Partner Spotlight: The Budd Group

A well-maintained campus is essential to the Darlington experience, and it takes a dedicated team and the right resources to keep our 500-acre campus running smoothly and looking its best. Since June 2023, Darlington School and The Budd Group have partnered to provide facility management services across campus, including maintenance, custodial, landscaping, transportation and security. In my role, I oversee this important partnership and work directly with Ricky Keith, director of facilities, and his team to ensure all aspects of the school are maintained to the highest standards. As we begin our fourth school year together, I’d like to share some insights and highlights of our partnership.

We chose to work with The Budd Group because of their experience, expertise and cost efficiencies. The Budd Group has extensive experience managing facilities for independent schools and colleges. Their service line expertise provides valuable resources to our local team members. They also assist our team in backfilling open positions and providing temporary labor as needed. Darlington also benefits from cost savings as a result of their larger purchasing power.

The Budd Group has provided many improvements and enhancements to our operations, including technology, long-range facility planning and equipment investments. Technology utilization has improved efficiency and helps ensure all tasks are completed. Some of these technology resources include cleaning robots and digital security checkpoints throughout campus. Our facilities team also assisted with a Facilities Conditions Assessment to identify and prioritize our maintenance needs. As a result of this partnership, our work order system has improved, and our facilities team is able to focus more time on preventative maintenance tasks. The Budd Group has also provided valuable new equipment to better serve all service lines.

Thanks to a successful capital campaign and the guidance of The Budd Group, we have recently completed several major maintenance projects on campus. Our Central Energy Plant on the Upper School campus was completely renovated with all new equipment. We have also completed several other HVAC equipment replacements and enhancements to both Morris Chapel and the Huffman Athletic Center.

As we look to the future, we will continue utilizing the Facilities Conditions Assessment to address our most critical projects over the next few years. Many of these projects will focus on equipment replacements and improvements in all of our dorms and many of our classroom buildings.