A Peek Inside Axle Logistics’ New HQ II

We’ve brought you many updates along the way of the construction of Axle’s second Headquarters building on Central (HQ2). The photographs showed the exterior of the building taking shape as designed by DIA and constructed by Merit Construction with development firm Lawler Wood. But what of the interior? With the interior mostly finished and the building now occupied and in use, Buddy Heins, VP of Merit Construction arranged a tour with Axle VP Ali Fraley and Director of Facilities and Campus Operations, Tres Markham.

My first surprise was learning that the entire movement of employees into the new building has been completed. Before the opening of the building, employees worked from a spot on Magnolia, the 2 Center Square Building on Gay Street, and inside a portion of the Knox News Building off Western. The transfer completed at the end of June saw employees bagging their computers and bringing them to the new building and plugging in the next morning to start work.

When the company moved into its first headquarters, just across the street, they had outgrown the space before moving in. Tres said, “This is the first time in four years we’ve had room to grow.” That is despite the fact they have grown to about 700 employees. The opening of the second headquarters building provides not only space for all current employees, but room for the employees the company is constantly recruiting and onboarding, up to about 1,250.

Heins said, “The construction took about eighteen or nineteen months, but we’ve been working on it a lot longer. In all, from excavation to move-in took about 24 months. Heins noted that the project has been “one of the most visible in town and the business side is impressive, as well. I’m glad we were involved.”

Of the downtown location (they could have gone anywhere or worked remotely), Ali said, “I think it was important for our owners, John and Drew, to be part of stretching downtown north. I think it was important to them to put down roots . . . It was important to them to give back to the community, build a workforce, and contribute to the ecosystem of the city, and it felt like the best place to do that was downtown.” Tres pointed out that, “Between the two buildings, we’re north of $50 million invested.”

The building includes six stories, including the basement gym which includes the basketball court and workout rooms pictured here. The basement also includes locker rooms and saunas and a cold plunge for both male and female employees. The basketball game underway when I toured was part of the summer intern Axle Cup Tournament. The company works closely with UT to bring interns into the company, many of whom eventually become employees, though they also recruit across the region. Any accounts landed by interns become theirs if they come to work for the company after graduation.

The entire building includes about 82,000 square feet, and 900 workstations and incorporates many of the employee amenities present in the other building, plus more. Pool tables, water features, aquariums, terraces featuring comfortable seating and great views, a putting green, and a swing suite are integrated throughout. Employees are welcome to move about and flow from work to recreation as needed or as their workload allows. Tres phrased it, “Handle your business and have fun as you can.” Ali added, “This is a high-pressure industry, so we create outlets to step away from the desk to get re-charged.”

The building itself includes cast concrete pillars and floors, giving it a very different feel from most current construction. Buddy likened it to older buildings, including the original headquarters across the street. “They don’t build them like they used to, buildings like this aren’t made out of this stuff, anymore . . . These days it’s a lot easier, faster, and cheaper to build it out of steel.” He said the timing had something to do with the material choices, as steel became very expensive during the COVID-19 pandemic when the plans and orders for materials were underway for this project.

He also added that DIA put effort into making the new building similar in quality to the original building. Tres said, “There was a lot of talk about how we do a new, unique building to complement the neighborhood and to call back to the 100-year-old building we have across the street, trying to match some design elements, but not too much. It’s a fine line.” One notable difference is the balconies included on the new building just to give employees another space they can enjoy or use if they need to step outside for a call.

Not all the floors are pictured, as they are nearly identical. Each floor has room for new employees and more constantly join the company. Screens prominently posted scroll information, including activities coming up in the building and welcome messages to visitors. As I photographed one of the employees taking a break in the swing suite, he stepped out and introduced himself as Wes Wilson and said to the others, “His first article about the original building is how I found out about Axle and got an interview, so five years later . . .”

The top floor of the building includes executive offices but, notably, the largest outdoor space sits on the top employee floor. Still a work in progress and a bit wet on the day I visited, it’s lovely nonetheless, and even includes grills, cornhole, and more for employee use. All the facilities and spaces are open to employees 24-7. A nice lunch area is also included, and the company provides that meal every Thursday. The internal murals, quotes, and more decorative touches are yet to come.

Of course, conference and meeting rooms line each floor and a large training room hosted new employees as we toured. Called Launch Pad, new employees go through a rigorous six-week program as they start. Ali said she loves to hire interns who already have a leg-up on much of the information they need to know to get started. Ali said, “Starting next month we have a class with UT within the Supply Chain department, and we’ll host the class here. We’ll have thirty students here every day and they’ll stay on to intern. We’re pumping!”

And so they are.