Different work, lunch and communication habits
At present, the new SBA Home factory in the United States already employs 164 workers, and the group’s total investment in this stage of expansion has reached 70 million US dollars. The combined production and administrative complex cover 46,000 sqm, with 700 sqm allocated to office space. The SBA Home North Carolina factory is located in Mocksville.
According to Jelena Grišina, Director of Organisational Development at SBA Group, when expanding into a highly competitive, culturally diverse US market, one of the greatest risks is the loss of the organisation’s DNA:
“Opening a new factory across the Atlantic involves not only different business systems, but also people – communication culture, working habits and even everyday details such as lunch break traditions all differ. We did not want to adopt the US industrial standard unquestioningly. Our goal was to export Lithuanian culture sustainably, alongside SBA’s own business culture, openness and sense of playfulness. To achieve this, we used architecture that not only serves a functional purpose but also tells employees a daily story about the company’s roots,” said Jelena Grišina.
From shipping containers to the Lithuanian forest code
Toma Bačiulytė, an architect at Nomo Studija who developed the project in the US, says that the main task was to create a space that would maintain a meaningful connection with SBA companies operating in Lithuania, while also being functional and making an impression on local employees and partners:
“In creating this space, we aimed to tell the entire story of SBA – from technological progress to playfulness and openness. Even guests who have visited just one SBA office or factory in Lithuania will, upon arriving in North Carolina, quickly realise that even without knowing where they’ve ended up, this is SBA,” notes Toma Bačiulytė.
Several unique solutions emerged in the factory and office spaces during the project’s implementation. For example, the meeting room in the centre of the office is housed in an actual shipping container – a direct reference to the long conceptual and physical journey of production from Lithuania to the US market. Additionally, the office windows open directly onto the production areas. This is a strategic management decision that breaks down the traditional separation and hierarchy between administrative and production staff commonly found in the US industry. The team also sought to infuse the US interior with a Lithuanian sensibility. For example, the patterns and colour palette of the office carpets were designed to visually replicate the vastness of Lithuanian forests from a bird’s-eye view. To achieve acoustic comfort and a playful atmosphere, the interior incorporates packaging tubes and other details from the production process.
According to Eglė Bačiulytė, such attention to the emotional environment and aesthetics for factory workers remains rare in the US market:
“From what I’ve seen among Americans, everyone was particularly impressed by the spaces. For local partners and employees, this is a completely new standard for an industrial building,” Eglė Bačiulytė concludes.