Famous worldwide for its beer, Amsterdam’s Heineken is also renowned for its creative advertising and iconic green glass bottles. During a trip in the early 1960s to the Dutch Antilles – as it was at the time – company head ‘Freddy’ Heineken was dismayed at the amount of trash he saw on the idyllic Caribbean Islands, including beer bottles from his own company.

A visionary long before words like ‘recycling,’ ‘reuse’ and ‘sustainability’ became eco-words, Heineken knew something good could be done with the discarded bottles.

Contacting John Habraken, Director at the Foundation for Architects’ Research (SAR), the two men conceived a revolutionary idea: re-tooling the famous Heineken beer bottle so it could be used as a building product. The result was the patented WOBO ‘world bottle’ in 1964.

The WOBO is born

Keeping its distinctive green tint, the new design came in two different sizes. Putting aside the traditional cylindrical shape, the bottle was rectangular so it could be stacked like clay bricks. A short neck ensured that the top of one WOBO would lock into the base of the next, and a dimpled body helped it to stay in place once mortar was applied, just as typical bricks made from clay or shale do.

Although the new bottles had some issues with chipping and weight and eventually fell out of favour, the WOBO was ahead of its time, aesthetically and environmentally.

Architectural critic, writer, editor, and lecturer Martin Pawley called the unique bottle “the first mass-production container ever designed from the outset for secondary use as a building component.”

The author of numerous books on architecture and on visionary, often controversial architects such as Buckminster Fuller and Le Corbusier, Pawley also wrote Garbage Housing, in 1975, and Building for Tomorrow: Putting Waste to Work, published in 1982.

Instead of just urging eternal struggle against ever-increasing waves of garbage, Pawley, much like Alfred Heineken with his WOBOs, espoused the notion of re-using consumer waste.

Packaging could be re-imagined and designed to have a secondary use as low-cost construction materials. And with an increasing awareness over the past four decades of important environmental issues – such as preserving old-growth forests, active recycling programs, and using less energy – what was once considered strange is fast being embraced.

Navigating the woodlot

From an occasional dearth of toilet paper to a scarcity of canned goods, COVID-19 has made businesses and households alike realize what a perilous state global supply chains are in. In the building arena, the pandemic continues to double-whammy both builders and renovators.

Although many areas of construction were deemed essential and allowed to operate through the crisis, others – for instance wood harvesting and processing – weren’t so fortunate, with sawmills worldwide forced to close through worker infections.

Combined with trade wars and tariffs at the pandemic’s start in March 2020, this triple jeopardy saw the forestry sector lose an estimated $1.1 billion that year alone, a huge blow for the third-largest agricultural export sector after soybeans and corn.

For the construction industry, wood supply shortages have caused a tsunami at the cash register. After reaching $1,515 per thousand board feet, the price plummeted a few months later to $389 for the same quantity. Earlier this year, the price almost tripled from its low, last August, to $1,111 per thousand board feet, an increase of 186 percent. Where wood was most scarce, the price increase was a staggering 340 percent.

And with costs passed on to consumers, sky-high lumber prices added almost $36,000 US to the already high price of an average new family home.

Moving beyond lumber

Long used worldwide as a construction material because of its abundance, low cost, and durability, wood is facing its challengers in the building arena.

From natural materials to man-made goods, products are constantly being introduced to the market that rival hardwoods like oak, maple, ash, and cherry, and softwoods such as pine, cedar, fir, spruce, and hemlock.

Wood has its advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, it has lasting thermal properties, absorbs sound, and is lightweight and durable. Its downside includes vulnerability to fire, flood, and insects such as termites, always ready to reduce wood structures to sawdust.

Rising costs and fragile supply – as evidenced during the pandemic – are leading some builders to explore alternatives to wood, including such natural materials as stone, clay, straw, bamboo, hemp for walls, and wool and recycled jeans for insulation, or the growing number of man-made materials. In some developing countries, using discarded material like old tires filled with compacted earth or even metal cans to create walls has long been an accepted solution.

New look at old ideas

In his book, The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods: Including Sod, Compressed Earth, Plaster, Straw, Beer Cans, Bottles, Cordwood, and Many Other Low-Cost Materials, Jon Nunan writes that many building materials and methods today considered ‘alternative’ go back centuries.

“The reason why these building techniques are gaining popularity in modern times is twofold,” says the author. “First, these old building techniques are far more eco-friendly than the majority of structures we are used to seeing; second, these structures are simple enough in nature that they can be built cheaply and without the aid of a lot of the heavy and expensive equipment associated with most new construction.”

Along with wood, the Earth provides an abundance of materials that can be used in building, either in their natural state or mixed with other products.

Farmed for thousands of years, fibres in hemp have been used for everything from paper to fabric to rope. When mixed with lime, pozzolans (siliceous materials), and sand, it can be made into biocomposite Hempcrete. Although it doesn’t have the same strength as concrete, Hempcrete or hemp-lime is an excellent, affordable insulator with moisture-resistant properties.

Another product gaining popularity for its properties is insulation made from recycled denim. Originally made from cotton – which is itself natural – old jeans are stripped of metals such as zippers and buttons, shredded, and deconstructed back into fibres before being processed with fire retardant and made into insulation sheets. Like Hempcrete, this insulation has a high R-value and sound-minimizing properties, doesn’t give off headache-causing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and best of all, it repurposes natural materials.

While products like Hempcrete are based on natural materials, there are many others in existence, and on the market, rivalling wood for durability, longevity, and ease of construction. Some are already manufactured, and simply re-purposed, such as shipping containers transformed into low-cost housing.

One of the best-known is modular construction. Precast concrete panels are made offsite, with accommodation for electrical lines, plumbing, and so on. Transported to sites, these modules are then set in place to create a building.

As always, there are pros and cons. While modular panels are heavy, they can be quickly assembled. Considering the shortage of skilled trades worldwide, the speed of construction is a plus.

Although wood and other natural materials like stone and straw bales will continue to be used in construction for generations to come, building methods and materials will continue evolving in the form of products like Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) and green concrete (which incorporates waste material) and become increasingly used as viable, durable substitutes.

The post The New Alternative<p class="company">Modern Building Materials On The Rise</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

“When I was eighteen I ventured out on my own and got more into the commercial aspect of it, which brought me to Alberta,” he remembers. The business grew steadily, and along the way, his daughter Felisha married company employee Cody Hansen. The two “are now part of the company and continue to help grow it,” he says.

Being a family company brings distinct advantages. “I think it helps with quality control,” Corbeil says. “We feel that all our clients are part of the family, and we owe it to them to be treated that way. Our motto here is: ‘We build our projects the way we would build them for ourselves.’”

The attitude creates close relationships with customers. “We treat customers the way they want to be treated—like family,” he says. “And that means we go above and beyond and make sure everything is the right quality and done properly and we don’t cut corners…. We spend a lot of time educating them and let them know what the pros and cons are of their choices and costs.”

This approach is mutually beneficial for everyone involved. “The success we’ve had has been largely based on recommendations from past clients referring their friends and family,” Corbeil explains. The team values employees just as highly as customers. “We treat the employees the same way as we treat customers—as if they’re part of the family.”

Superior Buildings & Design takes a hands-on approach to ensure that customers get exactly what they want. “The bulk of our business is the design-build business, so we work closely with our clients,” he says. “We get involved very early in the project. We work with them, develop their designs, and we bring value to the project by incorporating our engineers and our design capacities, and we are able to really home in on what actually works for the clients and what doesn’t and tailor the building to suit their needs and their budgets.”

This approach leads to specially-designed, one-of-a-kind projects. “We’ve built a lot of buildings in our existence and none of them have been the same,” Corbeil says. “All of our clients have different requirements and different needs.” This, he adds, is why the company has used the Ironwood building system for thirty-five years. The product’s versatility allows the team to complete “a wide scope of projects using the same system,” he explains. “We can use the same system to provide different results.” What stays the same is the quality and the significant cost savings for the client.

The company uses insulated concrete forms (ICF) in commercial builds and has recently become a SuperForm distributor. “We found their product was better,” Corbeil says. “Our installers liked it better; found it was a stronger product, easier to work with. So when they approached us about distributing for them in Edmonton, we agreed quickly, and we found that it was just a continuation of what we do, [which is] building our clients a quality product at a fair price.”

