Roundabouts lead American Structurepoint to national spotlight

INDIANAPOLIS | A knack for designing roundabouts, such as the ones in Valparaiso, helped earn American Structurepoint a feature role on the ION Network's "World's Greatest ...," which focuses on unique businesses and services in the nation.

"This is absolutely an exciting accomplishment," Structurepoint Vice President Jack Lashenik said. "We are fortunate we've been dubbed the leader of the roundabout revolution. I attribute that to the clients we have. We were selected from 50 firms across the country. It's truly a testament to the great people we have."

Founded in Indianapolis in 1966, American Structurepoint now has seven offices in Indiana, including Highland, and one in Columbus, Ohio, and employs more than 300 people. It has been involved in projects ranging from racetracks, roads and water filtration plants to the Muscatatuck military subterranean training facility in Butlerville, Ind.

"What makes our firm unique is our wide variety of expertise," company President Rick Conner said. "We have competitors in all these areas, but there doesn't seem to be one firm in the Midwest that rolls all that into one firm. If you check around, the thing you would find is we produce results. It's about producing the desired outcome for the client and the community.

"What we tried to get across in the ION interview is the way we do things that is a little different," Conner said. "We start by thinking about the result we are trying to accomplish and then developing a strategic plan to get us from where we are to that end. It's a collection of all kinds of different disciplines."

Structurepoint entered the roundabout field in 1997 in Carmel, Ind., when the mayor wanted to install a couple in a new corridor. Craig Parks, a project manager with the company's transportation group, said that was a couple of years before federal guidelines on roundabouts existed.

"Through doing that and others throughout the state, we've grown in that niche," Parks said. "We've kept the relationship with Carmel, which has been dubbed the roundabout capital of the U.S. with 60 of them, and we've done half. Just being in that situation has given us the experience."

The program airs three times this month, starting with 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.