Ohio Desk Unveils Renovated Showroom, Offices

BOARDMAN, Ohio – One of the trends in office design is “real estate optimization,” Ohio Desk Inc.’s Chris Plichta says. It’s a trend the office equipment and design company took to heart as it renovated its office here.

Plichta is strategic accounts manager.

Cleveland-based Ohio Desk, which purchased the former Masters Office Furniture Inc. in 2005, unveiled the newly renovated space at 5100 Market St., during an open house Tuesday afternoon. Work was completed in mid-January.

“We decided this was a pretty good place to be and decided to renovate the Masters,” said David Humphrey, president of Ohio Desk. “We tore it out right after Thanksgiving and put a whole new spin to our showroom.”

The Youngstown-Warren market has seen growth in both market and market share for Ohio Desk and for Steelcase, the line of office furniture that makes up about 70% of its volume, he said.

“That’s why we were prepared to invest here,” he remarked. The renovation cost about $150,000, Humphrey reported.

Although company officials were satisfied with the Market Street location, at 3,000 square feet, the space is smaller than other Ohio Desk offices. This, the project designer Jordan Vitale allowed, posed challenges that were resolved by combining workspace with showroom space.

“One of the key things in our industry is real estate optimization, Plichta said, “so we’re trying to make the most out of the space that we have.”

“We tried to keep it consistent with the Ohio Desk brand as well as using this as a working showroom,” Vitale said. “We can bring clients in so they don’t have to make the trip up to Cleveland. We showcase as much as we can here.”

Humphrey declared himself pleased with the result. “It’s upbeat. It’s airy. And it shows a lot of a lot of technology,” the company president said. “It’s very different from what it was.”

“We’re getting a great response,” Plichta added.

Sharon Browning, facility coordinator with the Delphi Champion Technical Center in Champion Township, was among those who attended the open house. Delphi has been a client of Ohio Desk several years and, she said, the office company “couldn’t have done any better.

“I love it, absolutely love it,” she remarked. “I love the colors. I love the design. I love the functionality of it. I think it’s priceless.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.