by Jacqlyn Kirkland | Feb 15, 2021 | News
Kadant Completes Cogent Purchase
Kadant Inc. completed its acquisition of Cogent Industrial Technologies Ltd., a leading industrial automation and controls solution provider. The acquisition enables Kadant to deliver a more data connected and integrated solution to its customers seeking increased visibility into their operations.
“The addition of Cogent to the Kadant family significantly increases our ability to deliver automation and plant-wide technology solutions to process industries,” says Jeffrey Powell, president and CEO of Kadant Inc.
Cogent Industrial Technologies Ltd. is based in British Columbia, Can. The company has established a reputation as a leader in industrial technology solutions, offering expertise in process technology integration, industrial automation and controls, industrial safety, project management and operational performance management systems.
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by Jacqlyn Kirkland | May 29, 2019 | News
Tolko Industries announced its Armstrong and Soda Creek lumber operations would take downtime during the weeks of May 27 and June 3.
“High log costs and weak market conditions continue to impact our lumber operating footprint in British Columbia,” says Vice President of Solid Wood, Troy Connolly. “While we prefer to remain operational, we must manage the business responsibly and ensure we are sustainable for the long run.”
Connolly says employees were informed of the decision and local HR representatives are available to assist them with any questions they may have.
“We do not make these decisions lightly,” says Connolly. “We know we have great people working at these operations and this is in no way a reflection on them or their commitment. However, industry conditions in B.C. are challenging right now and could be for some time.”
Pino Pucci, Vice President, Tolko Marketing and Sales assured customers that Tolko’s Marketing and Sales team “will continue to support our customers and do our best to minimize any impacts as a result of these operations taking downtime.”
by Web Editor | Aug 22, 2018 | News
Wood Construction Pushes Forward On Both Sides Of The Border
Mass timber construction is making waves on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, but factors in each country mean a different pace of progress.
The state of Washington is rapidly moving forward on both green construction and use of advanced wood products, but Washington State Department of Commerce forest products sector lead Brian Hatfield said the state isn’t necessarily ahead of its Canadian neighbor. “In some ways, British Columbia is ahead of us in terms of low carbon building materials,” he said.
In 2017, the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services oversaw a pilot project that built 20 kindergarten through Grade 3 classrooms using cross-laminated timber (CLT) in five school district sites in Washington. “We had a pilot district for five school districts, all single-story schools, and those have gone pretty well. They went up quickly and everyone was impressed,” Hatfield said.
The state’s 2016 supplemental capital budget included $5.5 million for the pilot project, which also measures the efficiencies of using engineered wood products through the construction process.
While Washington is taking steps to increase wood use in construction, the Province of British Columbia has pushed for mass timber and wood-focused design for the previous decade. In 2009, the Province of British Columbia put the Wood First Act into practice, which requires provincially funded projects to use wood as a primary construction material. The B.C. building code was also modified in 2009 to allow for wood buildings of up to six stories.
From Journal Of Commerce: canada.constructconnect.com.
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Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!
by Web Editor | Jun 29, 2018 | News
Offsite design-build company Katerra and India-based manufacturing technology company KEF Infra have announced a merger that will see the newly formed KEF Katerra begin conducting operations in India and the Middle East. KEF Katerra, according to MEP Middle East, already has $3.7 billion in bookings.
Both companies use offsite manufacturing and technology as part of the “end-to-end” building services they provide. KEF Infra also uses robotics and automation in its manufacturing business and produces items like pre-cast concrete, prefabricated bathroom pods and aluminum and glazing facades. Katerra said it will also employ KEF Infra’s pre-cast technology in the U.S. market.
In addition to housing, the company will focus on building community infrastructure assets like hospitals and schools. Post-merger Katerra will have a total of 20 offices and 3,400 employees around the world.
Earlier this month, Katerra sealed the second of two acquisition deals in as many weeks. Those transactions, intended to increase the companies’ design capabilities in the U.S., saw the company enter into agreements with Portland, Oregon-based Michael Green Architecture and Lord Aeck Sargent in Atlanta. After those deals were complete, Katerra had 31 U.S. state architecture licenses plus credentials in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, and saw its staff size double. Green’s area of expertise is in the use of mass timber, and it designed the T3 mass timber office building in Minneapolis. One of Lord’s focuses is sustainable, urban projects.
In addition to its plans for growth through mergers and acquisitions, Katerra also said it would open six manufacturing plants by March 2019, including a Spokane, Washington, facility that will produce mass timber. The 250,000-square-foot plant is expected to generate 4.6 million cubic feet of cross-laminated timber annually. The five other Katerra plants will manufacture standard wood panels and trusses.
From Construction Dive: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/katerras-new-company-with-indian-manufacturer-kef-already-has-37-billion/526840/
by Web Editor | Jan 29, 2018 | News
New mass timber products are becoming more widespread and encouraging builders, designers, and engineers to search for the best applications for mass timber initiatives. A few of the mass timber building products available today include:
• Cross-laminated timber
• Nail-laminated timber
• Glue-laminated timber
• Dowel-laminated timber
As they test the capabilities of these materials, designers are looking to existing mass timber buildings around the world for examples and inspiration.
Canadian and European researchers and architects began experimenting with the design of mass timber buildings in the 1970s. European timber projects have shown that weight matters with structural systems, and mass timber structures weigh up to one-third as much as their concrete counterparts. This fact has made wood construction a viable prospect in places where building height and weight are limited, such as city utilities, subway tunnels, and underground rail yards.
Due to their lighter weight, mass timber buildings are more resilient in seismic zones. They carry less inertia, so the possibility of destructive swaying goes down. This approach was recently applied in the Brock Commons tower, an 18-story college residence designed for the University of British Columbia by Canadian firm Acton Ostry Architects.
The 173-foot-tall tower combines glue-laminated columns, cross-laminated timber floor slabs, dual concrete cores, and steel connectors. The cores help to counteract wind-generated and seismic forces while anchoring the mass timber building in place. It meets structural and fire-safety regulations by utilizing a specially designed set of interdependent finishes and building materials.
From CRL: https://c-r-l.com/content-hub/mass-timber-buildings-credibility/
