Katerra Opens State-of-the-Art Mass Timber Factory

by | Sep 23, 2019 | News

Katerra Opens State-of-the-Art Mass Timber Factory

Katerra announced the grand opening of North America’s highest volume cross-laminated timber (CLT) factory. Located in Spokane Valley, Washington, the 270,000-square-foot-facility will increase supplies of CLT, a fully renewable structural building material that sequesters carbon for a building’s life and can be used in place of steel and concrete in buildings up to 18 stories.

Katerra’s state-of-the-art CLT facility reflects the company’s technology-first approach, incorporating advanced geometric and biometric scanning of lamstock, an on-site kiln for precise moisture control and artificial intelligence to further improve safety and reduce waste. Katerra has deployed these innovations to result in a consistent, high-quality product. Katerra’s factory also features the largest CLT press currently in operation globally, offering customers unmatched design flexibility.

“CLT perfectly embodies Katerra’s guiding principles for product development – it is technologically advanced, sustainable, and offers meaningful cost and time reductions,” says Michael Marks, CEO and co-founder of Katerra. “We have invested in creating the largest capacity CLT factory in North America because we believe deeply in the potential of CLT and want to see this great material advance to the mainstream.”

Katerra’s new CLT factory occupies 29 acres with easy access to rail lines and interstate highways. At full operation, the factory will employ 105 people with an annual manufacturing capacity to provide thousands of apartments, student housing units, and more than 11 million square feet of floors and roofs.

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Katerra Plans Components Factory

Katerra Plans Components Factory

by | Aug 21, 2018 | Update

Katerra Plans Components Factory

Katerra, a technology company that claims it is redefining the construction industry, announced plans to open a new advanced manufacturing factory in Tracy, Calif., where it will produce building components including wall panels, floor systems, roof truss assemblies, windows, cabinets and finishes.

Katerra reports it is expanding its U.S. operations to support $3.7 billion in new build project bookings. With its new 577,000 sq. ft. factory, Katerra’s manufacturing presence in Tracy will add more than 500 jobs. This facility will complement Katerra’s existing California operations, including its headquarters in Menlo Park and office in San Francisco.

“Establishing a manufacturing presence in the Central Valley made sense to efficiently serve the West Coast market while gaining access to talent to operate advanced robotic equipment,” says Michael Marks, chairman and co-founder of Katerra.

Katerra says its integrated factory model seamlessly connects building design to the factory floor and job site. Compared to its first and existing factory located in Phoenix, Ariz., Katerra’s next generation plant will be an advanced manufacturing facility with significantly more automation. The operation will include fully automated wood frame wall production lines, automated floor lines, automated cabinet and finish areas, automated roof truss lines, an automated window line and a light gauge steel production line. The factory will be able to produce, on an annual basis, the equivalent of 12,500 multifamily units. Production is scheduled to begin in 2019

Katerra is also currently constructing a mass timber manufacturing facility in Spokane, Wash., which will produce cross-laminated timber wall panels and floor systems when it comes on­line in 2019. Katerra’s near-term manufacturing expansion plans for the U.S. includes three more building components factories to serve the South and East Coast markets, as well as another mass timber production facility to be lo­cated in the Southeast.

l Barely a week after announcing the acquisition of North American pioneering mass timber design firm Michael Green Architecture (MGA) in the Pacific Northwest, Katerra has now acquired Atlanta-based architectural firm Lord Aeck Sargent (LAS). While LAS doesn’t have the mass timber experience that MGA does, it counts sustainable urban projects in its portfolio.

More importantly, the two acquisitions give Katerra architect licenses in 31 states plus in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada while doubling Katerra’s overall design staff.

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KATERRA OPENS STATE-OF-THE-ART MASS TIMBER FACTORY

 

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Katerra Merges With KEF Infra, Already Has $3.7 Billion In Bookings

by | 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/

Katerra Acquires Timber Construction Pioneer Michael Green Architecture

by | Jun 4, 2018 | News

Tall timber construction, hyped as one of the next big things in architecture and construction, has slowly gained traction as a small number of multistory projects have started to showcase the possibilities of a more sustainable type of building. A new business deal between a construction startup and a pioneer in tall timber design may help speed up more widespread adoption of this technology.

Earlier this year, Katerra, a Silicon Valley startup focused on the construction industry, received $865 million in funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund, a billion-dollar venture capital firm that has invested in leading startups such as Uber. Katerra has used some of its sizable bankroll to acquire Michael Green Architecture Inc. (MGA), a Vancouver-based firm and one of the pioneers of tall timber construction.

Katerra, which bills itself as a tech firm, has pitched itself as a disruptor in the staid construction industry, suggesting that its innovative technology, and focus on vertically integrating the building process, will allow it to build better, faster, and cheaper than conventional firms.

The acquisition of MGA, the eponymous firm whose founder is considered one of the leaders in tall timber design and architecture, suggests they see wooden buildings as a big part of the solution.

Currently valued at $3 billion, Katerra has built a sizable construction firm since launching in 2015. The Menlo Park, California-based company employs 1,500 people, has booked more than $1.3 billion in new projects, and has constructed an operational facility in Phoenix to manufacture its own material. The company’s goal is to be a one-stop shop, offering design, manufacturing, and construction services.

From Curbed.com: https://www.curbed.com/2018/5/30/17409466/construction-startup-tall-timber-katerra-michael-green

Katerra Receives $865 Million To Fund Massive CLT Plant

by | Apr 4, 2018 | News

Katerra, a high-tech construction firm, has secured $865 million in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund. That money will go toward ongoing projects in the U.S., like the company’s planned cross-laminated timber plant in Washington, as well as research and development activities.

Katerra says its upcoming 250,000-square-foot Washington plant will help scale up U.S. production of CLT so that the material can be more broadly adopted across the construction industry. Katerra’s manufacturing presence in the region will provide hundreds of jobs and stimulate additional jobs through the larger supply chain and associated industries, including design, engineering, and construction. More than 150 construction-specific jobs will be created to build the CLT factory.

Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is a key ingredient in the so-called timber towers – multi-story high rises built of wood, some reaching 18 stories or higher. Katerra says CLT is valued due to its low carbon footprint and strength.

“CLT… is a material that creates beautiful spaces, is designed for manufacturing, and is sustainable all at the same time,” said Michael Marks, chairman and co-founder of Katerra. “This material represents a great opportunity to create new value within the construction industry and will be central to many of the projects we’ll be designing and building. We feel very comfortable and excited, particularly with the knowledgeable team we have, to make the jump into manufacturing mass timber. We are ready to help bring mass timber to the mainstream of U.S. construction.”

Katerra is already applying its high-tech construction techniques to manufacture building sections in an existing Phoenix factory, in processes similar to auto plants. The Phoenix plant uses CR Onsrud and Laguna machinery, and fabricates rooms and building sections, including cabinetry, plumbing and wiring.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/katerra-receives-865-million-fund-massive-cross-laminated-timber?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news