Welcome!
When my parents opened Installation Specialists, Inc. from their basement in 1973, the company installed pallet racking, lockers, and lab furniture. Commercial interiors were very different, design firms were different, and the manufacturer/dealer network was just starting to blossom.
How things have changed!
Today we are a common name in the Chicago market, with most people knowing us as ISI. We’ve set the gold standard for commercial installations and have built our reputation on doing right by our partners and doing right by our employees.
With an entrepreneurial spirit and equal-opportunity mindset, we offer installation services for every commercial interior manufacturer’s product, every local and non-local dealer partner, and for any tangent party interested in our services.
We specialize in the installation of furnishings, architectural walls, window coverings, and millwork.
We specialize in simple installations as well as logistically complex projects.
We specialize in storing and receiving product as well as managing assets.
We specialize in developing apprentices into master craftsmen and women.
We specialize in hard work and are dedicated to efficiency and accuracy.
… and we believe in the notion that interiors take many contributors to be successful.
Let’s collaborate and do great things together.
Matt Sprenzel
CEO
Expect Great Things
You can expect a successful outcome for your commercial interiors project when ISI installs the commercial furniture, architectural walls, window coverings, or millwork. We offer distinct advantages to our partners which gives them complete confidence in our technical aptitude and service capabilities.
We seek partnerships, not clients.
Never resting on laurels, we approach every project as an opportunity to enhance our relationships. These relationships are grounded in mutual trust and respect, with a foundational premise that anything in the commercial built environment ‘takes a village.’
We offer support beyond installation.
Our team members are experienced furniture professionals, many of which have dealer or manufacturer experience. Our contacts run deep in the industry and our understanding of the furniture process goes far beyond installation.
We’re big on process.
It’s how we manage the volume of work with our local and national partners, ensure our union crews are adept at all product lines, and are able to maintain accuracy in large-scale, complex projects.
We’re proactive, not reactive.
We plan and schedule the detailed execution of each project, noting its critical path and potential obstacles. We prepare for the unexpected and work with our partners to proactively resolve challenges before overall project deadlines are impacted.
We seek constant improvement.
This leads to new and better processes, advanced technological integration, and enhanced communications with our partners. Testament to this is our longstanding membership with Facilities Services Network, a Solomon Coyle best-practices peer group.
We do right by the environment.
80% of project waste from our job sites is recycled. When projects do not require or allow for on-site recycling, we bring materials back to our warehouse for compacting and pickup.
50 years
Proud to be family-owned.
ISI is a family-owned company founded in 1973 by the late husband and wife team of Bud and Shirley Sprenzel. The Sprenzels are well remembered for their commitment to client success and dedication to their employees.
Today the company is led by sons Matt Sprenzel (CEO and Principal) and John Sprenzel (CFO and Principal).
“He was an industry icon.”
200 and growing
a strong team of craftsmen.
On a daily basis, we can field 200 or more full-time union carpenters averaging 20 years of relevant experience, with most or all of it in furniture or architectural wall installation.
All ISI installers are OSHA 30-certified and manufacturer-trained and certified in a wide variety of brands and lines.
ISI’s office team includes sales professionals, project managers, project coordinators, receiving specialists, dispatchers, and accounting and administrative support specialists.
Our warehouse staff includes a warehouse manager, asset management specialists, warehouse specialists, and drivers.
With 50 years in Chicagoland, it is safe to say that you’ve likely visited, worked at, or learned in a space the skilled installers from ISI have built.
200,000 sq ft
secure, climate-controlled warehousing.
ISI is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago about 20 minutes from O’Hare International Airport. The 150,000 square foot facility offers fast, convenient access to Chicagoland’s high-speed highway system.
At a separate location, we operate a 50,000 square foot warehouse dedicated to key projects or accounts.
The office portion of our headquarters facility contains a furnished multipurpose room suitable for training, furniture mockups, meetings and small conferences, and special events. ISI offers use of the multipurpose room free of charge to manufacturers, professional groups, and others in the contract furniture community.
Driven by Technology
Ahead of the curve. always, and in all ways.
ISI invests heavily in technology solutions that reduce cost and schedule risk while keeping us closely aligned with our partners’ project teams.
Our primary software tools include a custom project management system for desktop and mobile use; an iPhone app for real-time voice, data, and image communications between the field, the office and our partners; PlanGrid construction project software; and the SnapTracker asset management system.
Working with ISI, you can expect the following technology-driven features for convenience and efficiency
Schedule Notifications
Daily Progress Report
Mobile Sign-off of Work Orders and Change Orders
Self-Service Scheduling of Product Deliveries
Driven by People
a company to grow with. a culture to believe in.
Commercial interiors is a surprisingly complicated industry. In the age of information overload and technology, most things are possible if they can be imagined by a client or partner. And that’s where ISI comes in.
We do not design or manufacture visions. Rather, our team turns those visions into reality.
ISI is a well-managed, thriving organization where skilled, quality-conscious individuals who are a good fit with our mission, culture, and work environment can work to their potential, build rewarding careers, and find a satisfying work/life balance.
We afford equal opportunity to all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other status protected under local, state or federal laws.
Driven by Community
believing in the greater good. fighting the good fight.
Chicago is one of the most prosperous cities in the world. And with that comes great opportunity to be contributing members in the collective good. Being community stewards is part of our corporate culture and individual DNA. We encourage you to join us by finding a cause you believe in and giving back in a way that fulfills you.
ISI founded the Bud and Shirley Sprenzel Scholarship that follows students throughout their high school careers. Individual ISI team members also provide financial assistance for students in need throughout the city. Consider mentoring students or joining your local parent-teacher organizations if you are drawn to educational advancement.
ISI and its team members enjoy donating gifts, volunteering their time, and offsetting transportation costs for local holiday toy and food drives. Consider assisting at a local soup kitchen throughout the year or organizing a supply or coat drive to combat our winters.
ISI team members train for marathons and charity runs to support various causes near and dear to their personal story. Consider lending your talents, time, and resources to park and school districts, environmental and animal advocacy groups, or any other cause in need of forms of generosity.
Check out Chicago Cares which is a repository for just a handful of the volunteer programs looking for support from people just like you!