Another plus is that SuperForm is a local, family-owned manufacturer. “We like the fact that SuperForm is an Alberta company, so the blocks [are] manufactured in Alberta and not brought in from the U.S. or other parts of the country,” he says. “We always try and support local as much as possible, local being Alberta first, Canada second.”

SuperForm offers a wide variety of resilient block configurations and products for residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial builds. The technology reduces the need for multiple components—concrete, steel reinforcement, insulation, vapour barrier, air barrier, and attachment points—to a single, easy step, saving both time and money. As strong as it is versatile, SuperForm ICFs stand up to extreme weather and boast a three-hour fire rating, making these an ideal choice for a fire-resistant build. In addition, two layers of continuous, 2.5-inch expanded polystyrene panels result in no thermal bridging, creating one of the most energy-efficient options in today’s market. SuperForm ICF offers up to sixty percent energy savings when compared to traditional construction methods.

Superior Buildings & Design has completed a wide variety of significant projects, and Corbeil and his team value every client and opportunity. “We’re really proud of all our projects and all of our clients,” he explains. “Of all our clients, it’s hard to single one out because they’re all the same to us.”

The company has built multiple car dealerships, the most recent being Edson Chrysler in Edson, Alberta, which started in August 2020. The company completed the 22,205-square-foot commercial building in May 2021. The space includes a 9,634-square-foot shop and 2,175 square feet of second-story office space.

Another recent and particularly large project is the Gold Horse Casino in Lloydminster. Prior to that, the company built a new facility for Hydro Scotford in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The industrial building includes a 34,255-square-foot shop area with forty-foot ceilings. Another Edmonton build includes 34,000 square feet of commercial and industrial space across two floors for Proline Pipe Equipment Inc. In Beaumont, the company built a 10,000 square foot Fountain Tire commercial facility with four service bays.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg after nearly thirty years in business. There are many more notable projects in the company’s history across the agricultural, industrial, commercial, and residential sectors.

The company has several exciting upcoming projects. “Being in design-build, we get involved with clients often time several months before we actually put shovels in the ground,” Corbeil says. The company is “working on a few very nice, large projects that will fit very well with what we’re doing and where we’re going; that accentuate our design-build capacity and our building line that we have and ties our ICF products in as well.”

It will remain particularly focused on ICF. “We’re looking to expand the ICF portion as it is relatively new to the company, but the results, the interest so far has been very promising,” he says. “It’s a great product at a great price, so we feel that that’s going to grow for us.” In addition, the team plans to “get involved with the residential side more so than we have in the past.”

Whatever the project, Superior Buildings & Design is equipped to deliver quality results far into the future. “With Felisha and Cody helping to run the company, I’ve got lots of confidence that they’re going to do a great job when I step back eventually, whenever that is,” he says of his daughter and son-in-law. He is “very happy about that and the direction that they have and the experience that they have.”

This confidence extends to all the employees. “Our employees—not just those two—but all our employees, whether they’re labourers or project managers, they’ve all got that sense of family and quality that’s instilled into them and believe in the same things we believe in, which is always important,” Corbeil says. “It’s the culture that we try to foster here and instil in new employees as they join us.” This culture—along with a solid track record—is sure to carry Superior Buildings & Design far into the future.

The post Where Everyone Is Family<p class="company">Superior Buildings & Design</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

A one-stop shop, ABCO’s team works with customers at all stages, from initial system design to construction, automation, tear-down and decommissioning.

Active in many areas of warehouse automation including Garment on Hanger (GOH) systems, distribution-center design, conveyor-system maintenance, pallet racks, permit facilitation, and stockroom optimization, ABCO Systems has earned its reputation as a respected systems integrator for material-handling equipment across the United States.

With its hub in Belleville, New Jersey and a location in Ontario, California, ABCO recently opened its newest facility in Pennsylvania. A staff of 44 across all locations, plus subcontractors, brings decades of experience to handle the distribution center needs of all customers.

Ultimate solutions
“We design and build distribution centers based on specific needs and specific requirements of each individual customer,” says Chief Executive Officer and Principal Seth Weisberg. “We don’t manufacture anything, but we’re with dozens of manufacturers to ensure our end-users are getting exactly what they need.”

Much more than a provider of automation systems, ABCO creates storage solutions that increase client efficiencies, and are custom-tailored to meet their specific needs.

As the company says on its website, “Even if your business has a storage solution currently in place, it might not be as efficient as it could be. It doesn’t hurt to revisit your options and see where improvements can be made.”

From warehouse automation to pick modules, from ABCO’s GOH Systems to Storage Solutions, and from warehouse mezzanines to warehouse safety, ABCO is there to help. The company often becomes engaged when clients are looking for a new building, helping them find the structure that will suit their purposes. And when customers are staying put but realize that their facilities need optimizing, they so often also reach out to ABCO.

Experience and more experience
Before Seth Weisberg came on board in 2003, ABCO was in business for over 30 years under the hand of Seth’s father, Michael Weisberg.

Prior to 2003, Seth had been working in project management in the IT Department of PricewaterhouseCoopers for about six years. One day, receiving a call that his dad was ill and that the business needed help, Seth’s career path took a new direction, and he came into the family business.

“We decided to rebrand the business and open up our services to provide greater and more in-depth opportunities for customers,” says Seth of the company, then in Carlstadt, New Jersey, which was renamed ABCP Systems LLC.

He found that his years of experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers were a tremendous asset personally and professionally. “It helped me immensely,” he says, adding that his time with the multinational professional services firm gave him real-world experience and confidence.

Soon after he joined the company, ABCO began broadening its services into automation. Until that point, the business had focused mainly on Garment on Hanger, which was stationary, but now it began providing customers with full-service solutions. These encompassed design and engineering, including e-commerce, multi-level pick modules, and a varied array of automated solutions such as print and apply, inbound sortation, outbound sortation, and product movement throughout facilities.

Today, ABCO’s wide range of services includes distribution center safety, design, automation integration, conveyor system design, preventative maintenance programs and conveyor repair, and pallet rack removals and purchases.

Rise of e-commerce
To customers, ABCO Systems is more a partner than a business. Working hand-in-hand with clients big and small, ABCO’s commitment to finding the right customized solutions remains unsurpassed. By helping customers maximize storage solutions through professional, streamlined distribution center design, clients not only operate much more efficiently than before but are of course more profitable.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many sectors of ABCO’s business were on the rise. With more people doing online ordering over the past two years, the growth in the sector has become significant. E-commerce has skyrocketed. Taking on projects ranging from $250,000 to $2 million, ABCO’s services and solutions see clients realize their vision from inception to completion.

By taking on smaller projects, end users can enjoy some of the benefits of automation without breaking the bank, allowing them to see the value and benefits of these systems. And, of course, if they choose to do so the systems can be made larger. “Most times when we are building, it’s with the thought that we will be expanding into it,” says Weinberg.

Even with the rise of e-commerce, ABCO maintains that its focus remains on automation, with storage being part of the equation. “The focus of this company is working with the data and helping companies understand the best methodology for distribution,” says Weinberg.

“Most companies are really, really good at what they do, but they don’t necessarily have the experience with distribution that we have. So if we can help them reduce their costs and create efficiency at the same time, it’s a huge win for them.”

True sustainability

Many companies talk about sustainability and recycling for the good of the planet, but ABCO has been putting this into practice for years. Just by implementing a metal recycling plan, ABCO has reduced the amount of energy it consumes by a dramatic 72 percent, compared to virgin ore mining.

In 2019, the company recycled over 2.3 million pounds of steel; the next year ABCO recycled another 1.5 million pounds.

“We recycle probably 10 tons of steel a month,” says Weinberg of the company, which re-purposes older systems and recycles components as part of its eco-friendly business model. “That’s always been a focus.”

Recognizing that warehouses and distribution centers can be dangerous places to work, ABCO Systems also dedicates an enormous amount of time and effort to safety and safety protocols. This includes everything from the company’s safety specialists conducting complimentary assessment calls with clients to discuss their warehouse set-up and concerns, from rack backs and safety netting to warehouse safety products such as bollards, guard rails, and column bars.

