In construction, the partners you choose shape a project long before the first steel member arrives on site. That is why we invest in relationships here in San Antonio — and why a recent conversation with one of the city’s most established design firms meant a great deal to our team.
(The featured image is cited from WestEast Design Group’s LinkedIn.)
Toyokazu Yamaguchi, President & CEO of American Katerra, LLC, recently met with the team at WestEast Design Group, LLC — one of San Antonio’s most established design firms — to continue strengthening the partnership between our two companies and our collaboration here in San Antonio.
WestEast shared the visit in a post on LinkedIn, describing a conversation about evolving industry trends and, in the firm’s words, about “supporting progress and operational excellence within the industrial manufacturing sector.” It was a working conversation between partners — and a welcome chance to spend time with a team that has supported American Katerra’s growth in this city.
Who Is WestEast Design Group?
The image is cited from WestEast Design Group’s website.
WestEast Design Group is a San Antonio story. Founded in 1996 by architect Christopher Kimm — the practice famously began at his dining-room table — the firm has grown into an integrated design practice spanning architecture, engineering, interior design, and project management, with more than 900 completed projects and a client base that keeps coming back: the firm reports that around 85% of its work is repeat business.
Texans know WestEast best for civic and institutional work — education, community, health, and public buildings across the state. Alongside that portfolio, the firm maintains a dedicated Industrial / Manufacturing segment, and that is the team American Katerra is proud to know well. Representing WestEast at the meeting were Roger De Luna, Jr., Executive Director of the Industrial / Manufacturing Segment; Joey D. Nguyen, AIA, Senior Associate and Industrial Market Leader; and Eduardo Di Loreto Cano, Director of Engineering.
We have always felt a quiet kinship with the firm’s name. WestEast — two directions joined into a single word — is a fitting description of what American Katerra is building in Texas: a working bridge between Japanese manufacturing tradition and American construction practice.
A Conversation About Partnership, Values, and What Comes Next
The meeting was about strengthening our partnership and our local San Antonio collaboration — comparing perspectives on where the industrial manufacturing sector is heading, and on how a design firm and a steel fabricator can each help move it forward.
For our part, we spoke about the industrial philosophy and values that guide American Katerra: the Japanese operational practices we inherited from our parent company, Yamaguchi Heavy Industries Ltd., and our commitment to sustainability-driven manufacturing. In daily work, those values take practical forms — a fully digital BIM-driven workflow built in Tekla Structures, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and greenhouse-gas (GHG) calculation as standard project analysis, and our Green Carbon Steel™ and Blue Carbon Steel™ low-carbon product lines.
Conversations like this one are how partnerships stay real. Design and fabrication see the industry from different vantage points, and exchanging those perspectives — regularly, in person, here in San Antonio — makes both of our firms better at what we each do.
Why Local Collaboration in San Antonio Matters
San Antonio’s manufacturing base is expanding, and the surrounding region continues to attract industrial investment. Growth like that is built on a strong local professional community — design firms, fabricators, and builders who know one another and understand one another’s work. Being part of that community is why American Katerra chose San Antonio as its home and opened our office at the Weston Centre in the heart of downtown.
Relationships with established local firms like WestEast are a large part of what makes a Japanese-owned newcomer feel less like a newcomer. They shorten distances — professional, practical, and cultural.
Thank You, WestEast
WestEast closed its LinkedIn post by thanking American Katerra for being a valued partner. The appreciation is mutual. American Katerra remains sincerely grateful for WestEast’s support — as a partner, and as one of the firms that has helped us put down real roots in San Antonio. We look forward to continuing the collaboration, and to many more opportunities to work together.
If you are part of the San Antonio design and construction community and would like to connect, we would welcome the conversation.
