Jane Louer, founder and owner, Louer Facility Planning Inc., Collinsville

By KERRY SMITH
    Building a vibrant business and a high-performing team takes talent, hard work, keen hiring and diligent training. Jane Louer, founder of Louer Facility Planning Inc. in Collinsville, knows this well.
    Her firm recently celebrated 21 years of creating affordable, functional and beautiful workspace solutions for clients across the St. Louis region and the U.S.
    Although the $6 million commercial furniture dealership and interior design firm is ranked as one of the top 10 largest office furniture companies in Greater St. Louis, it’s a home-grown, independently operated firm with deep roots across the Metro East.
    Louer Facility Planning is a certified women’s business enterprise (WBE) comprised of an all-woman, seven-member team.
    “We’re a company of women at this particular time,” said Louer. “It’s not that we want to be recognized specifically for that characteristic, but we’re proud to be known for working hard, being keenly attentive to details, strategically multitasking and consistently producing stellar work.”
    Louer’s team works cohesively in a creative showroom within the Eastport Plaza business district in Collinsville. “We live here, we work here, we pay taxes here,” Louer said. “All the work we’re performing on behalf of our clients is occurring here in Southwestern Illinois. There is no national call center, no district headquarters and no virtual offices. We work cohesively and collaboratively to find the best, most workable furniture solutions. And we appreciate that many of our Southwestern Illinois clients don’t have Chicago-sized budgets.”
    Fluent knowledge and decades of commercial construction industry experience differentiate Louer Facility Planning from its competitors, according to Louer.
    The design firm often is often brought into the construction project as a trusted member of the build team early on in the process, serving as the liaison between the client and the construction firm and making sure that the location of data ports, electrical outlets, wall/door openings and more are being positioned to afford the client maximum flexibility in selecting office interiors that mesh with existing construction plans and avoiding costly changes later on.
    “Our firm’s collective experience in working alongside construction professionals – and our longstanding relationship with many of the region’s foremost commercial builders – enables us to add value to the process and help our mutual clients make wise decisions,” said Louer. “Every client is important to us.”
    She said the very best outcome, from a functional, aesthetic, durability and budgetary perspective, is always the goal.
    “Our mission is not limited to designing a space and selling furniture. Our mission is to transform the space for those who use it to remain functional and relevant in the years to come,” she said.