“We have an in-house safety officer, safety protocols, and we’ve got our safety manual,” says Weinberg. The company also hosts safety meetings every Monday.

Doing it right

With next year marking the 20^th anniversary of ABCO Systems, the company plans to acknowledge the milestone – and keep growing. Gaining most of its business through word-of-mouth referrals, ABCO recently hired a full-time marketing manager to promote its products and services.

Making the 2019 and 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing businesses, the team at ABCO looks forward to the future and continuing to serve the warehousing, storage, and distribution-center automation needs of all its customers. In 2021, the company did $63 million in sales. By 2025, ABCO expects to achieve $100 million in sales.

“Our focus is on full-service, full-design systems for our customers,” says Weinberg. “We want to be the company people call when they realize they can do it better. We’re not just going to help them install steel; we’re going to help them install it the right way to move product in their facility.”

The post They’re Here for One Thing – to Get your Distribution Center Sorted<p class="company">ABCO Systems</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Some larger buildings measuring 20 by 30 feet (7 by 9 meters) or 30 by 40 feet (9 by 12 meters) were erected on steel perimeter skids, while others rested on concrete pads or even timbers in the case of smaller structures meant to be relocated. From purchasing steel packages at the start, the company soon moved into its own manufacturing.

“A lot of those first buildings are there to this day,” says company owner Doug Atwood. Maintaining its oilfield clients and expanding into agricultural and commercial projects over the years, D.A. Building Systems is a locally owned steel-building manufacturer with design, fabrication, and construction capabilities, and the first choice for many local businesses.

For over two years, COVID-19 has caused material shortages and disrupted the supply chains of many construction companies, yet D.A. Building Systems has been relatively unaffected.

“The pandemic made us a little more creative in how we build projects, do the ordering, and things like that,” says previous owner Scott Grenier, who still assists the company.

“One of the things we’ve seen is that some of our competitors – who don’t manufacture their buildings – are having a harder time getting a building from a large supplier, whereas we just need the raw steel and then we can build our own buildings.”

Known for being “Canadian-Made with Alberta Pride,” D.A. Building Systems is the only Southern Alberta business sourcing local materials, fabricating in its own facility, and constructing with its own crews. To date, the company’s staff of 33 has grown to include journeyman welders, draftsmen, metal-systems building erectors/ironworkers, and certified carpenters.

“We’re a steel building contractor, but if somebody needs a full project, we will get them set up with a general contractor,” comments Grenier. “We are not a general contractor, but we are definitely a one-stop building shop.”

Erecting the steel portion of a building project, the company works with trusted general contractors who provide the additional work, such as electrical, plumbing, concrete, wood framing, or drywall.

Working in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia – and parts of the United States in the past – D.A. Building Systems can manufacture steel structures that meet the needs of the biggest clients in the oil and gas, agriculture, and commercial sectors.

As a leader in agriculture/rural steel buildings, the company has taken on everything from potato storage sheds to dairy barns, hay barns, heavy equipment shops, and custom farm/Hutterite colony buildings. Its work for its many commercial clients includes factories, auto dealerships, aircraft hangars, and other custom buildings.

Getting its start erecting steel buildings for the oil and gas sector, the company has built structures including a 1,000-foot long (304 m) building for trains in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, and a variety of others including well-head buildings, very small structures, and even pipe insulation.

Sometimes a pipe that extends from a storage tank or a load line needs to be protected from the elements. “We’ve gone as small as 2 feet by 2 feet (0.60 m by 0.60 m) for a structure, with a little door in the front enabling it to not freeze, the little spout they need to load trucks with,” says Rick Caruso, who handles sales. “We’ve done quite a few of those.”

Like all structures made by the company, these are completely customized to whatever size the client requires.

About 15 years ago, D.A. Building Systems gained CSA-A660 Quality Certification for Steel Building Systems (SBS). Mandatory for all steel building system manufacturers supplying buildings in Canada, CSA-A660 ensures buyers receive quality, certified buildings. This certification also assists code enforcement officials review SBS permit submissions.

“One of the reasons it’s important is because you cannot manufacture without being certified,” says Grenier.

According to the CSA, “This Standard requires that the manufacturer’s production facilities, staff, and quality assurance systems be capable of reliably producing acceptable steel buildings. To ensure that these design and production capabilities are met and maintained, the Standard requires a manufacturing facility to be certified by a certification agency.”

Dependable, fire-resistant, cost-effective, and built to last, steel holds many benefits over other types of construction, including wood.

Widely used in the past, wood had its place; but as buildings became bigger and bigger, these structures weren’t able to withstand the sometimes brutal weather western Canada threw at them.

One of the biggest checkmarks in steel’s favour is the ability to make enormous structures requiring clear spans. And with lumber prices reaching record highs during the pandemic, the benefits of steel compared to wood have become even more apparent.

“Wood was always a good thing if you were building small buildings,” says Caruso, “but when you get bigger, not so much. We can clear-span easily; wood can’t do that. The trusses get so big and so clumsy that you need truckloads and truckloads of lumber to keep them up, so wood is not very cost-effective anymore. You can do a much bigger clear span building with steel.”

This is especially true in the agricultural sector, with potato buildings and hog and dairy barns, which are all affected by high humidity. Unlike wood, steel can be galvanized, adding to its longevity.

“It’s just a better system all around. At the end of the day, customers might pay a few percentage points more for our steel building, but they’ve got an asset and not a liability – wood becomes a liability the day it’s built.” Another advantage: outside panels of steel structures can be replaced or re-skinned, and look brand new again.

In line with surging demand, D.A. Building Systems is investing in the company.

This includes a new building under construction, which will be ready by May. Once completed, it will see the company install a beam cut system, which will take care of much of its fabrication of wide flange and tubing. Also, in the coming months, the company plans to purchase a shot blaster to clean steel, making the process faster and more efficient than doing it by hand.

The place to go for pre-engineered steel structures, D.A. Building Systems Ltd. continues to serve the buoyant agricultural sector and is seeing growth in the oil industry, too.

“We’ve seen some growth here in the last year, and we see that there is more growth yet to be had, specifically in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan,” says Atwood. “There is planned irrigation expansion in both locations, and we feel we are very well poised to be a big part of that market.”

The post Steel Structures Made to Work & Made to Last<p class="company">D.A. Building Systems Ltd.</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Founded in 1983, CSM Group exudes an impressive wealth of construction and project management experience from its headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Licensed to work in 32 states, CSM Group is expanding with the opening of a satellite office in Austin, Texas.

The company’s experience includes both ground-up construction and restoration of historically significant buildings. CSM Group is also a proponent of the tricky art of constructing a seamless extension to an existing structure, while enabling full functioning to continue without interruption. Complete plant relocations, too, are a special skill.

Health care, food and beverage, industrial manufacturing, life sciences, technology, energy and renewables, education, and commercial property clients have all benefited from the expertise provided by CSM Group’s staff of nearly 200 professionals.

Over 38 years this adds up to more than 1,500 projects across the United States and Canada.

Expanding capabilities

SPARK Business Works, a sister company of the CSM Group brand, is helping clients across the nation by offering affordable and practical software solutions that increase productivity and result in a return on investment. Areas of expertise include, among others, customized business solutions, mobile applications, and dashboards.

In January of 2022, SPARK Business Works acquired Convergent1, a Houston, Texas-based marketing agency that specializes in providing full-service digital marketing services for high-growth companies in construction, oil and gas, manufacturing, and professional services. This strategic acquisition provides opportunity to SPARK Business Works to integrate their service offerings with existing clients who need help with digital marketing. The team also gains more momentum in Texas where they have existing clients and have seen growing demand driven by digitization in construction and the need for custom software capabilities in other industrial markets.

Meet the new CEO

Recently we spoke to the recently appointed CEO of the group, Stuart Mason, who snatched a moment from the demands of establishing a satellite office in Austin, TX, and Katrina Reed, Creative Services Manager at CSM Group.

Mason, who joined CSM Group this past August, succeeds founding CEO Steve East, leader of the company for 38 years, who will remain involved as chairman of the company. Mason brings to the company extensive experience in international construction markets, in many of the same areas where CSM Group has established a reputation for excellence.

