flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

KLH Engineers flaunts its innovation with latest spinoff

Engineers

KLH Engineers flaunts its innovation with latest spinoff

Configure platform brings suppliers, designers, and contractors closer during the purchasing process.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | June 2, 2022
Configure is the latest spinoff from KLH Engineers
Configure is the latest spinoff from KLH Engineers. It is a platform that makes specifying smoother by linking AEC firms with manufacturers. Leaders from Configure and KLH Engineers (from left): Jeff Leuderalbert and Michael Albanese, cofounders of Configure, with Jim Tavernelli and Bob Heil, KLH Engineers’ President and CEO. Image: KLH Engineers

About 15 months ago, KLH Engineers, a national MEP and technology engineering firm based in Kentucky, spun off Levcon Analytics, which uses data to provide AEC firms with design, construction, and operations advice. By uniting design and building teams, Levcon’s Convergit data integration platform also improves a building owner’s asset management and project execution.

Late last month, KLH spun off another entity. Known as Configure, the now-separate business has been developing a construction marketplace that digitizes supply and makes it easier for designers and contractors to specify, compare, and purchase engineered-to-order products from manufacturers. Configure’s platform is accessible through web apps or Autodesk Revit plug-ins.

PRICING PRODUCTS, MADE SIMPLER

Its conception was born out of the frustration of trying to specify equipment with pricing information being immediately at hand, explains Michael Albanese, a principal with KLH Engineers who, with principal Jeff Leuderalbert, came up with Configure and developed its platform.

Leuderalbert elaborates that during a project’s design phase, suppliers communicate with potential customers within their Revit models, and designers can link products, product data and pricing directly into their models. During pre-construction, Configure matches contractors with local suppliers so they can solicit and compare bids in one platform, and select the package that best fits their project and budget.

Some of Configure’s early customers include Tweet/Garot Mechanical, Green Bay, Wis.; Silicon Valley Mechanical, San Jose, Calif.; and Peck Hannaford + Briggs, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

SUPPORTERS FROM INSIDE AND OUT

During Configure’s early development, KLH allowed Albanese and Leuderalbert to leverage the firm’s in-house software team to build their platform. Configure has raised $2 million in a seed round led by TitletownTech, a Wisconsin-based venture capital fund formed out of a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft. Configure will deploy its new capital to expand its software technology and make additional product development hires.

These spinoffs demonstrate KLH’s innovation beyond engineering consultation, says Tavernelli, who implies there might be more to come. “We learned so much throughout this journey and KLH will leverage that experience to continue seeking ways to create new value in the industry.”

Tags

Related Stories

| Jan 13, 2015

Steven Holl unveils design for $450 million redevelopment of Houston's Museum of Fine Arts

Holl designed the campus’ north side to be a pedestrian-centered cultural hub on a lively landscape with ample underground parking. 

| Jan 9, 2015

Santiago Calatrava talks with BBC about St. Nicholas Church on Ground Zero

Calatrava reveals that he wanted to retain the “tiny home” feel of the original church building that was destroyed with the twin towers on 9/11.

| Jan 9, 2015

Nonresidential construction hiring surges in December 2014

The U.S. construction industry added 48,000 jobs in December, including 22,800 jobs in nonresidential construction, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary estimate released Jan. 9. 

| Jan 9, 2015

10 surprising lessons Perkins+Will has learned about workplace projects

P+W's Janice Barnes shares some of most unexpected lessons from her firm's work on office design projects, including the importance of post-occupancy evaluations and having a cohesive transition strategy for workers.

| Jan 8, 2015

The future of alternative work spaces: open-access markets, co-working, and in-between spaces

During the past five years, people have begun to actively seek out third places not just to get a day’s work done, but to develop businesses of a new kind and establish themselves as part of a real-time conversation of diverse entrepreneurs, writes Gensler's Shawn Gehle.

Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2015

NIBS report: Small commercial buildings offer huge energy efficiency retrofit opportunities

The report identifies several barriers to investment in such retrofits, such as the costs and complexity associated with relatively small loan sizes, and issues many small-building owners have in understanding and trusting predicted retrofit outcomes.

| Jan 7, 2015

University of Chicago releases proposed sites for Obama library bid

There are two proposed sites for the plan, both owned by the Chicago Park District in Chicago’s South Side, near the university’s campus in Hyde Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

| Jan 7, 2015

4 audacious projects that could transform Houston

Converting the Astrodome to an urban farm and public park is one of the proposals on the table in Houston, according to news site Houston CultureMap.

| Jan 7, 2015

How you can help improve the way building information is shared

PDFs are the de facto format for digital construction documentation. Yet, there is no set standard for how to produce PDFs for a project, writes Skanska's Kyle Hughes.

Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2015

Best practices for urban infill development: Embrace the region's character, master the pedestrian experience

If an urban building isn’t grounded in the local region’s character, it will end up feeling generic and out-of-place. To do urban infill the right way, it’s essential to slow down and pay proper attention to the context of an urban environment, writes GS&P's Joe Bucher.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Construction Costs

Data center construction costs for 2024

Gordian’s data features more than 100 building models, including computer data centers. These localized models allow architects, engineers, and other preconstruction professionals to quickly and accurately create conceptual estimates for future builds. This table shows a five-year view of costs per square foot for one-story computer data centers. 


Sustainability

Grimshaw launches free online tool to help accelerate decarbonization of buildings

Minoro, an online platform to help accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, was recently launched by architecture firm Grimshaw, in collaboration with more than 20 supporting organizations including World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), RIBA, Architecture 2030, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and several national Green Building Councils from across the globe.


halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021