Alan Ott’s legacy lives on through SPACE’s new brand

a red bridge over a shining lake

How Alan Ott became my mentor

Alan Ott was a lot of things to a lot of people. But for me, he was a trusted mentor and friend. 

Mr. Ott served as Chemical Bank’s fifth president, CEO, and chairman of its board—leading the organization to acquire 17 community banks across Michigan’s lower peninsula. He volunteered with many Midland organizations, forged strong relationships with business leaders and philanthropists, and aimed to make Midland “the best town in America.”

With his vast array of connections and his leadership, Alan truly guided our community. It’s amazing how he could build consensus between different groups. And everyone who really wanted to help the community stopped by his office to share ideas and requests.

In 2001, I asked Mr. Ott to help me better understand the financial side of running a small business. I vividly remember the first time I sat down with him—he glanced at my financial statements for about 45 seconds before asking me a handful of questions. I couldn’t answer a single one.

From that point, I met with Mr. Ott monthly for several years. He would point out critical numbers on my income statement or balance sheet, ask about my business strategies for improving them and, over time, gave me the ability to understand how I could interpret the numbers to create a more sustainable business—on purpose.

By the third year of receiving his mentorship, I was beginning to catch on. And in the fourth year, I could ask the questions myself.

That gift of learning how to lead my own business and understand financial literacy myself is something I couldn’t possibly repay him for.

For 20 years, we met often—and I benefited from his sage wisdom. He taught me due diligence and how to mitigate risk. He never once told me how to do something, but always asked me to share my perspective and solutions—an uncommon approach at the time. I am incredibly grateful for the huge time commitment he gave me and for the safe environment he created for me to learn in.

“When things are bad, there’s one thing you can always do: work harder.”

Alan Ott

Alan Ott’s legacy continues in SPACE’s new brand

After he retired Mr. Ott had a wonderful office in the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation that looked out at Curry Bridge. He wanted that bridge to be painted red, similar to the beautiful red bridges in Dow Gardens. And, true to form, Mr. Ott got that bridge painted a lovely red—and it made him very happy.

As SPACE began our rebranding process, we wanted our company to reflect our Midland community and the mid-century modern color palette so prevalent in the Alden B. Dow architecture Midland is famous for. 

We hoped to use an orange/red hue, so popular in mid-century modern design. With the help of graphic designer Kallee Hobohm, we decided to create our own color formula and christen it “Ott Red.”  

We couldn’t think of a better way to honor the memory of a wonderful man that embodied both our Midland heritage and a love of all things red.  

We hope you like it, Mr. Ott.

SPACE Inc. approved as first woman-owned small business to provide antimicrobial solution to federal agencies

federal government building at sunset

When Zaneta Puller and Sahar Pena attended a General Service Administration (GSA) small business town hall meeting last spring, they had no idea it would turn into something big. They couldn’t have guessed then that it would lead to a GSA schedule addition making SPACE the only women-owned agency in the U.S. approved to provide an antimicrobial solution for the COVID virus to federal agencies.

SPACE approved to provide SPACE Facility Armor to federal agencies

In 2004, SPACE received its first GSA schedule. It approved us to provide furniture installation and design solutions to federal government offices. Since then, we’ve proudly completed more than 1000 federal projects across the country. 

But the events of last summer have positioned us to provide even more for these customers. 

As the pandemic swept through the U.S. in March 2020, Zaneta Puller, Government Sales Support, and Sahar Pena, Director of Business Development, attended a webinar hosted by GSA. 

GSA expressed interest in expediting certain COVID-19 preventative solutions. The organization promised a speedy review of innovative PPE that could protect government employees—with extra emphasis on women-owned and/or small businesses.

Throughout the spring, we considered how to respond to the great need across the country. We began offering SPACE Facility Armor—which combines a CDC-approved, hospital grade disinfectant with an electrostatically charged application. It prohibits the growth of mildew, bacteria, and viruses on furniture and critical touch surfaces for over two years. 

We were confident that there was a need for this unique combination of science and technology.

And we’re proud to announce that SPACE Facility Armor has been added to our GSA schedule! Through this affordable product, we’re able to play a part in keeping workers safe.

The General Service Administration (GSA) is a government agency that oversees anything related to the operation and construction of federal buildings. Because they control the market of companies approved to provide services to federal agencies, holding a GSA contract is pivotal.

SPACE also is approved to provide sustainable SPACE Anew upcycling services to federal agencies

But that’s not all! We also were approved to add SPACE Anew into our GSA schedule.

In addition to creating healthy workplaces, we’re also mission-driven to pursue sustainable spaces. So, as the opportunity to present innovative solutions to GSA arose, we decided to share our upcycling service, SPACE Anew, as well. 

SPACE Anew is a bold, but simple, idea. It involves upcycling existing office space at 30-50% less cost, with 0% of furniture ending up in the landfill. According to the EPA, every year, the office furniture industry creates 9 million tons of waste. 

When we officially launched SPACE Anew in 2010, we saw a clear need for an alternative and sustainable furniture solution. We’re grateful to now expand this offering to the federal government!

The future of our work and GSA schedule

We’re thrilled to be at the forefront of serving the federal government. One of our core values at SPACE is caring for our community—which involves both people’s safety and the environment’s protection.

Through these groundbreaking GSA schedule additions, we’re now able to provide a full package to our government customers. 

As the government determines how to safely bring employees back into the office, they’re looking for safe solutions like ours. And, since SPACE designs for the future of work, we’re right in step with them—providing sustainable, safe, and affordable services.

“SPACE offers the peace of mind that our employees need to return to the office. Their designers are the best I’ve worked with and they helped find the right contract vehicle.” —SPACE federal government client.