SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE APRIL 2016
Mission Bell
Mission Bell helps new spaces reclaim history through wood
By Charlene Boyce W ho would want to decorate their office with wine-stained vintage wood, the crystallized wine adding character and depth? Or adorn their lobby with old redwood boards from a closed naval air base, which housed blimps in the First World War? If your first response is, “who WOULDN’T want that?” meet Mission Bell, the best architectural millworkers of reclaimed and salvaged wood products in the San Francisco Bay area, and quite possibly, all of North America. Working closely with architects and designers, their products come with professional quality man- ufacture and installation, and they are unique because of the history that attaches to their products.
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APRIL 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
“There is a real appeal to wood – especially reclaimed wood,” states CEO Glenn Ripley. “There is an authenticity, a balance of natural earth- iness and refinement that appeals to everyone.” EVP of Reclaimed Wood Mark Scianna adds, “They often like the natural look. They don’t want it planed, or cleaned up. They want to leave no question that this is old wood that has been reused. It makes the statement that they are concerned about the environment.” “They had ground up 200,000 board feet for disposal before they thought to call us.” Mission Bell’s work graces the offices of a few companies you may have heard of… LinkedIn, Twitter, Google, Barnes and Noble, McAfee, plus the San Jose Sharks Ice Locker Rooms, Earthquake Stadium, and a huge number of other businesses in the San Francisco Bay area and beyond. The demand for material with a history is growing, and Mission Bell so far owns the market. FOUNDED ON PEOPLE AND VALUES Founded as a cabinet making business in 1959 by Leonard and Marjorie Scianna, Mission Bell has grown to a business of 220 employees, includ- ing office/corporate staff, installers, and the manufacturing floor staff. The second generation of Sciannas are still involved with the company,
and it is transitioning to an employee-owned business. This is a testa- ment to the values-driven family feel of the place, where some employ- ees have twenty and thirty or more years with the company.
Glenn Ripley is proud of the Mission Bell team. “Our people make the difference. They are a mix of young and long term industry experience,
and they are all hungry to grow and learn.”
Glenn has grown with the company, holding several positions of esca- lating responsibility. And Mark Scianna—he and his brothers literally grew up in the company. “We all started sweeping floors, installing, taking on small jobs. We were all in. I remember one of my brothers on his 16th birthday – he had a loaded truck to be taken out that day.” Relationships are very important to this company. Glenn tells me that one of their iconic jobs, the Earthquakes Stadium, had extra meaning because one of Mission Bell’s workers had been a general manager of the soccer team. “It was an emotional connection, to be part of
building a really beautiful stadium.”
MATERIALS MAKE THE PRODUCT
You can’t mention emotional connections without talking about the wood. The Executive Vice-President of Reclaimed Wood is Mark Scianna, and talking with him, his deep love and respect for the material shines through. “I was the President of the company, at one point. It’s nice to be back working with the wood. It’s a natural renew-
F l a t wa l l s t ake no t i ce . One imp r e s s i onab l e wa y t ha t de s i gne r s a r e i n f u s i ng t he i r de s i gn s wi t h pe r s ona l i t y i s t h r ough a r ch i t e c t u r a l wa l l pane l s by I n t e r l am . The s e a r e g r ea t f o r add i ng de co r a t i ve e l emen t s wi t hou t l o s i ng t ha t s l eek and mode r n l ook . www. i n t e r l am- des i gn . com | 800 - 237 - 7052 |
able resource, and although I’ve been in the woodworking business all my life, it’s amazing learning so much about the rest of the life of the product. The forests, the harvest, the drying, all of the steps that go into production, the history of which woods were used. Did you know that Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens) only grows in a part of Califor- nia? It’s fascinating.” Mark reveals that the demand for reclaimed products started with interest from architects building to LEED standards. LEED is a cer- tification for buildings incorporating environmental and sustainable elements. “They want to leave no question that this is old wood that has been reused. It makes the statement that they are concerned about the environment.” – Mark Scianna, EVP of Reclaimed Wood FROM BLIMP HANGAR…. One of Mission Bell’s earliest reclamation projects was Hangar One at Moffett Field Naval Air Station, a well-known landmark for long-time residents of the Bay area. “It was a large odd-shaped dome by the freeway, where they stored blimps in the First World War. They were renovating the building and stripped it to the metal, which was covered in old growth redwood. You just don’t see wood like that anymore.” Mark goes on to add, “They had ground up 200,000 board feet for disposal before they thought to call us.” The wood had been covered with lead-based paint, a safety hazard. “They set up a wood mill on site, with an enclosed space, HazMat suits, the works. Basically, the lead paint was planed off and the sawdust captured for hazardous material disposal – but 90% of the wood inside was clean and usable.”
They brought the wood into their storage facility and started pro- moting it to architects, and it quickly found a market.
TO WINE HOLDERS….
Another unique source of wood that Mission Bell taps into: the giant wooden wine holding tanks that helped build the Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries. Current practice has wineries moving to stainless steel holding tanks, so the large wine-stained barrels are filling out a new niche for Mission Bell. “It was an emotional connection, to be part of building a really beautiful stadium.” – Glenn Ripley, CEO “This is very high quality wood, clear with no knots – this was the best of the best, oak and redwood.” Mark notes that these products are often requested by wine connoisseurs or just fans. “It’s about 50/50, architects asking for a product based on colour or material –say, hardwood for flooring--versus asking for something with a particular history.” TO HOLLYWOOD MOGULS A recent “score” is wood reclaimed from the Hollywood Park Racetrack in Hollywood Park, Southern California. The site is going to house a well-publicized new stadium for the LA Rams. The horse track’s first chairman was film mogul Jack Warner and shareholders included Walt Disney, Bing Crosby and Samuel Goldwyn. ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Mission Bell is a company built on a strong foundation of values. The product itself reflects a respect for the value inherent in natural materi- als and an ecological sensibility, also reflected in their recent addition
of solar panels, highlighted on their YouTube channel. The company name comes from the Mission at Santa Clara, near Morgan Hill where they are located. On their website, the company spells out a strong Christian mission. Glenn states, “We are rooted to integrity, relation- ship, responsibility in dealing with customers.” Conversely, the company describes itself as a “technology company that happens to work in wood.” Glenn admits that this may sound confusing for a company that creates custom crafted woodwork. But he points out that the facility and its people embrace all the ways that technology can increase efficiency and make their work better. “We believe that technology is key to our future. We are always investigat- ing ways to leverage technology to improve our business. We want to be on the leading edge, and create a climate where our employees are tech-savvy.”
The company has posted videos on their website that show their shop floor, which does indeed look clean, and technologically efficient.
“Five years ago, we would have been putting up brand new veneer panelling,” Mark says.
“Some colleagues wondered if it was a fad, this call for repurposed material. Now,” adds Glenn, “we work closely every day with archi- tects to understand the look and feel that they want. We bring our knowledge of the material to their vision, to bring the customer delight. Environmental responsibility is here to stay.”
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Mission Bell
16100 Jacqueline Court Morgan Hill, CA 95037 United States (408) 778-2036
www.wurthlac.com
www.missionbell.com
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