Miles Treaster & Associates

Lamar Treaster and Ray Green founded a small fine furniture and decorating studio in Sacramento, Calif., in 1958. Originally named Treaster & Green, the design house served high-end clientele throughout the region. Lamar’s son, Miles, purchased the business from the partners 14 years later, renaming the business Miles Treaster & Associates (MTA). Despite the name change, the business continued to flourish under the new generation of family leadership, diversifying and expanding its reach until Miles’ retirement in 2006.

Devoted to his employees, Miles refused to sell to an outsider. Therefore, Miles sold MTA to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) trust, leaving shares to his dedicated staff. MTA employees are engaged in the business, privy to financial information and holding a voice in the operation of the company.

Today, Therese Kingsbury, president and CEO of MTA, leads the business. “I started here in 1981 as an intern, fresh out of UC Davis,” she explains. “I took over operations in 1992.” Kingsbury is proud to continue MTA’s reputation of excellence.

A Working Community

Therese’s long tenure is not unusual at MTA, which has proved to be a business that can boast long employee tenure. The average is 9.5 years, and many employees have been with the business for decades. As shareholders, MTA employees work collectively to reinforce a deep personal investment in the business. The three key components of this shared vision are excellent customer care, profitable growth and continual personal development.

While MTA’s niche is in office design, furniture installation and relocation services, the team’s specialty goes deeper. Working cooperatively with staff shareholders, Kingsbury determined an outline of company values. The business is fully committed to seven mission principles: customer service and quality; teamwork and reliability; trust and respect; family and opportunity; honesty and integrity; pride and commitment; and innovation and creativity. Each component contributes to building a supportive and powerful company culture, while defining expectations to the business and its clients.

Taking Care of Business

All of the inner workings of MTA collectively inform the success the team sees in the market. “What sets us apart from competitors is the approach, attitude and ability to work with customers, contractors and architects,” explains Kingsbury. “We utilize state-of-the-art design software. With AutoCAD, we sketch up our designs for clients. These plans are downloadable.”

Digitized design work offers improved collaboration between the business and clients, ensuring that as promised, customers get functional, attractive office settings that improve the ways they do business.

MTA is working in all corners of the market around Sacramento. “We probably do about 30-percent design-build,” says Kingsbury. “The rest is competitive-build tenant improvement work. Our clients are in retail, institutional, commercial and health care settings.”

The business offers project management, installation, design support, move services, relocation management, cleaning and refurbishment, inventory management and chair repair work order. Over the last year, the team has been involved in several major projects ranging in size and complexity.

Recent Successes

MTA worked in cooperation with architect Corgan & Associates of Dallas on the Sacramento Airport’s new Terminal B. The LEED-certified project offered many challenges, with stringent TSA requirements for interiors and the movement of materials in and out of the airport. The business designed and installed furnishings for airport administrative offices and common spaces. With products from well-known manufacturers, including Herman Miller and Gunlocke, the terminal is now tastefully furnished in a range of complementary colors and materials.

The team’s recently completed project for California ISO has provided a flexible, attractive, professional space at the business’ new headquarters in Folsom, Calif. The team collaborated with Dreyfuss & Blackford, Clark Construction and the owner of the project on an interior theme that meshes with the building’s architecture, green building standards and Cal ISO’s corporate vision, all while adhering to a budget. Utilizing technological capabilities, MTA helped to produce an inviting space for business, complete with office spaces, conference rooms, collaboration areas, common spaces, dining and break rooms, as well as outdoor furnishings.

In 2009 MTA completed a project for the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SASD) and Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD), as both agencies made the move to a new facility with serious upgrades that year. The building achieved LEED Gold certification, utilizing design components in architecture and furnishings to decrease energy use. MTA provided and installed all furnishings for the facility, filling shared spaces, workstations, boardrooms, training rooms, conference rooms and private offices.

The team continues to pick up interesting projects, and Kingsbury says she has a few lined up down the pipeline. Green projects and Internet sales are on the rise; there are two trends Kingsbury says her team is running with.

“We’ve also seen an increase in contractors taking the lead on projects,” she says. “The architect used to be the lead. We had to learn to adapt to contractor restrictions and on many projects we are treated as a subcontractor. It presents different challenges, but it is always a good collaboration.”

In 2013 MTA is celebrating 55 years of successful business. With the economy working toward a full recovery, business is strong. Kingsbury says growth is ahead and plans to expand the company’s move management services, support and inventory services. With a strong sense of corporate identity, Miles Treaster & Associates is positioned to continue a trend of growth and customer satisfaction.

For more information about Miles Treaster & Associates, please visit: www.mtaoffice.com.