, America is catching on.

About half of the industrial construction projects in Europe and 75 percent of Japan's projects are completed with Design/Build, which provides competitive pricing, single-source accountability in construction projects and a fast track for completion of cold storage facilities.

Jeffrey L. Beard, executive director of the Design-Build Institute of America, estimates that current market penetration by Design/Builders in the United States is about 22 percent of the industrial construction sector, or about seven percent of the entire market.

ARCO Design/Build and its affiliates have been using the Design/Build delivery system for constructing light industrial projects, including cold storage buildings, for more than 25 years. We have found that our clients are choosing Design/Build for single-source accountability, faster completions of projects and improved lines of communication.

Design/Build does not mean sacrificing quality for cost. We use the Design/Build method to ensure clients get the most creative design and highest building quality that is cost-effective. This equates to a high level of value for the client.

ARCO Design/Build's most recent projects include expanding AmeriServe Food Distribution's cold storage facility in Virginia by 113,000 square-feet, 150,000 square foot cold storage construction project for U.S. Food Service in Atlanta and a 115,000 square-foot expansion for AmeriServe in New Jersey.

Simply put, the Design/Build method does exactly what it says--it brings design and construction together to the responsibility of one company to create single-source accountability.

The Design/Build method of streamlining the traditional approach to construction projects has gained acceptance abroad and is becoming the norm in the U.S.

One example of how the Design/Build method is catching on comes from what students are now learning at their colleges. Earlier this year, the Georgia Institute of Technology's College of Architecture committed to work on establishing its own Design/Build management course for students.

The Design/Build method has also been attracting the attention of those writing about construction projects.

Furthermore, Design-Build's publisher is predicting that half of the United State's construction will be done through the Design/Build method within 10 years, according to an article that appeared recently in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Design/Build means a comprehensive package of services, from stem to stern on a project.

For example, when ARCO Design/Build accepts a project, we are responsible for site selection, customizing designs for special needs, giving one up-front and competitive price for the project, providing engineering services throughout, providing expert consultation on zoning, permitting and code issues, and accountability from beginning to end.

Our Design/Build project delivery system allows for low client maintenance in handling project details, allowing our clients to focus on their core business.

The ARCO Design/Build Atlanta office opened in 1995. Since that time, our client list has grown to include recognizable companies like AmeriServe, Hewlett Packard, Ralston Purina and Unilever. ARCO has grown rapidly in that time, quadrupling its revenue from 1997 to 1999.

ARCO Design/Build is an affiliate of ARCO Construction Company based in St. Louis and The Murray Company in Tampa. FL.