Centric Projects: Why simplicity means less overhead and more productivity

More isn’t always better; in fact, sometimes the simplest tools are the most powerful ones. Missouri-based commercial construction company Centric Projects came to this realization in its very early days, and that ethos has powered its growth since.

“From the outset of Centric Projects, our mantra has been that technology should make life simpler, not more complicated,” partner Richard Wetzel wrote in a recent blog post. “And because as a startup we were not burdened with legacy systems, including racks of servers, miles of cable and fiber, complicated mobile logins, and clunky hardware, we were able to build on that mantra from the very beginning.”

Our overhead structure is one-half to one-third that of our competitors’, in part because of Dropbox. Competitors are stuck with legacy systems that drag down efficiency and increase costs. - Richard Wetzel, Partner, Centric Projects

As the construction company grew, the team found themselves trying to store, access, and share a huge number of files — often between the office and their remote job sites — and they needed a way to do so that was simple and efficient. Centric Projects realized that the ease and security of Dropbox for Business made it an ideal choice.

“In construction, the best way to maintain profitability is to keep overhead costs really low," Wetzel said. "Our overhead structure is one-half to one-third that of our competitors’, in part because of Dropbox. Competitors are stuck with legacy systems that drag down efficiency and increase costs.”

Centric Projects uses Dropbox for Business to make sure its files are always up to date and accessible from anywhere. This mobility allows subcontractors and supervisors to instantly pull up architectural drawings on a job site, and to send photos of construction in progress back to the team at the office.