Born in the U.K., Mason graduated as a civil engineer and is professionally qualified as both Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) and spent the first 10 years of his career working on large scale design-build commercial projects in central London before joining AECOM, an international design-engineer project management company.

For two decades, Mason travelled the world, specializing in complex industrial projects in the U.K. as well as in Europe, East Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and North America, a period in which he gained priceless experience in managing projects and client accounts in diverse cultures and challenging environments. “I was fortunate to be involved in iconic projects in my career, including one of the world’s largest malt whisky distilleries for Diageo in Roseisle, Scotland, Lego’s largest manufacturing facility in China, and overseeing the construction of hyperscale data centers across North America.”

Between 2016 and 2019, after AECOM acquired the URS corporation, Mason worked mainly in the U.S. and Mexico, helping the company win and support the execution of large multi-billion-dollar design-build projects, especially projects designed to house advanced industrial processes for Semi-Conductor, Food and Beverage, Aerospace and EV/Automotive.

“This was enabling me to bring my design and construction experience together in a fully integrated way for my clients,” he says. “In 2019, I joined Arcadis, another global, multinational firm to help them run their North American Industrial Infrastructure business of design and construction. My role was helping them integrate their service offerings, grow their market share, and enter new markets around semi-conductor and complex automotive facilities,” he explains.

“Then last year, Seth Deutsch, a member of CSM Group’s Advisory Board, invited me to come and look at this business. I saw right away what a fantastic opportunity it was, not only for myself, but for me to bring a lot of my almost 30-year professional experience to CSM Group to help them take the next evolutionary step forward,” he says.

“I’ve travelled the world and worked with a lot of very big companies, and one of the things that struck me about CSM Group was their people first philosophy, inclusivity, and relationships with customers – a culture with a strong client-centric approach, where relationships are built and maintained. It’s a guiding principle and value of this organization and I see it here top to bottom, where everyone is truly aligned with delivering strong customer outcomes by listening and getting to the core of what our customers need.”

Expansion in Austin

The next step is opening the Austin, TX office within the next few months, with a growth strategy of focusing on what Mason calls “critical markets,” serving emerging industries throughout the southwestern U.S.

“We’re a dominant player in the Midwest,” he says, “and we’ll bring in the guiding principles and values we’ve developed over 38 years, along with the technology experience we’ve gained around life sciences and complex technology manufacturing. There’s a lot of investment around these sectors now, not only in Austin, but in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.”

He says that Austin was chosen as a prime location because it has been labeled as one of five ‘supernova’ cities, along with Boise, ID; Jacksonville, FL; Nashville, TN, and Raleigh/Durham, SC – all centers of diversified economies and phenomenal “meteoric” growth.

Meanwhile, in Michigan

Mason happily lets us know that CSM Group has just been selected by the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA) as construction manager of its new Career & Technical Education Center in Kalamazoo, as part of a private/public partnership with Southwest Michigan First.

“It will be a center to really help ‘K to 12’ students have an opportunity to learn about a variety of different careers and to provide job training. It will be a steppingstone in the community from school into the market,” he says.

“I have noticed the huge amount of pressure that is put on students to go to university, although not every student wants to go or has the capability. But this center will assist students coming from high school to move into a skilled-trade career path which is vital for our economy, and that’s what I personally like about it.”

He says that the architecture, which will use mass timber, is still being defined, “but I have seen the early renderings and outside it will look like a modern college campus. The magic will be on the inside, and the scope it will provide.

“There will be a lot of workshops and lab environments and students can immerse themselves in robotics and the automotive industry. There will be traditional teaching spaces, but the difference will be the hands-on industry experience which will help students make informed decisions about their futures.”

As this issue of Construction in Focus includes an article on the future of wood, we inquired if the use of mass timber in the KRESA project was a first for CSM Group. Reed says that CSM Group has considerable experience in mass timber facilities. She names the Girl Scouts’ Heart of Michigan building in Kalamazoo; the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Health & Wellness facility in Dowagiac, MI; as well as a current project using mass timber that CSM Group is managing for a client.

Into the national arena

On March 16, 2022, CSM Group was honored at the ABC (Associated Builders & Contractors) 32^nd Annual National Convention held in San Antonio, TX, with two industry-leading awards. “That we received two awards this year is significant and speaks to the growth and maturity of the organization we’ve all been working on so hard,” Reed says.

The two Excellence in Construction® Awards are national industry awards, she says. They recognize general and specialty contractors for world-class, safe, and innovative construction projects, and honor every member of the team, including the contractor, owner, architect, and engineer.

CSM Group received the ABC National Excellence in Construction Eagle Award for the Greenleaf Trust Office Building renovation in Traverse City, MI. Built in 1904 to serve first as post office and later as city hall, the historic 16,926 square foot building has been brought back to life. It features tenant spaces, with Greenleaf Trust occupying the top floor, and has been equipped with new mechanical and electrical systems, and an elevator, stairs, and a second-floor balcony.

Of particular interest in the restoration project, which preserves the original stone façade, is the bipolar ionization system integrated within the air handling system to eliminate nearly all airborne impurities, including the virus that causes COVID-19. Meanwhile, the skylights, which had been covered for almost 60 years, are open, with interior transoms to disperse a maximum amount of light.

“Best of the Best”

CSM Group received this honor, says Stephanie Schmidt, National Chair of the ABC board of directors, “because work by the team at CSM Group exemplifies the best of the best in construction.”

The second award CSM Group received was the ABC National Safety Excellence Award for its exceptional safety record, training and education programs, and commitment to world-class safety.

Selected from among ABC members that achieved Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Status in ABC’s STEP Safety Management System in 2021, “CSM Group not only represents some of ABC’s top performers, but also demonstrates the difference it makes when implementing the foundations of, and daily conditions for, world class safety,” notes Schmidt.

The safety award, says Mason, “is a result of a different approach to safety that CSM Group has developed, looking into the behavioral science around safety, which gives it a unique perspective. CSM Group has been looking at what behaviors create safe and unsafe environments, and how we can use science to influence safer outcomes. We know there are some things people have no control over – their DNA or their life history – but influencing the environment can impact behavior. The company has been working at it for 15 years. There is no overnight solution, but the incremental performance we see has been world-class.”

Then, two weeks after the awards ceremony, CSM Group was identified on ABC’s Top Performers List, an annual list published by Construction Executive magazine. Michael Bellaman, president and CEO of ABC, congratulated CSM Group “for raising the bar in developing people, winning work, and delivering that work safely, ethically, and profitably.”

Concludes Mason, “A company’s success is based on safety, inclusivity, quality, culture, and leveraging advanced technology. It’s not about numbers, it’s about outcomes. I have always been a believer, as was Steve [East, CSM Group’s founder], that financial outcomes come out of those guiding principles. First, look after your customers, look after your colleagues, and create an environment where everyone can have mutual success.”

The post “Delivering Your Vision Is Our Passion” – and Living by Those Words<p class="company">CSM Group</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The 2017 article featured Travis Lefever, BBD Co-Partner who, in 2006, bought into the small company that his uncle, Pat Walter, had formed in 2004.

Five years later feels like a suitable time to catch up with today’s BBD, which appears to be growing by leaps and bounds as word spreads about the quality of its work. As before, its portfolio of services includes design, general contracting, construction, and project management in traditional building materials or PEMB.

It hardly needs to be said that relative newcomer to BBD, Brad Wolf, Director of Information Technology and Director of Construction Technology, is a man who has been wearing many hats since he joined the company in 2019, including, now, that of business development manager.

“This is a new position,” Wolf says, “as previously Travis had taken on some of this work, but the experience I brought to the company was unique, and as they were trying to expand growth, he asked me to step into this and expand business development. Travis, Pat, and I had been friends for a while, and it was important to me to help this company grow because there are no two better people I’d want to work for. They stand by their word, they’re honest and transparent, and they want what’s best for their employees and clients.”

Rising star

When Wolf joined in 2019, 16 employees were working out of the Brush office, 90 miles from Denver. Three years later there is double that number, plus a separate metal buildings division located in Firestone, 30 miles from Denver. To head up that division, BBD brought in Randy Gates, who Wolf calls “the best guy in the PEMB industry,” and who serves as BBD’s vice-president.

