Richard Weber, the PennEnergy chairman & CEO, talks with state Rep. Stephenie Scialabba, R-12th at the ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday, May 17, held in the company’s Cranberry Township headquarters. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle
CRANBERRY TWP — PennEnergy Resources opened its headquarters in the township Wednesday, May 17, with a ribbon-cutting at its new 40,000-square-foot suite at 3000 Westinghouse Drive.
“We’re thrilled to be in Butler, a substantial portion of our operations are in Butler County,” said Richard Weber, company CEO and chairman. “We’re also very active in Beaver and in Armstrong counties, and we’re probably the most active producer in each of those three counties.
“We love being right here — it’s so central to our operation.”
The company’s decision to settle in the township was in part motivated by a desire to centralize, according to Weber.
“Our headquarters were in Robinson Township in Allegheny County, where we’ve been headquartered since we founded in the company in 2011, but we had a satellite office in Cranberry as well,” Weber said. “And it just so happened that both our leases were coming to an end this year, and we knew that we wanted to consolidate, and we knew we wanted to be in Cranberry.”
Weber said they looked at a number of facilities in the township, but were sold on Westinghouse for its “phenomenal” amenities.
In addition to the spacious third-floor suite, the complex provides an onsite cafeteria, a subsidized gym and a day care for employees.
“We made a pretty big investment to move out here,” Weber said, “but we’re also very grateful that Westinghouse provided a pretty generous build-out expense for us.”
Design for the space was completed by Franklin Interiors, Weber said, and focused on creating a collaborative, comfortable space for employees.
“We’re in an environment now where this whole idea of ‘work from home’ is, we think, here to stay,” Weber said. “We have a policy for any administrative staff that’s in the office every day, that they are in the office three days and home for two, but we wanted to make a space where people want to be in the officer, and I think we’ve accomplished that.”
And while field-staff are unable to work from home, Weber said he hoped the facility would also be a welcoming space for them.
“Franklin Interiors really helped us think through how to design this space around what our desires were,” Weber said. “You know, bright, collaborative, open, lots of natural light, fun — we wanted this to be a fun space — and I think they really did a fabulous job.”
The 126-employee facility was renovated by Sentinel Construction, Weber said, and is much more accessible for most commuters in addition to providing more immediate access to drilling operations in the region.
“We feel like a part of the community, and we operate under a set of values that we really run our company and we really think of ourselves as invited guests in the community and we try to operate accordingly,” he said. “We have a very deliberate effort to get to know all of the township supervisors where we are involved and the decision-makers in each other those townships.”
State Rep. Stephenie Scialabba, R-12th, said she was “thrilled” to see PennEnergy find its home in the township.
“They’re helping support livelihoods, they’re making quality of life better, they’re clean energy — they really care about the environment,” Scialabba said. “They are from here and they live here. They care about this place and we are so, so happy to have them here.”
She said the company prides itself on its transparency with the community and its economic stewardship.
Weber agreed.
“We think a big part of our job is to be in the community, to be visible and to listen — 95% of all our issues can be solved when we’re able to do that,” he said. “Again, it’s part of our philosophy of operating as invited guests.”
Richard Weber, the PennEnergy Chairman & CEO, talks with guests Wednesday, May 16, at the ribbon cutting ceremony held in the company’s new Cranberry Township headquarters at 3000 Westinghouse Drive. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle
Cindy Bartram, executive administration manager for PennEnergy, right, gives guests a tour Wednesday, May 17, after a ribbon cutting ceremony at the company’s new Cranberry Township headquarters. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle
State Rep. Stephenie Scialabba, R-12th, center, talks with guests Wednesday, May 17, at the ribbon cutting ceremony for PennEnergy Resource’s new headquarters in Cranberry Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle
