Project of the Month: Connolly Brothers completes 93,000 s/f build-to-suit for KROHNE NAFTA corporate headquarters

Beverly, MA In September 2018, KROHNE Inc cut the ribbon at their new NAFTA corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility at 55 Cherry Hill Dr. KROHNE turned to Connolly Brothers to design and construct a modern facility that satisfied their vision of a corporate campus with a 73,000 s/f manufacturing building connected via elevated link to a 20,000 s/f office building. Close collaboration of Connolly’s design and construction team, the German architectural firm Dubbick, Hiersig, and Partner, KROHNE’s family ownership, and KROHNE’s NAFTA Management resulted in a state-of-the-art facility that satisfied strict budgetary requirements, incorporated European design sensibilities, and met high energy efficiency standards. The ribbon cutting was celebrated with a formal inauguration, tours of the manufacturing and office facilities and presentations by executives at KROHNE. 

KROHNE approached Connolly after purchasing a lot in the Cherry Hill Industrial Park having heard of their expertise in the industrial and office design build sector. KROHNE was looking for a single point of responsibility to manage the process of conceptual development, budget modeling, construction documentation, final cost estimating and finally, building delivery. Connolly collaborated directly with German architectural firm Dubbick, Hiersig and Partner on the conceptual and schematic design and Connolly’s in-house design team produced the construction documents.  Connolly provided construction management services for the construction of the facility as well as architectural and engineering contract administration to ensure the highest level of quality control. The project showcased Connolly’s capability as a true design/build construction manager and exemplifies the full range of services Connolly is adept at delivering. 

“It was a pleasure working with the KROHNE team – and it really demonstrated what can be done when two companies fully align with the same vision to achieve success. We designed, engineered and built this building with an incredible amount of efficiency – and not once was there a question in anyone’s mind that we didn’t have the absolute best team for the project” said Jay Connolly, vice president of Connolly Brothers, noting that, “both our companies are multi-generational and perhaps this boosted the synergy between us – it was a collaborative effort that will go down in history as an iconic project for our company.”  

The project included the complete demolition of a 55,000 s/f office building that was built in the early 1990s and removal of over 35,000 cubic yards of structurally unsuitable soil from the 10-acre site to make way for the 93,000 s/f facility. 

Connolly Brothers is a fifth-generation construction management firm focused on private commercial, industrial and institutional construction projects with a headquarters in Beverly, Mass. 

KROHNE is a world leading manufacturer and supplier of solutions in the industrial process instrumentation field which engineers, manufactures and maintains products used in the chemical, water and wastewater, food processing and oil and gas industries among others. They currently have plants in Germany, the Netherlands, France, England, China, Russia, Brazil and Beverly.

Project Team:

CSI Engineering - MEP and fire protection engineering

Polyrock - polished concrete

D&D Electrical/DNET Cabling Technologies - electrical

Connolly Brothers - construction manager 

Stratton Development Management - project management consultants

Mechanical Construction Services - plumbing/HVAC

NorthStar Construction Services - roofing