UAS Breathes New Life into the Old J.W. Pepper & Son Building

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Scott Elkins, president of U.A.S. surveys the renovations at the old J.W. Pepper & Sons building in Tredyffrin.--via Pete Bannan, Daily Local News.

Universal Atlantic Systems Inc. is renovating the building behind Paoli Hospital that was previously the home of J.W. Pepper & Son sheet music, to turn it into its new operations center, writes Brian McCullough for Daily Local News.

After the original tenant moved to a smaller office in Exton three years ago, the vacant 54,000-square-foot building caught the eye of UAS which was looking to bring together its workforce, currently spread across three locations, under one roof.

“Our three properties right now are a combined 20,000 square feet, so this will give us room to grow,” said Scott R. Elkins, President of UAS.

The new office will be home to close to 115 employees once it is ready in July. The renovations currently underway will allow for at least 150 employees, with an option to expand beyond that, Elkins said.

The new building will completely cover the current and future needs of the company, with both small and large meeting rooms, phone rooms, and even spaces with showers and beds for employees who monitor security systems across the country. Three generators will make sure that the power stays on during blackouts.

The decision to move into the Tredyffrin building came after detailed analysis showed that the new office needed to be in a desirable location, but still close enough for UAS’s current employees to easily reach. The new location also gives employees the chance to commute to work by train, said Elkins.

“Not only is this a desirable location but it’s really on the Main Line” he said. “Also, you look at the labor pool and there’s Vanguard and Wegmans and Target – you have a strong workforce pool.”

While it started as a primarily residential alarm company in 1972, UAS changed focus in the 80s to pursue accounts for large office complexes in the Delaware Valley. The company managed to secure its first national account in early 90s, growing over time to where 85 percent of its revenue now comes from national accounts.

“When we first moved into Lawrence Park and the first 12,000 square feet, we used to say the building was better than we were as a company,” Elkins said. “Now, we’ve grown to the point where we’re better than the building. It’s the right thing to do for the next stage of our growth.”

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