BBD is authorized to supply and erect Chief Metal Buildings, a leading U.S. manufacturer of pre-engineered metal buildings, with facilities in Nebraska, Indiana, and South Carolina. Proud to be 100 percent American, Chief buys raw materials only from other U.S. manufacturers, never outsources work such as design or detail, and never offshores jobs.

Separating the two parts of BBD’s business, general contracting and PEMB, and giving both divisions dedicated space to grow, “has allowed us to better serve our clients in a manner where we can do the whole project ourselves, and cut out the middleman,” Wolf says.

By doing that, BBD can show clients realistic timelines, bring in the PEMB materials, and handle the construction work.

“We also do a lot of self-performing concrete work, and we have teams that can help us support our PEMB division. This means we can look at these projects as a whole because we can design and build them right, starting with the foundation. Then we can take it to the next step, and supply and erect the metal building. What we are offering our clients is a turnkey solution.”

Building of the year times two

For two years running, BBD has received the prestigious Building of the Year Award from Chief Metal Builders, receiving overwhelming support from peers, who voted over 75 percent in favor of BBD’s projects.

In 2020 BBD received the award for a building constructed for the Aurora, CO headquarters of ESPEC North America, a company that manufactures and sells environmental test chambers.

The following year, BBD received the same award for the Rock Creek Curling Club in Lafayette, Colorado’s largest curling facility, with 13,000 square feet of social and meeting space, and six sheets of ice.

Growth for BBD doesn’t only mean more employees, more space, and more awards. It’s about building strong relationships with suppliers, such as Chief; with architectural firms including D2C; with repeat clients such as the Colorado DOT; and it’s about building projects that matter.

It’s also about continuous improvement of customer service. By using technology software such as Building Information Modeling, (BIM) and PROCOR, a construction management platform, along with drones that can utilize iPads on the job site and create real-time data, BBD is combining innovation, efficiency, and transparency for the benefit of clients.

As Wolf says, “We want to be an open book with our subs and clients so that we are all on the same page as we work through the project.”

Bringing ideas to life

Another service BBD can offer clients through its partnership with D2C, the architecture firm, is quality customized solutions. “A customer may come to us with a vision in his head, but how is he going to bring that to reality?” Wolf asks. “That’s our role on the design-build side. We can partner with an architect who will listen to the client and design the building, and then we will review those plans for constructability, and put it all together,” he explains.

“Pat, Travis, and I are all interested in building projects that matter, that serve people in the places where we are working. For example, we believe the transportation facilities we’ve constructed for Colorado DOT do impact lives. Some people may not consider those facilities to be very important but having good roads to travel to work on makes a huge impact on people’s livelihoods. So, in our eyes, transportation facilities are something that matters.”

Wolf adds that BBD is now looking to get into the educational sector, as that also involves building projects that matter. “Buildings can impact the lives of students, the next generation of leaders, and we want to make an impact on that by creating facilities that meet their needs and help them to grow.”

Giving back to the communities where they live and work is important to the company. Walter, Lefever, and Wolf all lead by example, getting involved with various activities, including coaching high school football and wrestling teams, and offering students the opportunity to learn about construction through internships.

The next generation

While BBD has been successful in doubling the number of its employees, recruitment is not without its challenges. One issue the company is dealing with head-on is an education system that tends to place a high value on preparing students for university, but not encouraging interest in trades.

To improve that situation, BBD has hired a human-relations business partner who is actively presenting the idea that education can mean something other than a four-year degree, and that skilled trades and talented project management people can make a good living.

“So we’re working with high school guidance counselors, and Brush also has a high school construction science group that we’re working with,” Wolf says. “Some of them, juniors and seniors, are interning with us right now, and getting a real understanding and hands-on experience of various aspects of construction technology.”

But skills, as important as they are, are not the only area BBD looks to when hiring. “One of the things that are important to us, is will they be a good fit? Will they be an extension to our family? How do they match our values? Are they reputable? Stand behind their word? Represent the company well?” says Wolf.

“This is extremely important because we believe our word is gold and that is what we live by. We stand behind our word 100 percent and that is what we look for in our employees. So far, we have been fortunate enough to find it.”

Why should an organization contact BBD for its next project? “Because we will offer a personalized approach,” Wolf says. “We know the project matters to the client, and therefore it matters to us because we want to establish a long-term relationship. We want them to come back.”

As it turns out, most of BBD’s clients do come back for their next project.

Not only do they come back, but when national companies for whom BBD has done work in Colorado have work elsewhere in the country, as far east as Baltimore and Boston or as far west as Spokane, they invite BBD to work there too. And if that’s not proof enough of the value BBD brings to each project it completes, we don’t know what is.

The post Building Quality Projects One Relationship at a Time<p class="company">Buildings by Design</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The company also has a network of dealers throughout the country that distribute its products and installation services. This is an area of the business that Reborn is looking to expand, specifically by way of its partnership with Costco.

In the early 1970s, with no real intended destination, Vinny and Brenda Nardo, along with their two sons, moved away from their home on Long Island in search of a better life. As a carpenter, Vinny was able to find work as a cabinetmaker here and there along the way. After exploring the country in their green station wagon and 22-foot trailer for a few years, the Nardo’s eventually ended up in Southern California.

Upon arrival, it became clear that the cabinetry industry was unlike other places in the country. Cabinet re-facing was a fairly new idea on the West Coast of the U.S., and Vinny Nardo gladly introduced the innovative and affordable method to the companies for which he worked in Los Angeles. The idea was a success, and it led to growth for those companies.

Getting tired of the commute from Orange County to Los Angeles, Vinny decided to branch off on his own and created his own company named Reborn Cabinets in 1983. It was a small operation with only one other person on staff, and the goal was simply to support the family. A short time later, his skill set and vast experience led the company to unexpected rapid growth, and the company began to add more employees.

Expanding a business at such a pace brings on significant challenges such as higher turnover rates, and this inspired the Nardo sons to join the team after college. “I looked at the business, and I realized that my Dad really needed somebody that he could trust to come in, so I joined the company in the late 1980s,” says Reborn Cabinets President Vince Nardo. “And from there, we looked at growing more, and my brother joined. The company quickly grew over the next twenty years, and today, we have almost seven hundred team members. We manufacture our own products here in Anaheim, and we serve three states.”

During this considerable growth period, Reborn learned that it needed to focus its attention on developing its employees and the company culture. Successful growth not only relies on top-quality products and services but also on the people that are a part of the team.

This new focus on employees resulted in implementing a set of company values roughly fifteen years ago. “We thought if we’re going to create this team and we want to have winners, we also need to create and live by a set of core values,” says Nardo. “The core values really have to be the directives to which we hire, the directives to which we fire, and the directives to which we operate.”

The first principle is to ‘build a winning team,’ and the second is to ‘have the ultimate working environment.’ These two standards shed light on the importance of attracting highly-skilled people to the team and providing an environment that fosters progress for them. For this reason, the leadership set out on a mission to put together processes and programs that help to create the ultimate working environment.

One outcome was a program called Reborn University. The sole focus of this group of dedicated trainers is to lead people through a successful career at Reborn and supply them with the tools and the education necessary to achieve that. Everyone who joins the team goes through a Reborn University course which usually lasts two to three weeks.

Reborn holds a company-wide monthly meeting during which it goes through one specific value in detail. The managers vote for the team members who exemplify the core value featured in that month and show appreciation for their hard work and outstanding performance.

The way that this family-owned-and-operated company supports its large team makes Reborn an ideal choice for employment in the construction industry. Earlier this year, it won a 2022 Top Workplaces USA award for the second year in a row.

While intent on increasing its team size, Reborn also wants to expand its information technology development services to continue improving its processes. The technology-focused company is always looking for innovative ways to be more efficient. This provides an environment with consistently more advanced opportunities for its many employees.

Recently, the company carried out approximately twenty-five promotions as a result of new opportunities that were created and presented to employees. The Arizona office was launched only six months ago, and it was a great chance for some people to relocate and get promoted into management roles.

Setting Reborn apart from its competition is its unique team and their ability to be innovative in the industry. The company uses technology at a level that is uncommon in the home improvement business to ensure its customers have the best remodeling experience. A kitchen, bathroom, or window remodel is a complex project with a lot of considerations, and technology simplifies the process.

