AT A GLANCE

200 American Metro Blvd., Suite 1200

Hamilton, NJ 08619

www.akfgroup.com

Year founded: 1989

Number of engineers involved in commercial real estate in New Jersey: 189

Areas of expertise in real estate: MEP/FP Engineering, 3D Scanning, Code Consulting, Commissioning, Energy + Performance, Fire & Life Safety, Building Controls, Lighting Design by Lightcraft, Master Planning, Smart Building, Technology Design


OUR CLIENTS

AKF provides MEP/FP and Integrated Services for clients in Critical Space, Education, Government, Healthcare, Industrial, Mixed-use, Multi-family, Retail & Hospitality, Science & Technology, Transportation and Workplace environments.


OUR ADVANTAGE

AKF’s engineering, design and technology expertise powers human potential in buildings so occupants can live, heal, learn, work and play to the best of their abilities. We build flexible and high-performance spaces to achieve the highest quality of convenience and comfort to motivate people and communities. Our experienced professionals are dedicated to innovating new ways to design for the built environment amidst the evolving landscape and trends of the AEC industry.

In addition to MEP/FP engineering, AKF offers a Suite of Integrated Services to reduce project friction and overall project cost by limiting sub-consultants and providing a single point of contact. The scope of our Integrated Services enables us to remain committed to projects from inception to ongoing operations and optimization. AKF has joined Carbon Leadership Forum’s MEP 2040 Challenge to benefit the environment and the communities where we live and work. By committing to the initiative, we pledge to advocate for and achieve net zero carbon in our projects: operational carbon by 2030 and embodied carbon by 2040.


PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

With a mission of “Zero Hunger, Zero Waste,” Kroger, America’s largest supermarket retailer, strives to provide affordable fresh food and other essential commodities to communities. Faced with the challenge of optimizing three highly-automated customer fulfillment centers, AKF provided MEP design to integrate engineering systems with revolutionary technology developed by U.K. company Ocado. The centers, which are all over 300,000 square feet, provide efficient delivery of essential goods to customers, demonstrating the first time this cutting-edge technology has been used in the U.S. AKF advanced this global partnership by determining key metrics and developing solutions that met U.S. applications based on European requirements.

Inside each fulfillment center 800 robots navigate a giant grid with 21 levels of products they can pick up to complete customer orders. Technology combines Artificial Intelligence, automation and robotics while prioritizing affordability and speed for the end-user. The project team developed solutions to leverage the correct balance of cost, maintenance and resiliency for facilities that operate 24/7.

Optimizing facilities that enable direct access to essential items inspires us. These are more than fulfillment centers — they are places that feed our communities. Direct-to-consumer centers play a vital role in a world where technology drives efficiency to better meet societal needs.

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Joshua Burd

Joshua Burd, an award-winning reporter and editor, has been covering New Jersey commercial real estate for 13 years. Many industry leaders view him as the go-to real estate reporter in the state, a role he is eager to continue as the editor of Real Estate NJ. He is a lifelong New Jersey resident who has spent a decade covering the great Garden State.

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