It Was A Wonderful Year!

We kicked off our 40^th year with a celebration of our history and our legacy. In four decades, we’ve grown from a small family business to California’s leading modular manufacturer, delivering more than 5,200 buildings to school districts across the state—buildings that have reshaped 21^st century learning for new generations of students. The same three things that defined us in 1983 guided us to new heights in 2023: a clear vision, strong brands and collaborative partnerships.

With growth comes change, starting in our Manteca office. In February, we celebrated the completion of The Great Renovation, a complete office reno that transformed every square foot of our company headquarters, reimagining where we work to fit how we work. Our new space embodies our vision and values, creating a collaborative work community that nurtures our innovative spirit and empowers us to build a future where we can work together to bring positive change to our communities.

We celebrated Women in Construction Week by recognizing the achievements and contributions of the many women who help design and build some of California’s most progressive schools. We’re proud of all our employees, but we’re especially proud of the dedicated women who’re paving the way for other females to succeed—and lead—in the competitive construction field. Diversity makes us stronger and creates a more inclusive future for us all.

The best way to celebrate Earth Day is every day! Our latest schools showcase the year’s top design trends—trends that bring sustainable benefits to our schools and communities. This spring, roofs are higher, windows are larger and walls disappear, making classrooms brighter, airier and more connected, inside and out. Sophisticated modular buildings like Dublin’s Murray Elementary erase the line between traditional and modular, making healthy schools a faster, more affordable and more environmentally responsible option—and we’re happy to be a partner in making it possible.

Southern California is growing—and so are we! We welcomed new members to our AMS SoCal Team, strengthening our ability to provide professional services and client support for the entire Southern California region. We’ve always been a leader in the SoCal market, but adding experienced personnel in key areas of design, engineering, project management and business development expands our capabilities, positioning AMS to better service existing projects and develop new opportunities in all Southern California counties.

It was one of our busiest summers ever! We leveraged 40 years of experience to form new partnerships, going beyond the classroom to design new kinds of environments that create new opportunities for students. We partnered with districts to design unique facilities to roll out Universal TK. We helped community colleges add essential services to provide a complete student experience. We built fitness centers, locker rooms, laundry facilities and food pantries, using space creatively to meet needs efficiently.

We love seeing how schools make learning fun for students year-round! The fully-custom multipurpose room at Belmont’s Serendipity School is a cool spot for indoor picnics, games and summer movie day, where students took advantage of their new space to spread out to watch  movies on pool floats. Ceilings dotted with cloud-like acoustic panels felt sky-high and clerestory windows filled the room with natural light and fresh air, making the wide-open, sunny space feel like outdoors… indoors.

Back to new schools is an exciting time! Our new projects continue to reinvent facilities design, introducing new configurations that enhance functionality and student/teacher safety and well-being. We elevated our brands with new L- shaped, V-shaped and U-shaped buildings that integrate indoor/outdoor learning and broke ground on Lemon Grove’s Early Childhood Education Center—a 31,080-square-foot facility that consolidates districtwide TK on a sustainable, state-of-the-art campus.

After months of searching for the ideal location, we opened a new office in Temecula, adding 6,872 square feet of collaborative workspace easily accessible from anywhere in Southern California. Our new SoCal office is a resource for our clients, colleagues and partners, strengthening our local presence while providing flexible conference, meeting and event space. Being in-market helps us deepen relationships, making us more responsive to needs and providing greater value to our SoCal clients and communities.

The expansion continued as we set Phase Two of our Manteca office reno—a  custom 2,900-square-foot modular addition that provides sustainable workspace for our engineering team. Built to GEN7 specs, the design features a fully-equipped kitchen, common areas and collaborative space for brainstorming, as well as versatile event space that connects to an outdoor courtyard for working and socializing. It’s a serene setting, enhanced by 130-year-old olive trees transplanted to create a sense of nature.

We opened several community college facilities this year, none more revolutionary than the First Responders Center at Fresno City College. The new 44,672-square-foot facility sets a higher standard for higher education with 23 cutting-edge learning spaces in ten fully-custom AMS EVOLVE buildings. The innovative hybrid design offers real-life training for the college’s Fire/EMT and Police Academies, as well as a conference center for advanced training for all state and regional fire and police departments.

We’re already hard at work on new projects that will welcome students in the coming years. The custom Child Development Center at Palo Verde College will create child-safe space on a college campus. A TK rollout in the Menifee School District will add 33 TK-K classrooms on five sites. A revitalized campus at Huntington Beach’s Sowers Middle School will mix GEN7 buildings into a cost-saving hybrid design. All wonderful projects to wrap up a wonderful year—with many more wonderful years ahead.

Thanks for being part of it!