Building for Change: How Access Flooring Powers Performance and Flexibility at Phoenix Contact USA

For more than 100 years, Phoenix Contact has focused on connecting, distributing, and controlling power and data flows. Founded in 1923 in Essen, Germany, the family-owned company now generates €3.3 billion in annual revenue, employs 21,000 people in more than 100 countries, and supports customers across energy, infrastructure, process, factory automation, and e-mobility markets.

That commitment to intelligent connectivity extends beyond products and into the built environment itself. At Phoenix Contact USA, which was established in 1981 and is headquartered near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the campus has expanded steadily since the late 1990s and now houses more than 800 of Phoenix Contact’s 1,000+ employees. Through every phase of growth, one infrastructure strategy has remained constant: raised access flooring.

For Andrew Griesemer, head of U.S. Facilities and Security, the system has proven its value over nearly three decades.

“It’s performed very well,” he says. “We have very old variants of the floor and very new variants, with the newest installed in 2023. From a flooring perspective, it’s held up very, very well.”

Designing for Change from Day One

The four-story Sales Tower, completed in 1998, established the model. Subsequent expansions, including the RBU building and the LCA building with its automated warehouse, continued the strategy. Today, three interconnected buildings share a common infrastructure philosophy built around flexibility.

Raised access flooring creates a plenum beneath removable floor panels, allowing facilities teams to route power, data, and communications infrastructure underfoot rather than through walls, ceilings, or slab conduit. For Phoenix Contact, that decision has paid dividends in adaptability.

Over 25 years, departments have shifted locations to improve collaboration or operational efficiency. When both origin and destination spaces sit on raised floor, those moves become significantly easier.

“If they’re both in raised floor areas, that trade is easy,” Andrew explains. “Otherwise, moving all the IT infrastructure, whether it be routers, wireless access points, everything back to the data center – that’s a real  nightmare.”

Instead of trenching concrete or installing visible power poles, teams lift panels, reroute services, and reconfigure connections with minimal disruption. The building behaves like the modular automation systems Phoenix Contact manufactures: designed for evolution rather than permanence.

The company’s architectural language emphasizes expansive glass curtain walls and clean, modern lines. Underfloor distribution supports that aesthetic by eliminating vertical power poles in open office areas and creates a very clean aesthetic.

Beyond appearance, this improves daylight penetration and preserves flexible furniture layouts. The result is a workplace that aligns visually and functionally with Phoenix Contact’s global identity.

Long-Term Performance with Minimal Maintenance

Durability has been tested since 1998, and performance has remained consistent.
“The tile still holds up very well and I don’t do any maintenance to reset tiling,” Andrew says. “It’s pretty much a set-it-and-forget-it solution.”

Office areas use carpet tile over access panels, while production spaces feature exposed hard-surface finishes suitable for electronics manufacturing and static-sensitive environments.

Preventive maintenance is minimal. In office areas, panels are rarely disturbed. In higher-traffic production zones, pedestal connections are occasionally checked and reinforced.

Heavy-Duty Performance in Manufacturing

The most advanced application came in 2023 with the addition of a mold center in the electrical manufacturing area. This environment required reinforced panels and heavier pedestals to accommodate concentrated rolling loads and equipment weight.

“That space has a reinforced product because there is so much traffic and pooling of loads,” Andrew says. “The supports are heavier. The tiles are more reinforced, so they don’t bend.”

During construction, the team stress-tested panels to better understand load thresholds—an exercise that reinforced the importance of matching panel ratings to application demands.

Beyond structural performance, the mold center marked the first time Phoenix Contact used the underfloor plenum to distribute process chilled water.

“The solution was used to bring process chilled water to the mold presses themselves,” Andrew explains. “This was our use case to bring HVAC infrastructure underneath the flooring for the first time.”

Routing four-inch piping from a 20- to 30-foot ceiling would have required structural coordination, lifts, and aesthetic compromise. Running it underfloor simplified distribution and preserved overhead clearance.

“Dropping water lines at four-inch diameter is crazy,” he says. “You don’t just change the architecture; it impacts it financially as well.”
Leak detection sensors were installed within the plenum to mitigate risk. “Because the product is so good and the aesthetic is so good, you wouldn’t know if you had a leak,” Andrew notes. Sensors tied to alarms ensure rapid response if needed.

Like any system, raised access flooring requires careful sequencing. “Trying to time out the install with all the phasing is a challenge,” Andrew says.

Once installed, panels must be protected during subsequent trades. The team used plywood overlays to distribute loads and avoid what Andrew calls the “potato chip effect” from concentrated weight. 

Sustainability as Standard Practice

Infrastructure flexibility complements Phoenix Contact’s broader sustainability strategy. The LCA building features nearly one megawatt of rooftop solar PV, allowing the facility to self-generate a substantial portion of its electricity.

“We are self-generating electric in these jobs,” Andrew says.

Expansion projects prioritize electrification, renewable energy integration, and emissions reduction. Lighting upgrades are bundled into nearly every renovation. “Lighting is always a low-hanging fruit that offers a big payback,” he notes.

While slab-on-grade construction may offer lower upfront cost, Andrew views access flooring as aligned with the company’s culture and long-term priorities.

“You probably would save money just building it on slab,” he says. “But you’re going to have a rougher space.” 

The long-term cost of ownership outweighed initial costs. Phoenix Contact invested in a system that supports reconfiguration, protects aesthetics, integrates advanced manufacturing utilities, and adapts to renewable energy strategies. 

“I’m glad that Phoenix Contact went this direction,” Andrew reflects. “It really works for our culture and who we are as a company. It’s a wonderful space.”