“Using technology and being innovative allows us to provide an experience that’s really unmatched by any other remodeling company. I think those are the things that really have helped us to excel over the last almost forty years,” says Nardo.

Prioritizing customer satisfaction, Reborn tracks every aspect of the project to look for potential errors and patterns. “I personally live by the philosophy here at the business that once is a fluke; twice is a pattern, and three times never happens. We’re constantly looking for that second repetitious problem,” says Nardo. Using the core value of ‘built it better,’ as guidance, the team works together to continuously improve its work.

When it comes to cabinet re-facing, there are not many large providers of this type of product. Costco became interested after a discussion with Reborn about cabinet re-facing and decided to roll out a pilot program with the company. After it proved to be highly successful, Reborn was named the authorized cabinet re-facing provider to Costco. It is now a national program and a great partnership that opens Reborn up to new markets.

Surviving two recessions and now a pandemic throughout its history has shown Reborn that it has exceptional resiliency. Many of the employees have been on the team for between fifteen and twenty-five years, and these people have helped the company grow through difficult times and come out stronger. “We learned a lot through those challenges. We learned a lot through the recession back in the 2000s; we learned where our weaknesses were. In COVID, we really learned that we can overcome anything,” explains Nardo.

As the remodeling industry continues to mature, Reborn expects to stay at the front of the pack, leading the industry with innovative developments. It is excited to take on more exciting opportunities as it grows while remaining loyal to the team and the core values that have brought forth the company’s ground-breaking success.

The remodeling company is grateful for its forty years in business. Developing this valuable experience has allowed Reborn to make advancements in the industry and prioritize customer satisfaction. Above all else, it will never underestimate the importance of the team and workplace culture.

Looking to the next ten years in business, Vince Nardo is motivated to ensure a long-term future for the three-generation family organization. “We have multiple generations now in the company. My son is a general manager here; my nephew works here, and my son-in-law works here. We’ve also got to look at this organization now as three generations deep, and so we’re really trying to continually build something that’s going to last for a very long time.”

The post A Strong Team Focused on Core Values<p class="company">Reborn Home Solutions</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Within its first year, with this advanced equipment, the company went from offering only nonstructural framing products across two gauges to offering nonstructural, structural, and accessory framing products across eight gauges at speeds of three hundred feet per minute. It also expanded to a second location, allowing space for its first truck in what would become a formidable fleet.

Eventually, the company strategically moved from its initial location in Bensenville, Illinois, due to expansion by the nearby O’Hare Airport, in favor of a location in Gary, Indiana next to the owners’ toll processing company. This move gave MRI more space at a lower cost and greater proximity to its partner organization. In the past few years, with the support of the founders and, beginning in 2019, two private equity firms, the company grew even further, by adding considerable resources that fueled its expansion to this day.

Over the years, MRI has grown by purchasing more trucks and more machinery and increasing its product range. Its products are used in the construction of multi-family housing, data centers, hospitals, and warehouses.General Manager and Vice President Mark Krzyszton observes that there are many booming sub-industries within the construction space, and the company still has a good amount of commercial housing projects, as well as partnerships with various customer types in different regions. The company has strategic alliances with large contractors and sells products to nationwide distribution yards, panelizers, and even other framing manufacturers in the country.

What matters to MRI are the people who will end up working with the products. “If the end user is happy with the product and the service, then everybody is happy. We strive to go the extra mile with our order accuracy, product packaging, and quality. We want to solve problems and manufacture products that are easy and efficient to work with,” Krzyszton says.

The flexibility of its machinery and how it goes to market is what makes MRI stand out in a field as dense as construction. Vice President of Sales Larry Hybert asserts that all the company’s equipment is high-speed and technologically outperforms anything else on the market. The flexibility of these pieces allows for quick reaction to the custom orders called in by its customers, and MRI’s proximity to its sister company that processes steel coil makes it much more efficient than other manufacturers with practically no transportation time.

“We can go from product to product within fifteen seconds,” Hybert explains. All the equipment can adjust automatically with very little need for tooling change outs.

MRI also sports its fleet of trucks, which has allowed it to offer optimized service. Krzyszton estimates that 85 percent of the company’s deliveries are made on its fleet, which is a competitive advantage. Punctuality in logistics and delivery is paramount in the projects with which the company involves itself, and late delivery can cost the end user a fortune in labor and equipment costs. It even offers smaller trucks outfitted with Moffett portable forklifts for more specialized deliveries. Combined with its regular fleet, this provides a definite advantage in serving customers.

Internal developments in company software have also spurred development. Krzyszton mentions that a new enterprise resource planning software implemented in late 2017 has allowed better tracking of inbound material as well as greater flexibility in production scheduling, effectively streamlining the entire business. Within only a month of implementation Krzyszton recalls MRI having its biggest shipping sales period and the massive operational benefits provided by the new ERP software.

Around the same time, MRI added another new roll-former to its repertoire that was the first of its kind in North America to be able to roll form four-inch flanges. Although products like this are uncommon, purchases like the roll-former allow for production flexibility and keep customers happy and bring the business closer to its goal of becoming a one-stop shop for its clientele.

Equivalent nonstructural framing products, or EQ products, have become a rising material in the areas of construction within which MRI does business. EQ framing products are designed to meet the same performance metrics as traditional framing products but are manufactured with lighter and stronger steel. The company has recently introduced two 20-gauge EQ products to its lineup to offer customers purchasing flexibility. Hybert describes EQ as a game-changer for the company as the material has become roughly around 90 percent of the nonstructural framing marketplace today.

Although initially a niche product, EQ has since opened a massive new customer base for MRI. The important thing in marketing these new solutions was to educate customers on both their proper use and application. EQ is not suitable for every job but has a definite use in steel construction, which has led to its misuse in certain applications. Currently, the company sells two types of 20-gauge EQ framing products, which gives the customer even more options for whatever needs they have, something that has helped both sides tremendously so far.

The construction industry is undergoing its fair share of ups and downs in 2022. Currently, issues with labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and inflation are making the construction process more difficult. Krzyszton and Hybert note that 2021 was a chaotic year filled with uncertainty due to domestic steel shortages and rapidly rising steel prices.

Although the industry seemed to be closer to settling down this year, recent turmoil in Europe has created more uncertainty in the steel industry and has made chaos linger. Despite this, MRI leadership observes that construction is in a strong position for the year.

The company is in the middle of moving its operations into a new and larger facility to open more options for additional roll forming equipment and production automation. The new production facility will allow for an estimated 25 percent greater output and will increase efficiencies by moving work to one location instead of spreading it across two. With a compressing workforce, MRI looks to set itself up more efficiently soon to retain employees with a nicer, new space while building its automation solutions.

MRI will continue to serve customer needs; chiefly, by holding its prices as solidly as possible, which will allow for a greater comfort level for the customer base. “If we can take metal framing off their plate as a worry, that’s a big plus for us,” Hybert remarks. As steel is one of the most in-demand materials for construction projects, taking care of every aspect of it on a project helps clients and the business in a mutually beneficial cycle.

The focus remains on the move, improving efficiencies, and an expected twenty percent growth for the remainder of the year – goals that are certainly within the wheelhouse of the company that has been a go-to steel framing supplier for nearly twenty years.

The post Leveraging New Products and Software to Remain at the Top<p class="company">MRI Steel Framing </p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Celebrating 30 years in business this year, the company offers a diverse portfolio of engineered fabric structures for various industries and applications. Calhoun takes pride in the ownership of every building it manufactures and sells through its dealer network throughout North America.

“Our family name is on every building that we produce, and you can be assured that if it isn’t strong enough to go in our yard, we will not allow it in your yard,” says Jeremy Calhoun, owner and Chief Executive Officer.

It’s that dedication to providing quality product and service to customers that has helped Calhoun earn its exemplary reputation, as the company strives to fully understand customers’ demands and takes pride in the commitment it shows them.

Guided by vision
Over the course of its impressive 30 years in the industry, Calhoun’s mission has remained steadfast: To diligently pursue excellence in all aspects of product design, manufacturing, and supply, by focusing on the development of people, innovation, and sound engineering. Calhoun is further bolstered by a vision as an industry leader to create the safest, most reliable and durable fabric structure.

