400 Record: Changing Things at Home

This Mackie Monday I wanted to take the opportunity to update you on our new HQ in Dallas, Texas. Early last year, after running out of space at our previous Dallas offices twice in one year, we knew we needed to find a home that was going to provide the much needed space for our planned growth. We wanted to be centrally located, in the urban core, putting us in the best position to attract top talent. I am pleased to say, over the next few weeks we are putting the finishing touches on our new home in the heart of Downtown Dallas. 

First, let’s talk about the building. The soon to be refurbished “400 Record” office tower is located in the central business district and provides easy access to public transit for our team members that elect not to drive, good connectivity to all major interstates for those team members commuting by car, and within walking distance of plenty of hotel options for our visitors. As the first major tenant of the building, CES will also take signage rights for the building and, once completed, the CES logo will be on view to more than 500,000 vehicles per day driving by on interstates I-30 and I-35.

Now, onto the space itself. Occupying four floors of the “400 Record” office tower, the new space will not only provide space for both existing departments and their planned growth, but will also be home to several new facilities. It was very important that our space speak to who we are as a business and showcase our past, present, and future. Throughout the four floors, we have used the space to tell the story of CES. Each floor features open ceilings, exposed concrete floors, and of course, pops of our signature red.

The space, on top of office space, will be home to a company store, mock branch, cafeteria, and a variety of meeting rooms including three flexible meeting spaces that will become our company training center. Throughout these spaces, we tell the story of our past.

The cafeteria is called ‘The Hangar’ and pays tribute to my grandfather, Tom Mackie’s, time in the RAF (Royal Air Force) as a navigator on Lancaster Bombers prior to starting CEF. The Hangar features a nissen hut ceiling as well as wall graphics that feature Lancaster bombers and his squadron logo. This space will allow not only the people that work in various departments in Dallas, but also team members visiting from across the US, to eat lunch together.

The boardroom will be called ‘The Churchill Room’ and pays tribute to Winston Churchill, the UK prime minister during WWII, and a very important person in my grandfather’s life.

‘The Stable’ is the store that will sell and showcase CES branded items. It is outfitted like a horse stable because the first CEF branch occupied 1,200 square feet of a horse stable. The floor also features meeting spaces that showcase our businesses in Spain, Australia and Canada.

We are very excited to be in the new space here in Dallas and look forward to welcoming members of the CES team for visits over the coming months and years!