“We are a true industry leader in many important ways,” says Director of Marketing, Deanna Hope.

Being an industry leader means listening to clients, building relationships, providing superior service, and following through on commitments, all of which have contributed to Calhoun Super Structure’s ongoing evolution. At the same time, the company adheres to a vision dependent on each team member’s accountability, collaboration, quality, customer-centricity, and continual development. This has assured not only Calhoun’s success, but the success of the organizations with which it collaborates.

Each project benefits from the leadership and responsibility of Calhoun’s team of experts, which is made up of experienced and motivated professionals with more than a century of combined knowledge. Agricultural operations, warehousing and manufacturing buildings, retail outlets, temporary housing, fertilizer and composting operations, salt sheds and production facilities, mining sites, and more have all been part of the company’s project portfolio.

Always innovating
While other fabric building companies were applying an in-line galvanizing system for their steel frames, Calhoun was the first to use hot-dip galvanizing as a standard, knowing that hot-dip galvanized steel structures last three times longer. The company was also the first to implement a true site-specific analysis design on every building produced by applying its unique 3D Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis to engineer its fabric structures to suit customers’ unique locations.

Calhoun understood from the very beginning that the site of a customer’s operation is unique, and a safe and reliable fabric building is paramount, says Engineering Manager, Allan Ball. “Therefore, we implemented a detailed site review to determine the exact conditions that the structure is under and account for those conditions in our design.”

The site evaluation ensures that the appropriate parameters are used for the analysis of the structure. The configuration of the building is then validated, or changes are made to ensure the structure has the requisite reliability for the site.

Finally, the proprietary J-purlin design found only in Calhoun’s Versatile Profile (VP) Series provides unmatched stiffness and capacity that allows the company to increase bay spacings while simultaneously reducing the quantity of purlin runs in the building, resulting in a more cost-efficient structure.

Working for the customer – and the community
Led by Jeremy Calhoun, Calhoun Super Structure’s dedication to providing complete customer satisfaction means customer connections are just as vital as the construction projects themselves.

“All views and ideas are heard and appreciated at all times during the life of a project because of our customer-centric emphasis and open cooperation,” he says. “Our customers receive the attention, commitment, and dedication they deserve from the earliest concept conversations through the final completion. We take pleasure in our work and in our customers’ satisfaction.”

That customer satisfaction has led to consistent company growth, new hires and the expansion of the manufacturing facility in Ontario.

Completed in March 2022, the 10,000-square-foot expansion of the production plant in Goderich, ON, involved an investment of approximately $1 million. This new addition allows the company to constantly produce steel frames for stock production of its CC Series and HT Series to stay ahead of rising customer demands.

“We’re not only excited about the capabilities this expansion brings our company, but also the positive impact it has on the Goderich community, including new jobs,” says Calhoun. “We’re celebrating 30 years of business and this addition will allow us to manufacture reliable building solutions for many more years to come.”

News of purchased land for a second fabric production plant located in Dundalk, ON was recently announced, with the anticipation of a 20,000-square foot structure to be in operation by 2023. Also planned for later in the year is the formal launch of Calhoun’s internal ERP system to streamline processes across its supply chain, allowing employees to better navigate complex processes across many locations, automate processes, reduce inventory costs, and offer better customer service overall.

Exceptional engineering
It is Calhoun’s exceptional engineering capabilities that continue to pave the path for exciting future plans. Offering one of the largest product series in the fabric structure industry with available widths up to 250 feet wide and in any length, the company has a standard line of building profiles it sells, while also developing new profiles every year to meet the evolving needs of customers. In fact, custom profile variations can be designed and engineered due to Calhoun’s strong engineering expertise, and new building profile variations are always being added to its roster of available profiles.

Within these engineering capabilities, a comprehensive 3D Non-linear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is done – essential to providing guidance in the design of highly reliable and economical foundation systems.

This 3D analysis provides accurate load paths to, and forces at, foundation-resisting elements. Since the fabric structures rely primarily on tension-only bracing for stability, the pre-tension in the cables and initial inelastic stretch is critical to the performance of the structure. The pre-tension requirements and procedure for initial proof loading are determined through the nonlinear analysis.

“Overall, the primary objective of the 3D FEA is to model the behaviour of the structure as accurately as possible under various code specified load conditions,” says Ball.

In situations where an even higher degree of economy is desired, the foundation wall supported on soil springs may be modeled explicitly in conjunction with the fabric structures such that the interaction between the two can be appropriately addressed, wherein the resulting concrete stresses may be used to determine the concrete wall thickness and spacing for reinforcement.

This frequently leads to as much as a 40 percent increase in foundation economy with a considerable improvement in overall reliability of the system, given the fabric structures and foundation interactions — including bearing pressures beneath the wall footings — are appropriately addressed in a comprehensive analysis.

Calhoun has developed a series of detailed calculations to determine what has worked and what hasn’t worked over a long period of time and additionally, all of Calhoun’s fabric structures are reviewed by independent third-party structural engineers to ensure strict objectivity of the design work.

Navigating growth
While the company has much to celebrate and continues to expand, it has experienced its share of challenges, including ongoing labour shortages not only due to COVID-19, but due to the location of Calhoun’s offices and manufacturing plant. Located only 50 km from Calhoun’s head office is the region’s largest employer – the world’s largest operating nuclear facility employing more than 4,000 workers annually.

“It remains difficult to attract and retain quality welders, engineers, installation crews, and general labourers due to the competitive employment opportunities of the nearby nuclear power plant,” says Dan Dalzell, Director of Sales & Operations. “COVID-19 did not help the situation either with aging and retiring workers, border controls and immigration limits, and employee demands for more flexible working arrangements fuelled by the global pandemic.”

Nonetheless, Calhoun is enjoying growth. The company’s biggest accomplishment to date was seen this past ‘21-‘22 fiscal year where it saw a 52 percent increase in revenue versus a year ago, and a 35 percent increase in output versus last year.

“We successfully doubled our growth while maneuvering through staffing shortages, border limitations, general supply chain issues, and limited manufacturing plant capacity to meet the demands of customers,” says Dalzell.

It’s that dedication to quality service and the continual improvement of product that keeps Calhoun ahead in the industry, while its proprietary engineering process in which it models the true behaviour of fabric continues to set the company apart from the competition.

“Our method produces the most suitable fabric structures to meet our customers’ requirements, resulting in a quicker return on investment and the longest-standing structure in the industry,” adds Hope. “Our key competitive advantage is truly within our engineering team,” she says. “Our methods and structural efficiency cannot be mimicked.”

The post Flexible, Strong, Resilient<p class="company">Calhoun Super Structure</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

It seems that the First Nations people of North America and the early European settlers knew a thing or two about the value of wood in construction. While some First Nations tribes lived in tepees, many didn’t. The Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, for example, and other eastern North American tribes, built wooden longhouses measuring 80’ by 18’ by 18’ while European settlers built log cabins. In the 19^th century, wood was used to construct ornate Victorian residences, complete with intricate carvings and grand staircases, steepled churches, shops, and barns — in effect, every type of structure.

Wood was also used for covered bridges, and while most disappeared due to neglect, that doesn’t have to be the case, as the longest covered bridge in North America, located in Hartland, New Brunswick, proves. Built in 1901, the 1,282 foot (391 m) long wood structure rests on six concrete piers embedded in the St. John River bed, and cars still cross it daily.

In the 20^th century, wood was relegated to framing for residential construction and vinyl siding largely replaced wooden clapboards and shingles. Large public buildings were constructed of stone and brick. By mid-20^th century, steel and concrete dominated the skyline of cities across North America.

Admittedly, wood had its drawbacks. Stick built houses are flammable; witness the Great Fire of Chicago (1871), the Great Fire of Saint John, NB (1877), and more recently, California homes ravaged by wildfires. Meanwhile the price of lumber continued to rise, but aside from the cost factor, it was deemed not viable for the buildings of the future: multi-family residences, high-rise office towers, and heavy load bearing bridges. It was a relic of the past. Right?

Wrong! New technology has brought wood once again to the forefront of the industry. It presents exciting opportunities, not only for its use as a construction material, but as a means to helping the world meet climate change targets, or so it’s believed.

“In contrast to carbon-intensive concrete and steel structures, whose production accounts for nearly 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions, wood construction can reduce the total carbon footprint by a third,” says a December 2019 article by JLL. “And the warm, inviting aesthetics of wood align well with WELL Building Standards that help firms boost employee productivity and attract talent.”

Rethinking wooden construction
Engineered wood products, such as plywood, particle board, medium-density fibre board (MDF) and oriented strand board (OSB) have become industry staples. But the real game changers are various forms of mass timber, which include chemically densified wood, a process which increases the rigidity and strength of wood; cross-laminated timber (CLT); and glued laminated timber (glulam).

Developed in Austria and Germany in the 1990s, CLT is a multi-layered panel made of kiln-dried lumber, with between three and nine layers of board placed cross-wise to adjacent layers and held together with fire-resistant and moisture-resistant adhesive to create panels of 1.2 to 3 m (4 to 10 feet) in width and 5 to 19.5 m (16 to 64 feet) in length.

Glulam is another type of structural engineered product composed of layers of dimensional lumber bonded together to create posts. Unlike CLT, it can be joined using pieces of different sizes, so that posts or beams to support bridges can be created in lengths up to 40 m (130 feet), with length limited only by the feasibility of transportation clearance.

Chemically densified wood, CLT, and glulam all offer alternatives to structural steel and concrete. Even though engineered wood is more expensive to produce, construction time can be reduced, as wood lends itself to modular construction. An added benefit is that wood buildings have a lower carbon footprint than steel and concrete ones. Moreover, since the late 1990s, large engineered wood buildings have been shown to be commercially viable across northern European countries.

Coming soon to an urban landscape near you
In 2012, 43 years after Egon Glesinger wrote his seminal work about the coming age of wood, Vancouver-based architect Michael Green wrote The Case for Tall Wood Buildings, a case study on using these materials for buildings as high as 30 floors. And this time, the industry in North America did take notice. In fact, in 2021, MGA, the firm Green co-founded with Natalie Telewiak, was chosen as the Best Firm in North America by Architizer Magazine.

One of MGA’s outstanding designs is the T3 Minneapolis building, a timber, transit, and technology development and the first major, multi-story office building to be constructed of wood in the U.S. in the last 100 years. Completed in November 2016, the Certified LEED Gold building uses only structural material from renewable resources. The seven floors comprise 224,000 square feet of space, 11-foot high exposed timber beams, and 3,600 cubic meters of wood, intended to sequester about 3,200 tonnes of carbon for the life of the building.

Recognizing the potential for engineered wood products to revolutionize the construction industry while contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the Government of Canada, between 2013 and 2017, invested $5 million through the Tall Wood Building Demonstration Initiative (TWBDI) to demonstrate the commercial viability of tall wood building construction. With this assistance, two landmark buildings were completed in 2017.

The Origine building in Quebec, at 13 storeys and composed of Black Spruce engineered wood, was the tallest all-wood condominium building in North America at the time, while the Brock Commons Tallwood House student residence at the University of British Columbia, at 18 storeys, was the tallest hybrid (it uses some steel) wood building in the world when it was completed.

What is significant about these buildings, other than their size and the proof that wood is indeed viable for structures of this magnitude, is that they were instrumental in making changes to building codes, allowing construction of tall wood structures to move forward. For example, the Origine building which was constructed in only five months (December 2016-April 2017) took over two years in the planning stages to prove it could meet the Quebec construction code, which until then restricted wooden buildings to heights no higher than four floors.

This opened the door for other wood structures such as the Abora project in Montreal designed by Provencher Roy Architects and completed in 2019 (see Building Sustainability into Every Detail, Construction in Focus, June 2021). While it’s not the tallest wooden structure at five floors, the three-building residential complex measuring 597,560 square feet was the largest in the world in 2019 and still is the largest in Quebec.

That same year, 2019, the International Code Council approved tall wood structures up to 18 floors as part of the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) which had previously been approved for six. While some provinces and states opted to wait until 2021 to begin construction of tall wood buildings, others including British Columbia, New Jersey, and Oregon (where Michael Green has designed more buildings) didn’t wait and amended their codes to permit 12-storey wooden structures, with the National Building Code of Canada following suit in 2020.

Following the success of the TWBDI, the Government of Canada pledged $39.8 million over four years (2017-2021) through the Green Construction through Wood (GCWood) program to encourage the use of wood in non-traditional construction projects for tall wood buildings, low-rise non-residential buildings, and bridges, with the aim to position Canada as a world leader in tall wood construction and the low-carbon economy.

The first project to be completed, with an $887,000 investment from GCWood and $17 million from the province of Ontario, was the mass timber Duchesnay Creek Bridge which connects the City of North Bay and the Nipissing First Nation in northern Ontario. The 93 meter long (305 foot) 3-span bridge, composed of glulam girders and arches and reinforced concrete and steel, opened in August 2021, replacing the former wooden truss bridge built in 1930.

The second GCWood assisted project involves a $4.1 million investment in an estimated $134 million project to construct a landmark, futuristic building on the lakefront campus of George Brown College in Toronto. Expected to open in 2024, the academic building will use 3,000 cubic metres of wood resulting in net-zero carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, researchers are continuing to find other applications for wood, as David N. Bengston noted in The Revolutionary Role of Wood in Our Future.

For example, power generating wood flooring was being tested at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Made from chemically treated recycled pulp, it can produce an electrostatic charge as people walk across it, capable of powering lights and smart building sensor networks. Another example cited involves a chemical process that removes lignin from natural wood fibres to produce a transparent wood substitute for glass windows.

Additionally, as more manufacturers get involved with mass timber, the price will likely lower and because it lends itself to modular construction, it can be used to construct safe, fire-resistant, and affordable housing on a large scale.

Balancing the environment and the economy

Michael Green has likened the current age “to the beginning of the steel revolution 120 years ago.” While that may be true, and while all the wonderful things we’ve heard about tall wood buildings being tested for fire and seismic safety may also be true — as well as the hope they will help achieve net zero carbon emissions goals — cautionary thoughts remain.

Because of price volatility, inflation, forest fires, woodland pests, supply chain issues, and the dispute over the softwood lumber trade which has been going on between Canada and the U.S. since 1982, mass timber may not be as economical as proponents of its use are hoping. The same issues regarding lumber will also affect mass timber and will need to be solved.

Questions linger about emissions coming from the chemical components of the structural adhesives used in the lamination process. Among them are emulsion polymer isocyanate (EPI), polyurethane (PUR) and Phenolic types which use formaldehyde (PRF), but which is used less often. The Canadian Wood Council offers assurance that all adhesives must comply with health safety codes and have been evaluated for heat performance during exposure to fire. Not so long ago, however, people believed the use of asbestos in wallboard and lead in paint and water pipes was harmless. Should more testing regarding its effects on human health be carried out with regards to off-gassing?

And finally, we need to think about where all this wood that can beautify and reduce GHG emissions in the urban landscape is originating. From forests, obviously, but is there a guarantee it will come from sustainably managed forests which practice selective cutting and other good management practices and not from forestry companies that engage in clear cutting? Are the companies investing in re-forestation programs to replace what is logged? Or, having removed a major source of carbon sequestration, are they then causing further destruction by leaving the land denuded and susceptible to flooding and soil erosion?

Are old growth forests, including those within national parks in both Canada and the U.S., off limits to logging? If they’re not, we’re sacrificing forests which provide habitat for diverse species, protect our water supply, prevent soil erosion, and sequester carbon in order to save our cities.

Said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources speaking with regards to the Duchesnay Creek Bridge, “There is no solution to climate change that does not involve our forest. Creating new markets for Canadian timber supports our forestry workers, creates jobs, and gets us to net zero. By supporting the use of wood in construction, we are taking action to protect our planet and support our communities.”

Worthy sentiments to be sure. But we wish, in the midst of all the excitement and optimism speaking to the benefits of increasing wood construction through mass timber there was more frequent mention of sourcing wood only from sustainably managed forests which have received certification from such bodies as the Forest Stewardship Council. Certification from this organization “confirms that a forest is being managed in such a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers while ensuring it sustains economic viability.”

For the industry to continue to be viable, it must protect the forests, our national treasure and renewable resource, which make all of these exciting advances in wood construction possible.

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